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How to Respond When Your Domain Is Held Hostage

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

From time to time, our team is reminded of a very depressing truth: Many SEO providers out there do scummy things.

The latest reminder? Just the other day, we were talking to a small business owner, and he told us how skeptical he was of the SEO industry. At first, we couldn’t understand why he was so mistrusting of us. But after some prodding, he revealed where his trust issues came from…

As it turns out, his last SEO provider registered his domain for him, and then held it hostage when he tried to quit. Since his whole online presence had been tied to that URL, his traffic and calls plummeted.

And the worst part? This didn’t even surprise us. We’ve heard versions of this same story dozens of times before.

In fact, we’ve even seen some SEO companies demand thousands of dollars in payment (a.k.a. ransom) before they give the domain back!

But instead of getting down about the slimy state of SEO, we’ve decided to turn our angst into action. In this blog post, we’re going to help you fight back against these bad guys by giving you advice on how to proceed when they hold your domain (and/or associated phone number) hostage.

What you’re about to find out will save you a ton of headaches and money going forward. Keep reading!

When You Can’t Get Your Domain Back

Unfortunately, as we mentioned, this scenario is not uncommon. But the good news is, you’re not powerless. There’s a solution. We’ve helped countless business owners in the same jam reclaim domains that were rightfully theirs to begin with.

The process involves working closely with GoDaddy (or whatever registrar you originally used) to prove you are, in fact, the business owner and that the domain is yours. This process is more successful when your business name is in the URL that was used in your SEO campaign, but it’s not a requirement.

In the past, we’ve helped business owners work with their registrar and obtain sufficient evidence that the domain belongs to them. The steps involved in obtaining access to your domain vary from business to business and will depend on the extent of your current online footprint.

However, in rare instances where there isn’t enough concrete proof that you own your website, you might have to rebuild your web presence from scratch. This means getting a whole new domain, wiping the slate clean on your web presence, and starting your SEO from scratch. This is not ideal, but it does sometimes happen.

Keep in mind, though, that starting over with a clean slate and a consistent URL is far more effective than clinging to a patchwork web presence with conflicting details.

Need help building your case? The specialists at Prospect Genius are happy to listen to your story and advise you on the next best steps. Give us a call!

When They Keep Your Phone Number From You

Along a similar vein, unscrupulous vendors and SEO providers have tarnished our industry’s reputation by withholding metered phone lines from former clients. It’s the same as what they’re doing with domains: They set up a metered phone line for your campaign, and once you quit, they refuse to give you access to that line.

This issue is critical because your metered phone number (alongside your URL) was probably the primary contact detail in all of your online advertising. By not giving you access to it, they’re essentially tying your hands behind your back.

Thankfully, the law is on your side here. FCC regulations forbid this practice. In fact, the FCC stipulates that if a phone number ever rings to your phone, it’s yours. So if you have a metered line out there that was ringing to your business at one point in time, then your old vendor or advertiser cannot withhold it from you without violating federal law. They are legally required to port your number when you request it.

Again, if you’re having difficulty communicating with them or convincing them they’re in the wrong, let us know. We can point you towards some information and resources that may help.

Simple Ways to Protect Yourself

Before we wrap things up, let’s make one thing very clear: It’s not your fault that a sleazy SEO company took advantage of your trust and acted spitefully against your interests.

Furthermore, it’s a natural response to mistrust other advertising teams after this kind of experience. We know how you feel. Nonetheless, SEO campaigns and metered phone lines remain critical marketing tools. If you want to bring in new customers and keep track of incoming leads, then you can’t avoid using them.

So, instead of forgoing online marketing altogether out of fear, you can take a few simple measures to protect yourself the next time around:

  • Ask your prospective marketer what their standard cancellation procedures are.
    • If you own the website content and domain, how will they return these assets to you upon cancellation?
    • If you purchase a metered phone line, how will they port the number back to your phone?
  • Make sure you have a contract with your marketer that clearly states you have ownership of all website assets (domain, images, content, etc.) upon final payment.
  • Ask your marketer which company will be hosting your website and get that company’s contact information.
  • Ideally, you should buy your own domain in your name so it’s 100% yours from the beginning. (GoDaddy is a popular domain registrar for this purpose.)
    • Note: Some SEO companies prefer to register your domain under their own account so they can monitor your website and receive alerts. This is usually done as a service that you purchase so you don’t have to monitor everything yourself. In this situation, being 100% clear about cancellation procedures (including how you can transfer domain ownership) and having a signed contract are crucial.

Prospect Genius Is Here to Help

Of course, even your best efforts sometimes aren’t enough to protect you from a particularly nasty or vindictive agency. If you find yourself stuck dealing with such an agency, call Prospect Genius for help right away. We’ve been working in this field for more than a decade, and we’re very familiar with the laws around these topics.

Keeping our industry honest is something we’re passionate about. We’ll be more than happy to help you protect your rights however we can.

And, hey—if you want to work with a company that won’t hold your web presence hostage, you know where to find us.

Why All the Smartest Small Businesses Have a Custom Domain

Last Updated: September 15, 2016

Here’s a word of advice you may not hear from other marketing teams: Own a custom domain for your small business. 
We’ve seen too many small business owners get burned by not having one. The best way to preserve your web ranking, presence, and overall marketing efforts is to purchase your own, custom domain that contains your exact business name.
In this post, we explain the importance of owning your custom domain and the hazards of not doing so. We also offer suggestions for what to do when you can’t get your own domain. Let’s dive in!

Domain vs. Website

First, what’s the difference between a domain name and a website?
A domain is another word for a web address, while a website is the collection of files and pages that appear when you visit that domain. For example, “bobsappliance.com” is a custom domain, which visitors type into the URL bar in a web browser to view Bob’s Appliance’s website.
Here’s a simpler way to look at it: Think of your domain as your street address and your website as your house. The street address tells visitors where they can find your house, but it’s not the same thing as the house itself. Likewise, the domain tells visitors where to find your website, but the website is an entirely separate entity. Make sense?

Owning Your Domain Is Ideal

Now that you understand what we’re talking about when we talk about domains, we can get into the nitty-gritty of how to handle yours.
The most important thing to know? Owning a custom domain is ideal. It provides protection from competitors and makes you look like an established, successful business.
And here’s the thing: You don’t even have to do anything with it! Just by owning the domain, you’ll keep others from taking it (which is especially useful if there are any other businesses nationwide with a similar name). You could also opt to just use your domain for your e-mail address so you appear more professional.
Or, if you’re already working with a marketing team that has created a separate website for you, you can simply redirect your custom domain so it leads to this preexisting site. No need to create a whole new website for your custom domain if you already have one!
If you don’t know how to register and purchase your own domain (although it’s simple to do online), have someone else do it for you. This person could be your marketer, a trusted employee, or a tech-savvy family member—as long as they’re competent and trustworthy.

PRO TIP: Have a custom domain but not sure if you own it? Check if you have a username and password for it. If you’re able to access and log-in to your domain, then it’s yours.

What If You Don’t Own Your Custom Domain?

We hate to sound like we’re fear mongering, but we need to emphasize how critical it is for you to own your own domain.
If you don’t own your custom domain, then it’s up for grabs. That means it could potentially fall into the hands of one of your competitors. Here’s what could happen as a result:

  • Your brand starts sending traffic to your competitors. People go to your domain (bobsappliance.com) looking for your business (Bob’s Appliance), but they don’t realize they’re actually connecting with a different business.
  • With control of your custom domain, your competitor can also pose as your business on Google Maps. Google will believe it’s you because the domain contains your business name.
  • If your competitor is particularly nasty, they’ll be empowered to write incorrect or overtly negative things about your business on the website attached to your domain. So people will visit your website looking for you, only to read bad things about you, instead. We’ve really seen this happen.
  • If you can’t regain control of your custom domain, you may have to start all of your marketing over from scratch. This includes getting an entirely new business name and domain, since your current one is now associated with a totally separate entity.

How to Prevent Domain Disaster

Want to avoid the nightmare scenarios above? Registering your own, custom domain name can save you a heck of a lot of stress, money, and lost business. Annual fees for custom domains can be anywhere between $10 and over $100, and they’re worth every penny.
However, what if, for some reason, you can’t have a custom domain? For example, some marketing companies may not let you have your own, or another business with the same name in a different state might have already claimed it. So what should you do?
When owning your custom domain isn’t in the cards, these are the next best options:

  • Get assurance upfront (in writing, ideally) from your marketing team that you will be permitted to take your domain with you after your contract ends. This is absolutely crucial if your domain contains your business name.
  • If you can’t take your domain with you and you cannot have ownership of it, then you must use a generic domain that does not contain your business name. A generic domain will look something like, “electriciantexas.com,” which you can easily move on from because your business name isn’t attached.

Act Quickly!

The bottom line? If you currently do not own a custom domain for your business, buy one now. Owning a custom domain not only makes your business appear more established—it also secures your business’s web presence.
If someone else does have control of your custom domain, they essentially have control of your entire web presence. You need to move fast and reclaim it before any damage is done. Reach out to them and try to work it out. If they refuse to return it to you, check with your state’s laws to see if there are any legal actions you can take. And if you cannot own your custom domain, make sure you take the necessary precautions to protect your business’s brand.
The longer you go without owning your custom domain, the more immediate the risks facing your online ranking and presence can become. You can’t afford to wait.

Why You Should Give Your Company E-Mail Address a Makeover

Last Updated: December 17, 2015

Is an unprofessional e-mail address holding you back?
It’s a common refrain for job seekers, as unprofessional e-mail addresses on resumes can make prospective employers think twice about hiring them. But did you know that it can have the same effect on prospective customers seeking local service providers? An unprofessional e-mail address might convince them not to do business with you.
At the same time, Google has rolled out new procedures for claiming business listings that require business owners to have e-mail addresses with corporate domains. Without one, the process is much more time-consuming and complicated.
That means a professional e-mail address won’t just help you attract new customers—it will also streamline your online advertising efforts with Google. You might not have given your e-mail address much thought up until now, but it could make a world of difference for your business.

Have an Easier Time Dealing With Google

First, let’s discuss the new Google policies that make this upgrade a little more urgent.
Google has changed how they let you claim a listing. It used to be that when you had an advertiser trying to claim a listing on your behalf, Google would automatically call you for verification. Now, however, Google requests verification from you (the business owner) via e-mail (unless otherwise prompted by a phone call from your advertiser). But it can’t just be any e-mail: Google needs to receive an e-mail stating that you authorize “X” company to manage your listing, and this e-mail must come from an address on a corporate domain. 

What’s a Corporate Domain Anyway?

What do we mean by “corporate domain”? Well, a domain is what a user types into their browser in order to visit a specific website. It usually ends with “.com,” “.gov,” “.org,” “.net,” etc. So, a corporate domain is a domain that contains a given business’s name. For example, Bob’s Appliance’s corporate domain would be “bobsappliance.com” or something similar.
Thus, Google would want to see an e-mail from “bob@bobsappliance.com” when authorizing a third party to claim and/or manage that company’s listing. This is a way for Google to safeguard against spam: An e-mail from a corporate domain proves that an actual owner or employee of the business is the one e-mailing them.
It’s not impossible to claim a listing or transition management without a corporate domain, but it’s a longer and more convoluted process involving a lot of back-and-forth phone calls. You’ll have a much faster resolution with Google if you can simply e-mail them from a business domain. This is an especially important point if you’re switching or planning on switching SEO providers.

What to Do:

  • Set up at least one e-mail address on your domain that you can send e-mails from to prove that it’s you when you’re claiming or verifying your listing. Google wants to talk to you and wants to know that it’s you.
  • Always maintain ownership of your listing and just make your advertiser the manager. This way, Google will always know that you’re the verified owner.

Don’t have your own corporate domain? Not sure how to get one? Talk to your advertiser. Most advertisers will be able to provide you with one; if not, they’ll be able to point you toward the correct resources. Either way, you’ll need to coordinate with your advertiser before creating a new domain. And if your advertiser has already built and optimized a website for you (like Prospect Genius’s LeadTrax™ sites), you can still register your own domain and have your advertiser connect the two.
If you’re doing it all yourself, here’s a good place to start. 

Make Yourself More Attractive to Customers

Now let’s look at this from a marketing standpoint.
Pretend you’re a local homeowner looking to hire an appliance repairman to fix your fridge. When presented with these two e-mail addresses, which one would you choose to contact for the job?

  • BobbyB5287@aol.com
  • bob@bobsappliance.com

Most homeowners would choose the second one, as it appears much more legitimate. Even if it’s only a one-man operation, an e-mail address from “bobsappliance.com” makes the business look much bigger. That’s what prospective customers want to see.

Legitimize Your Business

Whether it’s Google or prospective customers, people like seeing a professional e-mail address. It makes your business look more legitimate, which is helpful for resolving issues with your Google listing and marketing yourself online. Your business’s success will only increase when you upgrade your e-mail address with a corporate domain, so take action now.
In the mood for a laugh? Check out The Oatmeal’s comic, “What your email address says about your computer skills.”

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