Ought to fresh TLD registries sell directly to consumers?

Fresh TLD registries might need to go direct to consumers in addition to the existing registrar channel.

There has been an established channel for gTLD domain name registrations for a long time.

The registries offer domains to registrars, who in turn sell them to people like you and me.

This channel has been mandated in top level domain contracts with ICANN since of the way these contracts were handed out. Verisign’s contract, for example, prohibits the firm from owning a registrar that sells domains to the public.

But fresh top level domain names are different. There’s no restriction on a fresh TLD applicant also owning a registrar and selling directly to the public.

There’s a lot of debate whenever you upset and established market channel. Some issues and questions regarding registry-registrar integration include:

• A registrar could do the hard work to get initial registrations, then a registry could coax those clients away to its own registrar
• Registries want registrars to push their domains, but they might not want to if they’re also competing against the registry’s own registrar.
• Registrars owned by the registry can undercut competing registrars. For example, Name.com offers domain names from its parent firm Rightside at very close to the wholesale cost other registrars pay. It doesn’t need to make margin at the registrar level since it can make it at the registry level.

I’ve been thinking regarding this idea of “vertical integration” lately in the context of what we know regarding fresh top level domain marketing and demand 9 months following fresh TLDs started launching. I also watched LogicBoxes’ webinar on vertical integration between registries and registrars this stretch.

My conclusion: most registries ought to go direct to clients, but they ought to tread carefully.

A lot depends on the type of domain the registry sells. If it’s a very broad generic, existing registrars will be the key channel. If it’s a vertical or geo domain, on the other hand, it’s going to be difficult to see the light of day at a domain name registrar. Even if someone comes to a registrar looking to register under a particular top level domain, it can be a difficult experience.

That’s not to say a registry ought to cut out registrars. It needs to work with them, even on vertical and geo domains. Registrars have sold a bunch of vertical domains like .photography and .plumbing. They’ve also helped register lots of geo domains like .London.

But once a domain is launched, it’s going to be up to the registries to sell these domains to end users. And when they do so, saying “Go to RegisterABC to register your domain” won’t cut it. They’ll get there and be overwhelmed by choice. (One way to make it easier to sell through a registrar partner is to set up a dedicated page on their site, such as GoDaddy.london).

Registries don’t necessarily have to become a registrar to realize the benefits of direct selling to end users. It could be as simple as becoming a reseller.

Another option I like is partnering with a firm in a particular vertical to sell domains. That’s what Rightside did with Momentum Event Group. Momentum puts on a lot of conferences that target lawyers. It has the database by now, so it set up shop at MomentumNames.com to specifically sell .lawyer and .attorney domain names.

Registries can also work with affiliates to drive registrations to their platforms.

Ought to .bar pay people to go door-to-door at bars in their city and get them to register a .bar domain? Absolutely.

Ought to .build register domains on site at construction conferences? You bet.

Ought to .photography have an affiliate referral program in which photographers that tell their photographer-friends regarding .photography get paid? Of course.

There are a lot of fresh TLDs languishing below 10,000 registrations. Even moving the needle 100 registrations is big for these guys. Going direct to consumers makes a lot of sense.