Don’t Cancel Your Domain Name Without Thinking Twice!
When starting a website, many people make the mistake of buying a domain name and then forgetting about it. However, even if you aren’t planning on using your domain name right away, it is important to keep it active, or else you risk losing it. Domain owners must understand the risks associated with canceling or letting their domains expire. Let’s explore why in more detail.
What are the Risks?
The most obvious risk associated with canceling or letting your domain name expire is that someone else will buy it and use it for their own website. This is especially likely if you have an attractive or popular domain name.
Additionally, any backlinks and search engine rankings you had accrued will be lost as well. What you may not be aware of is that your old domain could suddenly be used for an entirely different purpose, and the links formerly associated with it can direct you to a pornographic website.
This has happened in The Netherlands to a school with many links on education-related websites, they simply changed the name and let the domain go with all the terrible things as a result, yet we believe this isn’t the only case of domains being taken over by malicious perpetrators.
Another issue that can arise from canceling your domain name is the potential for a broken link (or dead link). If someone has linked to your website in the past and then you decide to cancel your domain, later on, they may not realize that their link no longer works and they may still point people to a non-existent page on your website. This can hurt user experience as well as your reputation if enough people encounter this problem.
Also with canceling or letting a domain expire is that all of your SEO work will essentially be deleted and you will need to start over from scratch when trying to get back into Google’s good graces. Search engine optimization takes time, effort, and dedication—you don’t want to throw away all of those hours spent optimizing simply because you didn’t renew your domain on time!
Domain & Identity fraud
Finally, one of the biggest risks associated with neglecting to renew or cancel your domain, you put yourself at risk of cybercriminals registering the domain and gaining access to any online services associated with it. Not only could they view emails sent or received on these accounts, but they could also request password changes – leaving your data vulnerable. It’s a horrifying thought as to what information might fall into the wrong hands in this way.
Conclusion
Ultimately, there are many risks associated with canceling or letting a domain name expire so it is important to be aware of them before making any rash decisions. If need be, consider paying for additional years ahead of time so that you don’t forget when renewal day comes around. Keep in mind that SEO takes time and effort to build up—and once gone, it can take just as long (if not longer) to rebuild from scratch! Domain owners should be cautious when deciding whether or not they should cancel their domains so as not to put their online presence at risk.
So our advice is: Don’t cancel your domain name without thinking twice!
