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What Can Black Hat SEOs Do if Google Actually Gobbles up GoDaddy? ::

Went Hot: September 12, 2007 - 6:36 am
Posted By: fantomaster 395 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://fantomaster.com)
Category: Domaining

Should Google actually go for buying GoDaddy, as the search market grapevine is anticipating, the impact on black hat SEOs could be huge. Here’s a list of viable options allowing you to hedge your bets.

13 Comments

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from iBrian 395 days ago #

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Considering the problems we saw raised on Threadwatch about GoDaddy, I'm not sure how many BH's will be on it.

And that bloody awful upsell process they run everyone through. Thank god for Moniker. :)

from fantomaster 395 days ago #

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Not so sure about that, Brian: I know how many domains *we* hold with them, and we're not the only ones. (Of course, I'm not talking hosting here.) They can actually be pretty good (and competitively priced) in dealing with largish accounts (which ours probably qualifies for).

As for their upsell marathons and their interface -- yeah, no one in his right mind can actually enjoy those, heh.

from TimDineen 395 days ago #

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Why would they need to buy Godaddy to gain access to that information? Couldn't they just lease access to the data? It may be worthwhile to read the Godaddy privacy policy - (I haven't and probably won't bother) but anyone concerned about this maybe should.

from flatman 395 days ago #

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AFAIK Godaddy doesn't lease that data to anyone - haven't looked it up in their TOS but they're quite clear about it in describing their domains by proxy function, as I recall.

Of course you're right - if they did, this part of the equation wouldn't cut the mustard. But of course the article doesn't claim that this is their only reason for possibly buying GD - that's actually covered in the other resources pointed out.

I'd disagree that this is merely a "black hat" issue, however: Basically, it would impact just about anyone registering domains at GD and their subsidiaries. Personally, I'd feel damn uncomfortable seeing my data wander off straight into the Plex.

from NickWilsdon 394 days ago #

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If you're looking for Registrar level protection then I would always choose Tucows. They aren't the cheapest but they are very careful with privacy and compliance. Besides that, as the Registrar for domains such as Microsoft.com, their client base would have a thing or two to say about a Google takeover ;)

from TheMadHat 394 days ago #

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Good points and we do have reason to be concerned. Google could knock out the value of any domain registered with GoDaddy immediately. Even if you're hiding your tracks with solution #1 (straw men) a switchover will nix any value it previously had.

I've always been using multiple competing registrars just to be safe, but GoDaddy still has a large number of mine. Let us know how the Myrebel service goes if you go that route. It may be something to consider.

from Oggy 394 days ago #

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Hi Fantomaster,

For some reason, I am unable to access your website. This has always been the case (months and months) whether I click-through with the google reader, or from here in Sphinn, or direct type your URL, I get a "Cannot display the web page" as if there was no Internet connection. I'm in Montreal, it happens from home, from work, and all of my friends that live here. All with different ISP's too. Tried FF and IE. We simply cannot access your site.

I would love to read your blog, as the Google reader snippets always show interesting stuff, but for some reason, I can never get to the actual content. Does this happen to anyone else out there?

Are you blocking IPs from Canada? :(

Please let me know, because I REALLY want to read your stuff! And maybe many readers are experiencing the same problem...?

Thanks!

Oggy

from fantomaster 394 days ago #

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@Oggy: Block IPs from Canada? Blimey, no - many of our best clients are from Canada. Montreal, too.

Anyway, thanks for pointing it out - will check into it immediately.

Maybe you might want to contact me via e-mail giving me an IP for which it's not working, that would speed up the analysis:

fantomaster AT fantomaster DOT com

And thanks for pointing it out.

from Naoise 394 days ago #

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yeah I've had the same trouble accessing fantomaster from Montreal - I'll pass my home IP along to Oggy so he can include it in his email.

from johnandrews 394 days ago #

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The perils lie in the credit card transaction data. Not only is the "owner" data revealed, but the "sponsor" is revealed for many projects that would otherwise enjoy confidentiality.

My very first blog post to Threadwatch in 2005 included the fictitious headline "Google buys GoDaddy, Gains access to WHOIS Proxy data" see http://www.threadwatch.org/node/3670

from corey 394 days ago #

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"AFAIK Godaddy doesn't lease that data to anyone - haven't looked it up in their TOS but they're quite clear about it in describing their domains by proxy function, as I recall."

afaik, i've lost several domains at godaddy while advancing through all of their shopping cart screens. by the time i tried to purchased someone took the domain i was buying. someone sees the data, and takes your names if they want.