sitecentre® partners with Panda Hosting, a trusted Australian domain name register, for all our clients. Domain management is critical to protecting your valuable domain names and branding, which is why we chose Panda Hosting.
Domain name management is the process of securing a domain portfolio from external threats and making sure all domain names have current domain registration. Domain owners need to be able to renew their domain name registration and access the hosting provider.
You can use domain management services to help with domain renewals, corporate domain name management, maintaining website security, and large domain portfolio audits to remove unwanted domains.
Finding the perfect domain name is only the first step. Protecting it from theft and getting it at an affordable price is another. A domain name should be one of the foundations for your business online. It can help promote your business, and your products, differentiate you from your competitors, push you into new markets, and protect your brand on the Internet.
Panda Hosting is our provider of choice for their strong security and customer service. They also offer competitive prices on new domain names and renewals, and they are owned and operated in Australia. That results in quicker DNS, support, and a superior experience for users.
Get Startedsitecentre® was founded to help small businesses compete against the giants by offering high-end digital marketing solutions at affordable prices. Marketing that’s built around generating strong ROI. We deliver unmatched results across our core channels of marketing.Brodey Sheppard Founding Director
Panda Hosting offers all major domain extensions, including new and country-specific domain names. Once you have found the perfect domain for you or your business, we will help you buy and secure it.
The most globally recognisable domain extension. Low price, easy to advertise domain name.
Short, simple, and recognisable domain - Typically used in conjunction with another.
Traditionally used to represent charities, non-profits, cultural and religious organisations.
Used to identify an Australian Business or Company. Used to geo-target in Australia.
Identifies Australian businesses whilst giving you access to a global audience.
Most commonly used to identify Australian charitable organisations and non-profits.
Used in New Zealand as their nationally recognised domain extension. Great for NZ businesses.
Your domain name is foundation of your online presence, used for 5-15+ years typically. Choosing strategically impacts SEO, branding, and customer trust.
Exact Match Domains (EMDs): Include target keywords (e.g., sydneyplumber.com.au, melbourneelectrician.com.au). Advantages: immediate keyword relevance for SEO, clear service indication to visitors, can help local rankings. Disadvantages: less brandable long-term, limiting if you expand services, can appear spammy if overused. Best for: Local service businesses, niche-specific businesses, when exact match available at reasonable price.
Branded Domains: Company name or invented word (e.g., sitecentre.com.au, canva.com, uber.com). Advantages: Strong brand building potential, memorable and unique, flexible as business grows, professional appearance. Disadvantages: no immediate keyword benefit, requires brand building investment. Best for: Long-term brand building, businesses planning growth, companies wanting strong brand identity.
Our recommendation: Service businesses: Consider exact match for primary location (brisbaneplumber.com.au) OR branded domain if planning multi-location growth. eCommerce: Branded domain almost always (builds lasting brand value). Professional services: Branded domain (lawyers, accountants need professional brand, not keyword-stuffed domain).
.com.au (Recommended for most AU businesses): Trust signal for Australian businesses ($17-$25/year), Google recognizes as Australian (geo-targeting benefit), requires ABN/ACN (legitimacy verification), customer trust (Aussies trust .com.au domains). Restrictions: Must have Australian presence (ABN/ACN required). Renewal: Annual renewal required (we handle automatically).
.au (New Australian extension): Newer, shorter Australian extension ($17-$25/year), same requirements as .com.au (ABN/ACN), growing acceptance (launched 2022), shorter = easier to remember and type. Consideration: Less established than .com.au (older customers may not recognize it yet). Recommendation: Register both .au and .com.au (protect brand, redirect .au to .com.au or vice versa).
.com (International - use carefully): Global recognition ($15-$20/year), no restrictions (anyone can register), familiar to all users worldwide. Disadvantages for AU businesses: No geo-targeting signal to Google (may rank for wrong countries), less trust from Australian customers (they prefer .com.au). Best for: Businesses targeting international markets, .com.au not available, global brand building. Recommendation: Register .com to protect brand but use .com.au as primary for Australian businesses.
Older domains rank better: Domain age is minor ranking factor (established domains trusted more), backlink history matters (older domains accumulate authority), fresh domains face sandbox period (Google tests new domains for 3-6 months before ranking them highly). Buying existing domain: Can acquire aged domain with authority BUT verify clean history (no previous penalties, check backlink profile, ensure relevant to your business). Most businesses: Register new domain and build authority over time (safer than buying unknown history domain).
Protect your valuable asset: Domain theft is real (high-value domains targeted by thieves). Enable 2-factor authentication (all our domain accounts include 2FA), domain locking (prevents unauthorized transfers), privacy protection (hides personal info from WHOIS), auto-renewal (never lose domain to expiration - we enable by default), backup email addresses (multiple contacts for renewal notices). We handle security for all domains we manage, protecting your brand identity from theft or loss.
Have questions about domain names and domain registration? We've answered the most common domain-related questions below.
Domain pricing varies by extension type:
Australian Domains: .com.au: $17-$25/year, .au (newer extension): $17-$25/year, .net.au: $17-$25/year, .org.au: $17-$25/year (charities/non-profits)
International Domains: .com: $15-$20/year, .net: $15-$20/year, .org: $15-$20/year
Premium Domains: Highly desirable domains (short, keyword-rich, memorable) can cost $500-$50,000+ one-time purchase depending on value and demand. We can help negotiate premium domain purchases if your ideal domain is taken.
What's Included: Domain registration for 1 year (renewable annually), DNS management, domain forwarding, email forwarding, 2-factor authentication security, domain locking, auto-renewal option (recommended - never lose domain to expiration), privacy protection (available on most extensions).
Renewal Pricing: Same as registration pricing (no surprise renewal increases). We provide renewal reminders 60, 30, and 7 days before expiration to ensure you never lose your domain.
For Australian businesses, .com.au is recommended as your primary domain.
Why .com.au: Trust signal for Australian customers (Aussies trust .com.au domains), geo-targeting signal to Google (helps rank in Australian searches), requires ABN/ACN (legitimacy verification - can't be registered by anyone), 30+ year history (established and recognized).
New .au extension: Shorter (mybusiness.au vs mybusiness.com.au), same requirements (ABN/ACN), growing acceptance (launched 2022). Consider registering both .au and .com.au to protect brand (redirect .au to .com.au).
Also register .com: Protects brand internationally (prevents competitors taking .com version), familiar to all users, useful if you expand internationally later. Use .com.au as primary, .com as redirect or international site.
Our package recommendation: Register .com.au (primary), .au (protection), .com (brand protection). Total: ~$50-$75/year for complete protection. Most businesses use .com.au as primary domain with others redirecting to it.
Yes. Domain transfers are straightforward and we handle everything for you.
Transfer Process: You unlock domain at current registrar (disable domain lock, obtain transfer authorization code/EPP code). Provide us with authorization code and confirm transfer request. We initiate transfer (process begins, typically 5-7 days for completion). Transfer completes automatically (domain moves to Panda Hosting with all settings preserved). No downtime (website and email continue working throughout transfer).
Requirements: Domain must be unlocked at current registrar, must have authorization code (request from current registrar), domain must not be within 60 days of registration (ICANN rule), domain must not be within 60 days of previous transfer.
Cost: Transfer typically includes 1 year extension ($17-$25 depending on extension - you're paying for renewal year, not transfer fee). Some registrars charge 'transfer fee' but we don't - you just pay for 1 year renewal.
Timeline: 5-7 days standard (industry-wide process), expedited transfers not possible (registrar-to-registrar coordination required). We handle all communication and keep you updated throughout process.
Yes, but impact is smaller than many believe.
Exact match domains (EMDs): Minor SEO benefit (e.g., sydneyplumber.com.au has slight advantage for 'Sydney plumber' searches). However, Google reduced EMD weight in 2012 update - quality content and authority matter more than exact match domain. Still helpful for local businesses but not game-changer.
Domain extension: .com.au signals Australian business to Google (geo-targeting benefit for Australian searches), no direct ranking benefit but trust and relevance matter. Using .com.au for Australian business helps local ranking signals.
Domain age: Older domains have slight advantage (established sites trusted more), new domains face 3-6 month sandbox period. However, great content on new domain beats poor content on old domain.
Domain authority: Backlinks pointing to domain matter more than domain name itself. Authority is earned through SEO work, not inherent in domain name.
Bottom line: Domain helps SEO marginally (5-8% impact typically). Choose domain for branding and user trust first, SEO benefit second. Brandable domain with excellent SEO work beats exact match domain with poor SEO every time. We can rank any domain with proper optimization.
Domain privacy (WHOIS privacy) hides your personal contact information from public WHOIS database.
Without privacy: Your name, address, phone, email publicly searchable in WHOIS database. Anyone can look up who owns any domain. Spammers scrape WHOIS for email addresses and phone numbers. Personal information exposed publicly.
With privacy protection: Registrar's information shown instead of yours (e.g., Panda Hosting Privacy Service details shown). Your actual contact info hidden from public. Renewal notices and important emails still reach you. Legal notices still delivered properly through privacy service.
Who needs privacy: Individuals (protect personal home address and phone), small businesses (reduce spam calls and emails), anyone valuing privacy. Cost: Usually $10-$15/year additional (we include free on some plans).
Who doesn't need privacy: Large corporations with public office addresses, businesses wanting complete transparency, domains where legitimacy matters (some customers check WHOIS to verify business). Note: .com.au domains often show business ABN info anyway (public record in Australia).
Our recommendation: Enable privacy for personal domains and small businesses. Optional for established businesses with public addresses. We can enable or disable anytime based on your preference.
Yes. We help with domain brainstorming, availability checking, and strategic selection.
Domain Consultation Process: Understand your business, industry, and target market. Generate 10-20 domain name ideas (branded options, exact match options, creative variations). Check availability for all extensions (.com.au, .au, .com, etc.). Assess SEO value and brandability of each option. Provide recommendations with pros/cons. Register your chosen domain(s) immediately.
Domain Naming Best Practices: Keep it short (under 15 characters ideal, under 20 characters maximum), easy to spell (avoid creative spelling that confuses customers), easy to say out loud (radio test - can you say it on radio and people spell it correctly?), avoid hyphens if possible (harder to remember, looks less professional), avoid numbers (confusing - is it 'four' or '4'?), memorable and unique (stands out from competitors).
Availability Challenges: Many good domains taken (over 300 million domains registered globally). .com.au domains especially limited (Australian business requirements restrict availability). We can help: find alternative creative options, negotiate purchase of taken domain (sometimes available for $500-$5,000), suggest different extension if .com.au unavailable.
Cost: Domain consultation included free when purchasing domain through us. We want you to choose right domain for long-term success, not just sell you any available domain.
Domain expiration is serious - you can lose your domain permanently if not renewed timely.
Our Renewal Process (Preventing Loss): Auto-renewal enabled by default (domain renews automatically, you never lose it), renewal reminders sent (60 days, 30 days, 7 days before expiration via email), grace period (30 days after expiration to renew at standard price before deletion), redemption period (if you miss grace period, 30-day redemption at higher cost $100-$200 extra), deletion (if not redeemed, domain becomes available for anyone to register - you lose it permanently).
What happens if domain expires: Website goes offline immediately (visitors see error), email stops working (all emails bounce), business disruption (no online presence until renewed), potential permanent loss (if someone else registers it during deletion).
Protection: We enable auto-renewal on all domains by default. Your credit card on file renews domain automatically, preventing expiration. Renewal notices sent as backup reminders even with auto-renewal enabled.
Horror stories prevented: We've seen businesses lose valuable domains worth $10,000+ because they missed renewal. Auto-renewal costs $17-$25/year and prevents catastrophic loss. Keep auto-renewal enabled (we set this as default for your protection).
We would love to hear from you, whether it’s asking us a question or you’re ready to grow your business. Our friendly team are here for you.
Currimundi, Queensland 4551
