Are you looking for a way to prevent security breaches or missed opportunities in your online business?
The online world is a battle ground for 364.3 million registered domains worldwide and taking a bite of a share of that pie isn’t getting any easier. But your domain name isn’t just your web address anymore…
It’s your online identity, your brand reputation, and your first line of defense against cyber criminals.
The issue is:
Businesses in general tend to take their domains for granted. After registering the first few, they think it’s job done and there’s nothing else to do except sit and wait for something to happen (preferably, for a cyber attack or expiration date to show up).
This approach can lead to catastrophic losses for your business, financial and otherwise.
Thriving online is a major game changer with excellent domain management.
Domain Management Covered In This Guide
- What exactly is Domain Management?
- The 5 Biggest Domain Management Mistakes
- The Essential Security Features You Need
- How to Manage Multiple Domains effectively
- Domain Management Best Practices
What Domain Management Actually Is
Domain management is the act of registering, organizing and securing your domain names.
Let’s see how managing a domain is like managing a house…
Do you buy a house and immediately rent it out to strangers without any lock system? No. You need to maintain it, regularly change the locks, fix any wiring issues, and prevent people from breaking in. Effective domain management includes keeping an eye on expiration dates, applying for renewals, updating DNS records, applying security configurations and making sure your domains are where they are supposed to be.
Something you might not know about…
If you make one mistake with domain management, you will lose thousands in lost revenue and potential hits to your brand image.
Why Domain Management Matters
Cyber threats are rising, and cyber criminals are looking for domains to breach every day.
In fact, 72% of companies have less than half of the recommended domain security features in place. Your domain name is the pillar of your entire online business. It is the support base that holds together your website traffic, email communications, brand integrity and customer trust.
If someone hijacks it, you are as good as down. The good news is that proper domain management practices can protect you from such a fate and help increase the return on investment for your digital assets.
The 5 Biggest Domain Management Mistakes
Let’s look at the most frequent, fatal mistakes many businesses make when it comes to domain management…
Not Setting Up Auto-Renewal
This one is a no brainer. Yet, this is one of the most common mistakes made by any business and causes many to lose valuable domains because they forget to renew them.
Do not repeat their mistake. Set up auto-renew for all your critical domains.
Using Weak Security Settings
Basic security settings like two-factor authentication and registry locks are second nature to many domain owners. If you skip this, it’s like leaving your front door wide open.
Cybercriminals know your domain is vulnerable to hijacking without basic security measures. They will transfer your domain to a registrar of their choice and before you know it, you’ve lost your domain.
Ignoring DNS Configuration
DNS is what points your domain to your website, email servers or wherever your business needs it to point to.
Incorrect DNS configurations means website down time, email delivery problems and lost revenue. If you don’t know how to check and manage your DNS, get an expert in to help you or take the time to learn.
Not Monitoring Domain Portfolio
If you own more than a single domain name then you need a system in place to monitor them all. What domains are expiring when? What domains need security upgrades?
Take the time and invest in a solid system to keep an eye on your domain portfolio.
Forgetting About Privacy Protection
Privacy protection for your domain hides your personal information from the public databases.
Without privacy protection, anyone who can access a Whois domain search can see your full name, address, phone number and email address. This leaves you wide open to spam, identify theft, and all kinds of phishing attempts.
Enable privacy protection at all times and stay safe.
Essential Security Features You Need
Security is of utmost importance when it comes to domain management.
Here’s a list of the basic security features you should never go without…
Registry Lock: Prevents unauthorized domain transfers. Especially important for valuable domains.
Two-Factor Authentication: Two step verification for logging into your domain registrar account. Even if your password gets hacked, they can’t get into your domains without the 2nd factor.
DNSSEC: Domain Name System Security Extensions protect against DNS spoofing and cache poisoning by using digital signatures to verify that DNS responses are valid.
Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC records to prevent email spoofing and phishing using your domain.
These security features might seem like a lot to take in but most registrars make them easy to enable with just a few clicks.
Managing Multiple Domains Effectively
As your business grows, so does the need to manage multiple domains.
Maybe you are securing brand variations, running different websites, or securing country specific domains for expansion. Here’s how to stay on top of your domain game..
Use a centralized domain management platform. Having all your domains in one place makes it easy to track renewal dates, update security settings, monitor suspicious activity, and manage billing.
Create a naming convention and documentation for all domains. Document what each domain is used for, when it expires, any special configurations or redirects it needs. Use calendar reminders even if you have set auto-renewal.
Consider consolidating your domains with a single registrar. This simplifies management and could result in bulk pricing discounts.
Domain Management Best Practices
Ready to up your domain management game? Here are some best practices to follow…
Audit your domains every quarter: Review your entire domain portfolio every three months. Remove domains that are no longer needed and ensure all critical domains have up-to-date security settings.
Keep contact information updated: If your registrar can’t contact you, they won’t notify you of security issues or expiration dates either.
Use separate email addresses for domain management: Don’t use your primary business or personal email for domain registrar accounts. If your primary email gets compromised, an attacker could use that access to attack all of your domains.
Document DNS settings: Before making any changes, document your current configuration so that you can easily troubleshoot problems or undo changes if something goes wrong.
Monitor for lookalike domains: Cyber criminals often register domains similar to yours to trick customers. Set up alerts to be notified when a similar domain is registered.
Taking Action On Your Domain Management
Domain management is hardly the most exciting part of running a business, but start with the basics here.
Set up auto-renewal for all your important domains, enable two-factor authentication and privacy protection, activate those security features and create a system for tracking all your domain names.
Do not wait. Take action now. It will protect you from the most basic and common domain related mishaps.
A final word…
Proper domain management isn’t a set it and forget it kind of thing. You have to maintain good practices regularly for best results. That small investment of time can save you from major headaches in the future.
Your domain names are among your most valuable business assets. Treat them as such.
