Update: GoDaddy and Dan.com are not running any A/B testing on new PPC features; the hybrid lander feature requires one to opt in. A bug that allowed deleted domains that were re-added on Dan.com to inherit the previous owner’s Cashparking settings has been identified. More information here – original article follows.
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GoDaddy is running some type of A/B testing that displays PPC ads on domains parked with Dan.com.
We are talking about domains that utilize the ns1.dan.com and ns2.dan.com nameservers, which by default point to Dan.com landers. These are domains whose registrants expect to display a specific Dan.com template, and nothing else.
Let’s take for example the domain name 232588.com. Instead of displaying these pre-selected Dan.com landers, the following PPC lander shows up:
Once you click on the “Buy now” section at the top, the standard Dan.com banner appears:
These landers remind us of the final parking landers used by Uniregistry, combining PPC ads with a “For sale” banner.
The big difference is that with Uniregistry landers PPC revenue was shared between Uni and the domain owner, who had specifically opted into the PPC program. These landers are operated by GoDaddy and all revenue from clicks goes to GoDaddy.
What’s worse is that domain investors are most likely not aware of what’s going on.
Whether this is a behind the scenes transition or A/B testing of an upcoming feature, one thing is certain: PPC revenue from clicks goes to GoDaddy; meanwhile, the domain owners have zero control over the keywords that display ads. It’s possible that hundreds of ads with potentially harming or infringing content could be displayed.
There are approximately 18,000 domains that are currently resolving on the same IP, 35.186.238.101, according to Domaintools.
This is a developing story.
