What Is Domain Management?

Domain management, also known as domain name management, is the practice of keeping a portfolio of web domains active, registered, stable, and secured from a broad range of threats. Effective domain management includes renewing domain name registrations for all the domains within an organization’s portfolio, determining nameservers and hosting providers, and making adjustments to domain names and DNS settings when required. Domain management teams may also monitor web searches for the domain, track similar domain names that may cause harm to the reputation or authority of a brand, and deploy and manage security solutions that protect the domain and DNS records.

A web domain name is a string of text that users type into a browser window — such as “example.com” — to reach a specific website. Domain names are meant to be easily read and remembered by users, making it easier to navigate the web and visit specific sites. Each domain name has an IP address, an alphanumeric string that can be read by machines. To translate a web domain into an IP address, computers and devices communicate with the domain name system (DNS). DNS serves as a kind of phone book for the internet, quickly providing devices and computers with the actual IP address of a web domain that a user enters in a web browser.

Corporate domain names are the centerpiece of an organization’s online presence and are often equated with the brand, especially when the domain name is synonymous with the company name. Threats like phishing or copycat sites can cause significant harm to customers, damaging relationships with the organization. Other threats like cybersquatting or counterfeit sellers may also degrade the credibility of a domain name and the brand.

Phishing websites. Phishing websites are copycat sites that look and feel identical to a trusted brand and are registered under a similar domain. Using a variety of tactics, threat actors direct unsuspecting customers to a phishing website, where they may be asked to enter sensitive information like login credentials or account numbers.

Cybersquatters. Cybersquatting is the practice of registering, selling, or using a domain name to profit off the brand equity of someone else’s trademark. Often, cybersquatters will buy domain names that use the name of existing businesses and attempt to sell those domains to the rightful owner for a profit.

Missed renewals. Registration for each domain must be renewed every few years. When a domain renewal is missed, websites connected to the domain will be unavailable to users and customers. Cybersquatters may quickly snap up the registration and sell it back to the organization for a hefty sum.

Multiple registrars. Problems often arise when an organization’s many domains are registered with a variety of registrars. Tracking renewals becomes more difficult, as does ensuring that each of the registrars has strong security controls in place to protect the domains from threats.

The industry of domain management continues to evolve at a rapid pace. New global top-level domain names (TLD) and second-level and third-level country codes add more complexity for domain management teams seeking to register and manage any domain that is similar to their organization’s core domain. The process of managing an international domain portfolio has grown more complex, with less certainty about where, when, and how domains must be registered.

Trademark names. Trademarking names when possible can help to improve efforts to shut down imposters and fend off competitors.

Consolidate domains with one registrar. Identify all domain names registered by various subsidiaries, divisions, and units, and transfer all names to a single domain registrar to simplify domain management. Choosing a registrar with auto-renewal can help to avoid missed renewals.

Register multiple variations. By registering multiple versions and variations of a domain name, organizations can improve results in search engine results pages (SERPs) and reduce domain impersonation. Domain name variations include registering top-level domain extensions (.com, .net, and .org), country code top-level domain (ccTLDs) extensions for countries (.co.uk, .mx, and .ca), common misspellings of the brand name, and acronyms associated with the brand.

Deploy domain security solutions. Opting for domain privacy when registering a domain will keep contact information from being published on the WHOIS database. DNS security solutions protect nameservers from threats that could result in downtime, such as random subdomain attacks.

Choose the right domain provider. Superior domain providers offer robust reporting analytics, responsive customer support, a wide array of domain extensions, a flexible interface for domain management, and security controls such as multi-factor authentication and registry lock.

Deploy domain management service. In addition to enabling IT teams to offload many routine but critical domain management tasks, superior domain management services provide solutions for brand protection and domain security that help to detect, identify, mitigate, and prevent a broad array of threats to domains.