SEO Junk

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The Devil You Know - GoDaddy

If you read this blog, you know I do and have done a lot of business with GoDaddy. This blog is hosted with GoDaddy, the domain is hosted with them (I know, I am just asking for trouble), and so are many other of my domains and websites. But, take a look at NoDaddy.com (I thought my experience was bad).

With all the bad experiences I have had with these guys, why continue to do business with them? Well, the basic issue is their hosting is very competitive and they are not difficult to use. This is no excuse for questionable business practices, but it reminds me why people used AOL back in the ’90s. It was easy.

Get the best deal.

To take your websites seriously, you have to find the best deal for your domains and your hosting. Currently, GoDaddy does not offer the best deal for domain registration. When you register a domain, there really is no cost to it. You just create a record and that’s it. You don’t need to know SQL, or PHP, or database design, or Network operating systems. There is little or no cost for tech support.

The small burden on the registrar is one reason for the wide disparity in prices from registrar to registrar. Beyond some base level, the registration is pure profit for the registrar. The only issue is how many people can the registrar get to pay more for their service than the next registrar. Hence, GoDaddy’s outrageous advertising budget.

Often, once a registrar has the domain, the next step is the customer buys hosting. For many, when they get to this point, they just spend all their money in one place rather than search for a better deal. You are now locked-in. I’ll say this again, NEVER buy a domain and buy it’s hosting with the same company.

Way overpriced.

There are many services GoDaddy offers that are competitive. This is one reason why they continue to be my registrar (but for a lot fewer domains) and hosting provider. Having said that, there are a myriad of so-called services they sell which are just a waste of money.

I won’t get into specifics, because who knows if GoDaddy would retaliate. But, only buy something if you specifically know what it does. In fact, I would only consider buying from GoDaddy either on the recommendation of another webmaster or after comparison shopping other registrars to get the best deal.

My best recommendation is not to register a domain with GoDaddy if you expect to use a private registration. Other registrars offer a much better deal. As long as they do, buying from GoDaddy is not worth it. If you insist on using GoDaddy, only do it when you have a coupon. This makes a BIG difference on price!

Protect your wallet.

Be very careful tying your Paypal or credit card to GoDaddy. Actually, this is true for any registrar or hosting provider. Anytime they feel it’s time to extract more money from you, they essentially have a blank check to do so. It’s getting to the point these guys are almost like banks. Whenever they want to hit you with a charge or fee, they can do so.

What makes this worse is the lack of protection you get from Paypal or from your bank. In their opinion, once you accept the terms for payment once, you always accept those terms, indefinitely. Of course, in this interpretation, who wins? Is it any coincidence Paypal, your bank, and the hosting providers use the interpretation that works most in their favor?

My suggestion is to follow the advice found here. At the very least, be aware of how vulnerable you are to unexpected charges using Paypal or your credit card.

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