Slashdot Mirror
Go Daddy Usurps Network Solutions
miller60 writes "Go Daddy has passed Network Solutions as the top domain registrar, and now manages more than 6.8 million domains. This marks the first time that any registrar other than Network Solutions has held the top spot. The change is no surprise, given the growth trends and pricing for the two providers ($8.95 for Go Daddy, $34.99 for Network Solutions), but its controversial Super Bowl ads no doubt helped put Go Daddy over the top."
but first, like any good Slashdotter, I must pick nits and point out that waaaaay back in the last century, SRI held the top spot too.
The ad is here. Be gentle.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
In this service economy, consumers have chosen to vote with their wallet. No surprise there. Way back when in internet years, Joker.com was only ten euro's per year, which was about $6 US and they were the best. Joker didn't have the marketing clout that Godaddy had. Now GoDaddy has usurped the top spot.
Are you kidding me? The GoDaddy ad was NOT that controversial. Take one look at any of the prime time reality shows on the air and you will see WAY more sexual content and inappropriate behavior. The Super Bowl was just a sore spot, thats all. Heck, take a look at the new Victoria's Secret ad... Whew!!
-d
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
GoDaddy upsells all of their domains with options for SSL certs, privacy options, web hosting, email hosting, etc etc etc.
Their revenues are much more than just domain registrations.
I got on-board with GoDaddy before the SuperBowl ad. I had simply heard through the grapevine that they were cheap and offered good service. While I agree that all the hoops and stuff you have to dodge and click "NO" to to just checkout is a tad annoying, the price and service can't be beat. I've been very happy with them and have transferred all my domains there at this point.
Their other services such as webhosting don't offer anything special, but as a domain-name registrar I think they're great.
Have you ever bought a domain from GoDaddy? They try to upsell you on a lot of things like hosting, "search engine ranking increaser" programs, and privately-registered domains. A lot of them are marked "Yes" by default, so I'm sure some people buy things without realizing it. Their hosting business also seems to be quite lucrative, so I'm sure that contributes to their bottom line. They also have pretty cheap SSL certificates, as well as backordered domains at a premium price, so I could see them having a good amount of money made per year.
Want Slashdot headlines on your site? Try SlashHead
It's good to see Godaddy doing so well, I just hope they don't forget where they came from. One issue being the ease of which they take domains if you get spam complaints, I've known people who have lost hundreds from suspended domains when a business rival reported them to godaddy
If they got a bulletproof way of dealing with issues like this, I would definetley consider transferring a lot more of my domains to be managed with them. Congratulations Godaddy.
Business Voyeur
If GoDaddy usurped NS, they'd control it. They merely surpassed the number of registered domains. Still an accomplishment, but not a usurpment.
I gave GoDaddy a try after reading some slashdot posters sing the praises. Since my own domain name was going to expire in a month anyway, I thought I'd look into them.
For $9, I'm pretty damn impressed. Network Solutions gave me eternal run around when there was problems. When I moved and tried to change my DNS information a few years back, it was this horrific experience that gave me a bad taste in my mouth. Dealing with them on other issues such as when a former employer of mine bought a domain name from another party was just a nightmare.
Godaddy doesn't have the prettiest interface, but damn if it doesn't work. I signed in, it told me what I needed to give them, kept me updated on the progress transferring from Network Solutions, and when it was over someone gave me a phone call. The last time I tried to call Network Solutions for anything I felt like taking a bath afterwards. Sure, the guy wanted to ask me about hosting, but he basically said "Mr. Hummel, everything's done, need anything else? Great, call if you need something." Not pushy at all.
I have another domain name, and I know I'm going to use Godaddy. The price is nice, and I may even give their hosting services a try based on how well this experience has gone so far.
Now - one note on the ads. Stop it. I hate them, and almost didn't sign up just because the ad made me feel dumber after seeing them. Hell, change the name - Godaddy sounds more like a porn service than a domain name system.
Service: good. Support: Excellent. Name and marketing: Butt ugly awful.
Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
Well obviously we shouldn't do anything that might offend somebody somewhere.
-mkb
Who's your daddy??
You can watch Godaddy's Super Bowl Spot here along with all the other superbowl spots on my site which strives to shamelessly rip-off what AdCritic was before they started charging.
Go ahead and slashdot it. I've got like 100 gigs of bandwidth to use before the end of the month.
When it comes down to it, all humor is codified ridicule. The reason the commercial is funny is not because they had a proto-Hooters girl gyrating around (though it was fun to laugh at the apparent airhead too), but you got to laugh at the reactions of the old men on the "committee," not one of whom looked to be under 100, and one of whom was so shocked -- Shocked! -- that he needed an oxygen mask.
The commercial was not simply a jab at the "wardrobe malfunction as art," but also a not-so-subtle poke at the people who made it such a big deal of them.
For that reason alone, I'm thinking GoDaddy should get more of my business. The commercial stood well on its own, not necessarily for the product but as an attention-getter. The viral marketing campaign around it was just gilding.
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
Power to the Peaceful
NetSol will price match on request. It's not something they advertise, but they'll do it. I found this out when transferring my domains away.
FYI.
-- build a man a fire and he'll be warm all day. set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.