Uniregistry has some great features. It would be a shame if they went away.
Uniregistry might shut down this year as it is consolidated into GoDaddy. There are several things about Uni’s domain marketplace that I hope GoDaddy integrates into its existing systems before shutting it down.
Category keyword targeting
Uniregistry is the only parking platform I’m aware of that lets users set category targeting for their domain names. This is important to avoid having Google’s algorithm target trademark terms for your domain name.
Let’s say you own the domain name Apple.com. Left to its own devices, the parking algorithm might show keywords related to mobile phones, computers, etc. That’s problematic. With category targeting, you can set this domain to point to ads related to the dictionary meaning of the word, e.g., fruit/food. This is critical to avoid cybersquatting claims.
Parking reporting
Afternic’s domain parking reporting is atrocious, both in the classic and beta systems. At a minimum, it should let you download a .csv of your parking data. Ideally, GoDaddy creates a good interface for viewing the data on the website. But a .csv option would be a good first step. (Update: there is a csv download in the beta. It only shows domains with traffic.)
Buyer data
In an ideal world, GoDaddy would integrate Uni’s self-brokering system into one of its existing platforms. But with its new commission structure and desire to push things to its own brokers, I doubt that will happen. Yet Uni provides the best data to domain owners about who is inquiring about their domains. They provide IP addresses, emails, names, links to LinkedIn profiles, etc.
Even if GoDaddy gets rid of self-brokering, it needs to provide more data to domain owners. At a minimum, domain owners should see how many inquiries were made on their domains and what the offers were, even if they are below the floor price. This is critical data for deciding whether to renew a domain. Currently, you have to ask your account manager for this data. It should be integrated into the Afternic dashboard.
It has been three years since GoDaddy announced the acquisition of Uniregistry. Shutting it down is inevitable, but I hope GoDaddy integrates the best of the Uni market into its own services before shutting it down.
The reason gd bought uni is to kill the competitor and not to adopt their nice features.
I think they’ve already adopted a lot of their features. They kept a lot of the UI team and brought over those features to the new GD and Afternic interfaces. But there’s still a lot to be done.
If that’s true I wonder if it constitutes monopolistic abuse, legally speaking. I’d like to see the ICA opine.
Damn, Uni makes it so easy to respond to and follow up on inquiries, plus set BINs and decide if you want an offer field on the lander and what the minimum should be. And all the historical information for every domain will be lost? And all the hours I’ve spent setting capital letters for my domains? Come on, GoDaddy, raise the Uni self-brokering fees, which are low, but don’t scrap the system or I think you’ll drive many domainers who own many domains to self-brokering outside your system.
@Andrew Allemann Godaddy closes UNI also as a domain registrar or just the Uni Market?
Eventually both but I don’t know the timeline
Thank you