I received an email last week from Nominet, the registry operator for the .UK ccTLD, announcing the launch of a media blitz to encourage domain name renewals. You can see the website here. The focus of the campaign, according to the registry, is to “raise renewal rates by encouraging registrants to think about the value of their domain name and to use their registrar for all aspects of domain maintenance and renewal.”
While we’re always appreciative of registry’s efforts to promote registrations and renewals, it got me thinking about renewals in general at OpenSRS, and how some customers have a tendency to overlook their importance. Renewals are a great barometer of how your domain name business is doing, and is a component of your business that you should be monitoring at all times. Here are a few easy steps to improving this part of your business quickly and easily.
1. Monitor your renewal rates like a hawk.
Your domain name renewal rate is a metric that should be closely monitored at all times. I always tell our resellers that their overall renewal rates should consistently hover around 65 to 70 percent or higher, and should be slightly higher for ccTLDs (Tucows Insight displays renewal rates by each extension, as well as providing an overall view). As an OpenSRS customer, you can view your current and historical renewal rates via Tucows Insight, which can be accessed in the Reseller Web Interface (RWI).
2. Track upcoming renewals closely.
Domains can be a very seasonal business, with busy times often tied to when a new domain extension first launched. Tucows Insight also displays renewals coming due, which allows you to identify months in which a large number of names are due for renewal, as well as the names themselves. This allows you to tailor your marketing efforts to busy periods.
3. Start your renewal messaging early.
OpenSRS allows you to start sending renewal reminders up to three months prior to a domain’s expiration, and even after the name has expired. The messages are also fully customizable, allowing you to send personalized emails to encourage renewals.
4. Renew in bulk.
Since re-launching our bulk tools system, renewing domain names en masse has become much easier. If you know you have a large number of names that are going to be renewed, consider using this tool, and consider doing it soon – most gTLD fees are set to rise once again this fall.
We put together a quick little screencast to help you find some of this stuff inside the RWI. Take a look: