Introducing Afternic Boost: More domain visibility, more domain sales

[GoDaddy]

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Afternic Boost, the new program that can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance for participating portfolios!*

We have been experimenting with how to drive more exposure for Afternic domains on GoDaddy, and we're thrilled to announce that these experiments yielded impressive results. As a result, we're rolling out Boost as a standard inclusion for all Afternic sellers starting September 4, 2024.


Why Afternic Boost Works:
We listened to your feedback and developed Afternic Boost to address your need for greater exposure on GoDaddy. Here’s what Boost provides at launch:

• Suggested search results: Your domains will gain higher placement in GoDaddy’s suggested search results, making them more discoverable.

• Verified Badges: Boost Fast Transfer domains will feature "Verified" badges on exact-match searches, aiding visibility.

• Verified Lander Badges: Eligible domains using Afternic’s Buy it Now and Custom Landers will display verified badges. Boosted domain names that aren't opted into Fast Transfer will display a "Premium" badge on Afternic's Buy it Now and Custom Landers.

• Targeted Email Marketing: Our targeted email campaigns will match your domain names with potential buyers at GoDaddy.

As the world’s largest domain registrar, GoDaddy offers a massive, continuously growing audience of domain shoppers. Afternic Boost leverages this vast customer base, ensuring that your domains are seen by a motivated, pre-qualified audience.




What You Should Know:

• • Boost begins on September 4, 2024. All Afternic sellers will be automatically opted in to Boost, ensuring your domains gain maximum exposure.
  • Additional Commission: To support this enhanced service, an additional 5% commission will apply for Boost customers from September 4, 2024.
  • Flexibility: We understand that one size doesn’t fit all. Therefore, you can opt out of Afternic Boost at any time from today (August 7, 2024) if it doesn’t align with your strategy by heading to afternic.com/account/boost.

Investing in Success:
Think of Afternic Boost as an investment rather than an expense. Online marketplaces, such as Amazon, Facebook, and Zillow, offer sponsored listings to increase sellers' exposure in search. Similarly, Boost allows domain investors to enhance their visibility in a digital marketplace, and the results are that Boost can contribute up to a 10% increase in sales performance for your portfolio*.

Next Steps:
Experimentation with Boost will continue through the month of August. On September 4, Afternic Boost will be automatically activated at the account level, optimizing your portfolio's visibility.

If you decide Boost isn't right for you, you can easily opt out. We recommend remaining enrolled to continue benefiting from enhanced visibility across the GoDaddy platform.


If you have any questions, read the launch blog post, or head to Afternic’s Help Center, where we’ve got you covered.

Want to learn more about what Boost offers? Head to our blog.

*Individual results may vary. Based on internal data of GoDaddy aftermarket sales from January 2024 through June 2024.

 

[Recons.Com]

https://circleid.com/posts/20230808...s-domain-brands-advised-to-bolster-monitoring

Why https://godaddy.sucks is great:

1. ...

I have nothing.

 

[Future Sensors]

Instead of investing in innovations that could directly benefit Afternic sellers, such as improving the platform’s technology, expanding its reach, or reducing transaction fees, GoDaddy’s focus on share buybacks diverts resources away from these potential improvements.

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

You are on second rung of the ladder up here in Canada @VivifyDomains
They always show the .ca first
Sen**** dot you know is currently in 30th place

I'm opted in currently and if I just type my domain's sld (without tld) in search my domain is still very far down. FT enabled.

Someone else's "similar" domain is the second result, eventhough my name has the exact search term sld in .com

Show attachment 262150


??????????????

Pretty obvious what their doing.

 

[bmugford]

I frequently get contacted by GoDaddy/Afternic brokers.

Sometimes this is via buy service, where the buyer pays fees.

Sometimes it would be a standard commission sale.

I just received one yesterday regarding a domain that is not priced.

Let me guess, these sales would also be subject to a 20% commission if you were signed up for "Boost", even though they have absolutely nothing to do with the "boost".

Brad

 

[davidc1]

no optout boost effect on godaddy's search "exact match without tld" for the moment...

 

[GoDaddy]

@Paul Nicks can you please clarify if the sellers that opt out of boost would be punished by limiting their distribution network exposure? And how does this make sense if the boost was supposed to be the ADDITIONAL sales and exposure?

@Sedo please implement asap the unique NS verification and I will have all my 37.5k names with Sedo exclusively removing them from Afternic. I believe that way they will show with all the same partners that right now first check the Afternic feed for the availability.

I am ok losing GD registrar pathway, as the loss will be more than compensated by the savings in commission (10% with sedo landers, 0% with NamePros landers +3% cc processing, 15% if sold via sedo site and 20% via network, average should be around 12%).

Hi @Recons.Com
You're correct that suggested search result visibility at GoDaddy is a feature of Afternic Boost. Over time, the suggested search area has evolved, and the dynamic of that page has changed. This led to aftermarket names struggling for placement. Boost is the program to bring aftermarket domain names back into the mix in the suggested search results area.

If you value that visibility, then we encourage you to test Boost to see how it benefits your portfolio. It's worth noting that Boost also brings visibility of slow transfer domains to the suggested search results area - something that wasn't previously available.

As a team, we're actively monitoring all feedback around Boost as Afternic looks at how to bring added value to Boost in the future.

 

[DomainGist]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830900710952837378

Fair play to him, I called him an Afternic shill on another thread. I now retract.

 

[Future Sensors]

Fair play to him, I called him an Afternic shill on another thread. I now retract.

That is appreciated.

Here's more.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830803773037650334

 

[NameGroove]

Hi @Recons.Com
You're correct that suggested search result visibility at GoDaddy is a feature of Afternic Boost. Over time, the suggested search area has evolved, and the dynamic of that page has changed. This led to aftermarket names struggling for placement. Boost is the program to bring aftermarket domain names back into the mix in the suggested search results area.

If you value that visibility, then we encourage you to test Boost to see how it benefits your portfolio. It's worth noting that Boost also brings visibility of slow transfer domains to the suggested search results area - something that wasn't previously available.

As a team, we're actively monitoring all feedback around Boost as Afternic looks at how to bring added value to Boost in the future.

With all the negative criticism, your response here is appreciated. Some other registrars duck and hide when faced with such negativity (Sav comes to mind). You are a large entity and it's hard to be swift to change. But hopefully as you read the collective feedback you'll take steps to continue to improve and meet the needs of your aftermarket seller customers. After all, you earn 15-30% on their sales so it serves both our interests.

Meanwhile, may I recommend getting .sucks out of the search results... it really doesn't lend credibility to Boost whatsoever. Pushing it on unsuspecting small businesses does your company a disservice too. If someone wants to promote a .sucks TLD they'll find it on their own.

 

[NameGroove]

I'm opted in currently and if I just type my domain's sld (without tld) in search my domain is still very far down. FT enabled.

Someone else's "similar" domain is the second result, eventhough my name has the exact search term sld in .com

Show attachment 262150


??????????????

Actually this is one of the better search/boost results I've seen. If I continue to see these sorts of results I may reconsider opting back in. But will need consistency and a much higher percentage of these sorts of results.

However - although you say you're opted in, your result doesn't show a verified badge (which is a staple of the program). Are you sure you're opted in? Was this screenshot taken on Sep 4 (or before)?

 

[Jannes]

It's too early to make conclusions, guys and gals. Either the Boost hasn't started yet, or there's a rollout phase, because my FT domains still have the Verified badges although I've opted out.

 

[Future Sensors]

Interim results, poll is still open.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/poll-will-you-participate-in-the-afternic-boost-program.1333652/

 

[Future Sensors]

 

[Future Sensors]

 

[bmugford]

Hi @Recons.Com
You're correct that suggested search result visibility at GoDaddy is a feature of Afternic Boost. Over time, the suggested search area has evolved, and the dynamic of that page has changed. This led to aftermarket names struggling for placement. Boost is the program to bring aftermarket domain names back into the mix in the suggested search results area.

If you value that visibility, then we encourage you to test Boost to see how it benefits your portfolio. It's worth noting that Boost also brings visibility of slow transfer domains to the suggested search results area - something that wasn't previously available.

As a team, we're actively monitoring all feedback around Boost as Afternic looks at how to bring added value to Boost in the future.

I would consider the "suggested" part as kind of the core feature that would increase sales.

When you have a bunch of garbage like .sucks at the top, what promotion is the domain owner actually paying for?

It's kind of embarrassing that GoDaddy has an extension that is basically just a protection racket of brand owners so heavily promoted.

Anyone with half a brain knows where the valuable spots would be and it is not 10th or 15th.

I would only even consider this when there is quantifiable data, not vague statements.

I don't think customers should be the guinea pigs paying higher fees while @GoDaddy evolves the system.

It should be ready for prime time if you are demanding higher commissions, not before then.

Pay higher fees now, the system will get better later is not a real appealing sales pitch.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Interim results, poll is still open.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/poll-will-you-participate-in-the-afternic-boost-program.1333652/

Show attachment 262196

It is kind of tracking with my poll.

If anything, the program appears to have become less popular since then.

 

[Future Sensors]

 

[Future Sensors]

It is kind of tracking with my poll.

Being the poll starter on X, have you been able to detect any suspicious votes?

 

[Future Sensors]

Being the poll starter on X, have you been able to detect any suspicious votes?

I bring this up because GoDaddy has a history of voting for themselves in polls, despite explicit instructions prohibiting such actions.

 

[Future Sensors]

By the way, the screenshot above reflects members’ opinions about GoDaddy in 2022. This year, the feedback is expected to be quite different.

 

[bmugford]

Being the poll starter on X, have you been able to detect any suspicious votes?

The voting is anonymous, so I am not sure.

The "yes" vote did go from low 20's with half the vote in to high 20's at the end.

Though, that could just be a natural part of voting.

By the way, the screenshot above reflects members’ opinions about GoDaddy in 2022. This year, the feedback is expected to be quite different.

If you chart it by year, you can see the trendline.

2016 GoDaddy won with 52.5% of the vote.
2017 GoDaddy won with 29.8% of the vote.

It's been downhill since then. They were 4th in 2023 with 7.5%.

Brad

 

[equity78]

Ok so I have not opted out, I am willing to try stuff and see and can always opt out later.

I own TechTemps.com I purposely put in TechTemp.com because I know if someone searched my exact name it would show. I want to see the boost in play. So it seems TechTemp.com available for $12,995. Below it are TechTemp in other cctlds and new gtlds, I do see my TechTemps.com in 11th position.

So I think it needs to move up to top 3 to be worth the boost. I always use a computer a lot of people in the world use a phone, smaller screen so even harder for the name to be seen as many might not scroll down as much. It is the first day so we will see what happens but it would be nice for the boost to have you top three.

 

[bmugford]

Ok so I have not opted out, I am willing to try stuff and see and can always opt out later.

I own TechTemps.com I purposely put in TechTemp.com because I know if someone searched my exact name it would show. I want to see the boost in play. So it seems TechTemp.com available for $12,995. Below it are TechTemp in other cctlds and new gtlds, I do see my TechTemps.com in 11th position.

So I think it needs to move up to top 3 to be worth the boost. I always use a computer a lot of people in the world use a phone, smaller screen so even harder for the name to be seen as many might not scroll down as much. It is the first day so we will see what happens but it would be nice for the boost to have you top three.

Yep, any valuable spot is being occupied by .sucks and other crap. These spots way down the list have basically no value. It's definitely not worth a premium fee for that placement.

Brad

 

[equity78]

Yep, any valuable spot is being occupied by .sucks and other crap. These spots way down the list have basically no value. It's definitely not worth a premium fee for that placement.

Brad

Well see I wonder Brad what is the real gist of the boost. I think my logic was right in wanting to see where TechTemps.com would show in something close. But maybe GoDaddy thinks well TechTemp.io is more valuable to show them first because they were looking for TechTemp not TechTemps. That's the thing, like I own a name that gets offers from time to time that is a typo Mobilety.com instead of Mobility.com. Will typos get no boost because GoDaddy sees that as crazy to show?

 

[equity78]

Yep, any valuable spot is being occupied by .sucks and other crap. These spots way down the list have basically no value. It's definitely not worth a premium fee for that placement.

Brad

Oh ok well now I thought it was funny Brad that .sucks was above mine. But TechTemp.co and .org were below, to be fair I would not have a problem with the .co being above mine because it's logical to think someone searched techtemp not techtemps. But it's the .sucks and others with the distinctive mention of promoted. So I get it they are going to turn down that sweet cash. But then for us we are not really getting boosted. This is a tricky thing. More complex than needs to be but maybe not as it's dollars coming from everywhere.