Are you a domain investor looking for an edge in your renewal decisions? This comprehensive guide, presented by Alvin Brown, reveals how to leverage GoDaddy’s Whois search data to gain valuable insights into your domain portfolio.
For domain investors, particularly those new to the game, the annual challenge of deciding which domain names to renew can be a daunting task. With potentially hundreds or even thousands of domains under management, a systematic approach is crucial to optimize your portfolio and maximize returns.
Savvy investors often employ a multi-faceted strategy, evaluating numerous factors before committing to another year of registration. Personally, my renewal strategy incorporates a blend of quantitative and qualitative metrics. These typically include the domain’s age, its organic search traffic, any revenue generated from parking, its relevance to current search trends, and a growing list of other proprietary indicators I’ve developed over years in the industry. Indeed, the process often feels akin to navigating Google’s extensive list of 200+ search ranking factors, given the sheer number of variables I consider when assessing a domain’s ongoing viability.
Among these critical data points, one often overlooked yet highly informative metric is the number of Whois searches performed on a domain name registered through GoDaddy. While not a standalone determinant, Whois search activity can offer unique insights into the relative interest and potential market value of your digital assets.
It’s vital to preface this tutorial by stating that Whois search counts should never be the *sole* factor in your domain renewal decisions. Relying exclusively on this metric could lead to misjudgments, as a significant portion of Whois lookups are automated, originating from bots, data scrapers, or other non-human entities. These automated searches can obscure genuine human interest, complicating the analysis. Nevertheless, for domains registered with GoDaddy, integrating Whois search data into your existing evaluation framework can provide a powerful supplementary indicator of a domain’s appeal.
Consider two hypothetical domains: Domain A with 70 Whois searches in a month and Domain B with just 2. While both figures include automated lookups, the substantial difference suggests a higher level of underlying interest in Domain A. This could signify potential buyers conducting due diligence, competitors monitoring your portfolio, or even increased general awareness. From a renewal perspective, a domain with 70 searches might warrant more serious consideration for renewal than one with only 2, especially when viewed alongside other strong indicators like consistent traffic, keyword relevance, or established branding. When combined with factors like domain age, search engine relevance, and current market trends, Whois search data can help establish a more robust baseline for identifying the types of domains that merit retention within your portfolio each annual renewal cycle.
Let’s dive into the practical steps of accessing this valuable data within your GoDaddy account.
Mastering GoDaddy: How to Track Your Domain Whois Search Data
The process of generating a Whois search report for your GoDaddy domains is straightforward. Follow these step-by-step instructions to unlock this powerful analytical tool:
Step 1: Log In and Navigate to Domain Manager
Begin by opening your preferred web browser and navigating to GoDaddy’s official website. Log in to your account using your credentials. Once you’re securely logged in, locate the “My Products” page. On this page, you will find a section dedicated to your domains. Click on the “Domains” tab, then select “Manage” to be redirected to the “Domain Manager” interface. This is your central hub for all domain-related operations.
Step 2: Initiate the Export Process
With the “Domain Manager” page now in view, you have the flexibility to either select specific domains for your report or generate a comprehensive Whois search report for your entire portfolio. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will illustrate using a test account with a single domain, kscdev.xyz, but the principles apply universally.
To initiate the creation of a Whois search report, locate and hover your mouse over the “More” icon, which typically appears as three horizontal dots or a similar symbol. From the dropdown menu that appears, select the “Export List” option. This action will trigger the report generation wizard.
Step 3: Name Your Report and Select Domain Scope
A “Create Exportable List” pop-up window will now appear, guiding you through three distinct steps. The first step requires you to assign a name to your report. Choosing a descriptive name, such as “20171227-Domains” (as used in the original example), which includes the date, can greatly assist in organizing and retrieving your reports later. This simple practice ensures clarity and efficiency in your domain management efforts.
Following the report name entry, you’ll need to specify the type of “Domain list” you wish to include in your export. GoDaddy provides several flexible options to tailor your report:
- Folder Options: Ideal if you organize your domains into specific folders. This allows you to generate a report for domains within a particular category or project.
- All Domains: This comprehensive option includes every single domain associated with your GoDaddy account, providing a holistic overview of your entire portfolio.
- Backorders and Monitoring: Focuses specifically on domains you have backordered or are actively monitoring for availability.
- Premium Listings: Generates a report for domains within your account that are currently listed in GoDaddy’s Aftermarket as premium listings.
- Expired domains: Useful for reviewing domains that have recently expired but are still within your account’s recovery period.
- Auctions: Provides details on any domain auctions you are participating in or monitoring through your account.
- Pending Transfers: Lists all domains that are currently in the process of being transferred into or out of your GoDaddy account.
For most broad analyses, selecting “All domains” is the most appropriate choice to capture the full scope of your Whois search data. Once your selection is made, click “Next” to proceed.
Step 4: Select Desired Data Columns
Step 2 of the “Create Exportable List” form is where you specify which data columns will be included in your report. This granular control allows you to customize the output to your analytical needs. By default, “Domain Name,” “Expiration Date,” and “Status” are usually pre-selected, offering essential administrative details. However, to access the Whois search data, you need to actively select additional options. The full list of available columns typically includes:
- Domain Name (checked by default)
- Expiration Date (checked by default)
- Status (checked by default)
- Nameservers
- Forwarding URL
- Auto Renew Status
- Create Date
- Folder Memberships
- Internationalized Domain Name
- Registrants Contacts
- Administration Contacts
- Technical Contacts
- Billing Contacts
- Hosts
- Whois Searches – Previous Period
- Whois Searches – Current Period
To ensure your report contains the crucial Whois search metrics, scroll down to the bottom of the list and make sure to check the boxes for both “Whois Searches – Previous Period” and “Whois Searches – Current Period“. These two options will provide you with the most recent Whois lookup counts for your domains, allowing for comparison and trend analysis.
Once both Whois Searches checkboxes have been selected, click “Next” to move to the final configuration step.
Step 5: Choose Your File Type and Download Options
The third and final step of the “Create Exportable List” form involves selecting the “File Type” for your report. GoDaddy offers two widely compatible formats: CSV (Comma Separated Values) and XML (Extensible Markup Language). For most users and typical data analysis in spreadsheet software, CSV is the more practical and commonly used option, which is selected by default.
By default, GoDaddy often presents “GZ” as the download output option, meaning your CSV report will be compressed into a .gz (g-zipped) file. While this can save bandwidth, it requires an extra step to decompress the file before viewing. For ease of access and immediate use, it is generally recommended to select “None” from the compression options. This ensures your CSV report downloads directly as an uncompressed .csv file, ready to be opened instantly with spreadsheet software.
After making your selection (preferably “None” for direct CSV download), click “Finish” to submit your request for report creation. GoDaddy will then begin processing your data.
Step 6: Report Processing and Retrieval
Upon successful submission of your “Create Exportable List” report request, you will typically see a notification confirming that your request is being processed. GoDaddy will also send an email notification to your registered email address once the report is complete and ready for download. It’s a good practice to keep an eye on your inbox (and spam folder) for this notification.
A crucial point to remember: Each generated report is available for download for a limited period, typically ONLY 7 DAYS. After this timeframe, the report will be automatically deleted from GoDaddy’s servers. Therefore, it is imperative to download your report promptly upon receiving the completion notification.
If for any reason you do not receive the email notification, or if you wish to review past reports within the 7-day window, you can manually access them. Simply return to the “Domain Manager” page, hover over the “More” icon again, and select “Manage Exportable Lists.”
Clicking “Manage Exportable Lists” will open the “Exportable List Manager.” Here, you’ll find a table detailing all your created reports, complete with headings such as “Name,” “Create Date,” “Status,” “Size,” “List,” and “File Type.”
In the “File Type” column, you will observe two distinct icons. A downward arrow icon signifies that the report is available for download, while a circle containing an “x” indicates the option to delete the report. To retrieve your data, simply click on the downward arrow icon next to the desired report. If a report has exceeded the 7-day retention period, it will no longer be visible in this manager. Should there be no reports available or if all have expired, the screen will reflect this, as shown in the image below.
It’s also worth noting that the “Exportable List Manager” offers additional functionalities, including a “Create New List” button and an “Add Export” text link, providing alternative entry points for generating new reports or managing existing ones.
Step 7: Analyzing Your Whois Search Report
Once you have successfully downloaded your Whois search report, the next step is to open and analyze the data. Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers are highly recommended for this task due to their robust spreadsheet capabilities. For simpler inspection, a basic text editor can also suffice, though it lacks the analytical power of dedicated spreadsheet software. For this demonstration, we’ve opted to illustrate using Mac Numbers.
To keep the focus on the most relevant data for Whois searches, most columns in the original report have been hidden, leaving visible the “DomainName” column and the following key Whois search metrics:
- WhoisCountsPrevDay – The total number of Whois lookups recorded for the domain on the previous day.
- WhoisCountsPrevWeek – The cumulative number of Whois lookups recorded for the domain over the past seven days.
- WhoisCountsPrevMonth – The aggregated number of Whois lookups performed on the domain throughout the previous month.
- WhoisCountsCurrDay – The current day’s running total of Whois lookups for the domain.
- WhoisCountsCurrWeek – The current week’s running total of Whois lookups for the domain.
- WhoisCountsCurrMonth – The current month’s running total of Whois lookups for the domain.
While monitoring all these columns offers a granular view, a particularly insightful approach involves focusing on the monthly Whois search numbers over an extended period. Personally, when evaluating domain renewals, I prioritize reviewing these monthly counts over a rolling 12-to-24-month timeframe. This long-term perspective helps to identify sustained interest, distinguish genuine trends from transient spikes, and filter out anomalies, thereby providing a more reliable indicator of a domain’s ongoing market appeal.
Advanced Considerations and Concluding Thoughts
As emphasized throughout this guide, Whois search data, while valuable, should always be interpreted with a degree of caution. Think of it as a significant clue rather than definitive proof of a domain’s worth.
Understanding the Nuances of Whois Data
The inherent challenge lies in distinguishing between human-initiated Whois lookups and automated queries. Automated searches, often originating from bots, data mining scripts, or even legitimate registrar systems checking domain status, can artificially inflate numbers. While GoDaddy’s data provides relative interest, it doesn’t differentiate between these lookup types, necessitating a holistic approach to domain evaluation.
Impact of TLDs and Thin Whois Systems
It’s also crucial to acknowledge that the accuracy and availability of Whois search data can vary depending on the Top-Level Domain (TLD). For instance, popular TLDs like .com and .net typically operate under a “thin Whois” system. In this model, initial Whois queries for registration details are often directed to the registrar (in this case, GoDaddy), making it possible for GoDaddy to track these interactions. However, other TLDs may utilize different Whois systems where lookups do not always involve the registrar directly. In such scenarios, GoDaddy might not possess comprehensive data for those TLDs, potentially leading to incomplete or unavailable Whois search counts.
Filtering Out Short-Term Spikes
Furthermore, newly registered domains, domains that have recently changed hands, or those undergoing transfer are prone to experiencing significant spikes in Whois searches during their initial 1-2 months. This surge is often attributable to the flurry of activity surrounding new ownership, verification processes, or increased market scrutiny. For this reason, my recommendation to review data over a rolling 12-to-24-month period becomes even more critical. This longer-term analysis helps to normalize these initial surges and provides a clearer picture of sustained, organic interest rather than fleeting attention.
Integrating Whois Data into Your Strategy
Despite these caveats, consistently tracking Whois searches for your domain portfolio can undeniably prove to be a valuable addition to your domain management activities. When executed in conjunction with other varying renewal factors – such as website traffic analytics, parking revenue, backlink profiles, social media mentions, and competitive analysis – Whois data contributes another layer of insight. It helps you gauge a domain’s ongoing public or professional interest, making your renewal decisions more informed and strategic. This proactive monitoring allows you to identify potentially undervalued assets, pinpoint domains losing market traction, and ultimately optimize your portfolio for greater long-term success.
Do you currently track Whois searches for your domain portfolio, or have you integrated Whois data as a determining factor in your domain renewal process? Share your insights and strategies!