Internet Marketing Example: The Dallas Cowboys and the Importance of Domain Renewal

Mike Hanbery - 11.10.2010 8:00 AM

At the risk of piling on or hitting after the whistle...how 'bout them Cowboys?

The story so far:

• The 2010 NFL season began with extroverted owner Jerry Jones, Sr., boasting that the team he owns, the Dallas Cowboys, expect to be the first team to play a home game in the Super Bowl. (For those of you who are late to the party, the Cowboys are one of the more storied and popular franchises in all of American sports.)
• That same team started the season one and six, losing their star quarterback to injury in the seventh game. Fans, followers, sportswriters, radio and TV pundits, bloggers, etc., etc. began calling for the head of head coach Wade Phillips and anyone who vaguely resembles him.
• Playing a "must-win" game on national TV on Sunday, November 7, 2010, the team showed up in spirit only and was embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers. The final tally was 45 to 7 but anyone who saw the game will tell you it wasn't as close as the score would indicate. (I saw it. Ask me.)
• Monday, November 8, 2010, Mr. Jones, Sr., as if hitting the cymbal to signal the end of the drum roll, fired his head coach. Big national story.

Think this might stir up some Internet activity? Blogs, tweets, etc?

If you're the Dallas Cowboys, where would you hope and prefer your fans would go for news of the event?

Your Website, you say? Yes, that's correct. It's the one place on the Internet where you can control your outgoing message. Beyond that, all bets are off.

One problem: When fans visited www.dallascowboys.com, nothing was there. The team had neglected to renew its domain. Nothing was there. Nothing! The marketing department had allowed their ownership of the domain to expire.

Fortunately for the Cowboys CMO, his name is Jerry Jones, Jr., and so his job is safe.

Those of us who don't work for Daddy and aren't sitting on gazillions in liquid cash can take a lesson here.

Who hosts your Website? When does your domain renew?

Did you know that if your domain is secured for more than a year, that Google, Yahoo and Bing reward your site with a higher relevancy score? That's good for your search ranking. That's good for business.

If something can go wrong it will, and at the worst possible time, right? Take a moment and see when your domain renewal is up. Maybe ask what else you can do to make your Website work a little harder for you. Just a suggestion.

(Disclosure: The author has never liked the Cowboys.)

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