Google Domains
Is This Your Business?2.2
2.2
Author: Jenna Vasquez
LAST UPDATED: December 30th, 2021
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Price
- Other TLD prices
- Security features
- Cross selling
- Mobile app
- Simple domain transfer policies
- Customer support
- ICANN accreditation
Price
Google Domain's prices for .com domains are as advertised at $12.00/year. Some domain companies advertise a lower price and customers learn the price is higher once they find an available domain name. Google Domain's home page offers .com names at $12/year and the price remains the same during checkout. Regarding cost-effectiveness, Google's annual fee is competitive among the ranks of most popular domain registrars who offer .com prices at a range of $11.99 to $14.99 per year. Some domain companies offer a cheaper starter price, but it is only introductory. After that period ends, the price skyrockets to double the initial price. Google Domains' pricing remains dependable and consistent in this regard.Other TLD Prices
For other popular Top-Level Domains (TLDs) such as .biz, .org, and .net, Google Domains also charges $12.00/year. More exotic domains can be as much as $30.00 or $40.00/year, but most alternate domains are $12.00 annually. This surpasses many TLD sellers who charge much higher fees for common domains like .net or .org.Security Features
For customers seeking to protect their identity on the public WHOIS database, Google Domains offer a WHOIS Privacy feature for no additional cost. Unlike the majority of domain registrars that offer a monthly fee for "in-house" privacy security features, Google Domain's Private registration is provided by a third-party provider named WhoisProxy.com Ltd, making the privacy domain service subject to additional terms. Most companies' domain privacy fees are "as-is" which puts Google at both an advantage and a disadvantage in this area. Also, there are certain domains like .US and .CO.NZ that are ineligible for domain privacy protection.Cross Selling
Customers will find that Google Domains has no upsells on their checkout process. On the page their searched name is deemed available, there is a list of alternate domains one can also add to their shopping cart, but once you select your shopping cart items, it takes you straight to the payment page. This is superior to many domain registration companies who try to sell you additional services and products, making you go through several additional screens of sales pitches in order to buy a domain name.Mobile App
Google Domains offers an app for mobile users called Google Apps for Work. This app lets you create professional, customized email addresses for your domain, add email aliases, and manage all your mail from one inbox. Each Apps for Work user gets 30 GB of online storage, calendar, video conferencing, docs, and more tools for their business. Google Apps for Work costs $5 per user per month and can be cancelled at any time. Compared to a small number of companies that offer more than one app, Google Domains combines the various functions split into separate apps in one cloud based app network. A few apps offered by companies are free, compared to Google's monthly $5/month fee, although this is very affordable.Simple Domain Transfer Policies
If you're looking to transfer your domain name from Google Domains to another registrar, Google Domains requires you to wait 60 days before you can transfer your domain to another registrar or user, in accordance with ICANN guidelines. Domain transfers can take 5-7 days to complete. These timelines are industry standard for domain transfers, which is acceptable and normal for this particular process. While some Registrars have a terrible reputation for holding names hostage, making it difficult to switch registrars if you become dissatisfied, charge exorbitant fees or create delays to avoid losing business, Google Domains doesn't uphold any obvious barriers. There are 2 exceptions to this:- Customers should be aware that if Google Domains has an outstanding administrative action against your domain, you won't be able to transfer your domain until the matter is resolved.
- When transferring, ICANN requires you to register your domain for an additional year. If this action causes your domain to exceed the 10 year maximum registration period, you ability to transfer to another registrar may be held up at this time.
Customer Support
When it comes to customer support, Google Domains covers all bases. The Google Domains Support Team is available 24/7 by chat and email. If you want or need phone support, they are available 7 days a week from 6am to 9pm Pacific time (GMT -8) by phone. Their phone hours fall short of some domain competitors who offer phone support 24/7 with no limited hours. Google Domains also offers customers a Help Center Page filled with customer service topics and commonly asked questions, such as buying and transferring domains, Policies and Procedures, Domain definitions and more. Aside from limited telephone hours, Google Domain's chat, email and Help Pages are on par with industry's quality standards.ICANN Accreditation
YesThe Bad
- Number of TLDs available
- ICANN fees
- Bulk price
Number of TLDs Available
Google Domains gives customers 80+ TLDs to choose from. Compared to companies offering hundreds and even more than 500 domains for purchase, Google ranks lower in this area. They do, however, offer all commonly used domains and TLDs that most customers would want to use. For those seeking bulk purchases of 100 or more, Google Domains does not have enough available TLDs to do so.ICANN Fees
Google Domains, like all domain name registrars, is required to pay ICANN fees annually for each domain name a customer registers through them. Google's checkout process does not specify ICANN fees added to the price. (However, taxes are added, though what taxes are not specified, either). Google either does not charge customers ICANN fees at all or they include the fee in the $12 annual domain name price. Either way, they fail to be transparent about this. Some companies are more transparent by displaying the ICANN fee in small print at the bottom of their website pages. Other companies automatically add the fee to checkout without customers knowing.Bulk Price
Google Domains does not advertise bulk pricing in their 'Features' section. This is a disadvantage for customers like nonprofits, schools, or even individuals interested in purchasing several domains at once. With certain domain companies, you can get a discount of 10% if you purchase 100 domains or more, so Google Domains falls short in comparison.The Bottom Line
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Scott Albany, NY
During the .dev TLD rush google said it was registering my domain for an hour. Failed to register and let somebody else register it while my registration was pending. This was not a billing issue as I already had domains registered and set up.
Google's support was also utterly disgraceful. After posting a ticket it took them over a week to get an answer to me. This was after going on live chat EVERY day. They promised a senior engineer would look into it within 24 hours... 48 hours later nothing, 72 hours later... nothing.. a whole week!
To top it off the offered a free domain though their service because they acknowledged they sucked so much. Who would trust them after that?!?
I've moved all my domains off and over to Cloudflare. I suggest you do the same before the Goog screws you and there lack of support bites you in the arse.
7 years ago
Greg Stathes Philadelphia, PA
They stopped serving my domain for no reason...
I spent 2 hours on chat..
I get to a manager and he cannot multi task, so he claimed he would look into it....
He didnt, he didnt email me... His name was Manual, he was awful...
This is a reoccurring problem with google its the same with google pixel support, and google FI support.
DO NOT USE THEM!!
7 years ago
Sunny Dhabhai Chester, PA
I am trying to book important domain name and renew another for a long term client, They considered my default payment and all other payments as 'High Risk' and declined to renew/register domains. Now question is this: Do you want a ROBOT which you have no control to manage your business. After requesting again and again they said, They can't do anything about it. Thats it. Time to transfer domain to 'Real' registrar.
9 years ago
Stephen Muchovej Bishop, CA
This product is horrible. If you know how to write html, it's nearly impossible to host your site from it. Their email forwarding does not work. It's just horrible. For static sites, just buy your domain name on godaddy and set it up on AWS.
8 years ago
Farid Mountain View, CA
Worst Google product I have ever used. What's the point of getting a domain name if Google won't show it in your address bar?
8 years ago
