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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

Changes at Google affect the whole business community

An interview with SEO expert Chantal Smink about Google's Helpful Content Update

The word 'search' where the letters are colored in Google's red, yellow, blue and green.
  • Thursday 22 February 2024

From start-ups to blue-chip corporates, most businesses rely on Google to be found online. In the last 6 months, the tech giant has rolled out a rapid succession of updates to its search algorithm, significantly shaking up the way search results are ranked. Some websites have seen visitor traffic fall off sharply, while others have enjoyed a boost. What do the developments mean for the business community? And what implications does Google policy have for the demand for websites and domain names? For answers, we turned to Chantal Smink, an expert in search engine optimisation (SEO) and author of a Dutch-language guide to SEO and content strategy.

Google's recent updates, such as the notorious Helpful Content Update (HCU), came as an unpleasant surprise to many businesses. Affiliate website operators saw visitor traffic drop alarmingly, and the anger in online forums was palpable. Did Google really make an abrupt course change, or had this been coming for a while?

"It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Google wanted to get rid of SEO content, but no one expected a helpful content update to have such an impact. It's partly that people underestimated how radical any change might be. After all, Google had effectively been telling us for years that our SEO content was good enough, by rewarding us with lots of traffic. Nor was it a surprise that the traffic had been declining for some time, but I can imagine that that wasn't immediately apparent to affiliates. I used to work on the office side and was getting data on 40 sites at the same time, so I was able to observe patterns that aren't visible to individual users. The trend is downward, and I'm not optimistic about how much traffic will ultimately be left. Some people regard me as a prophet of doom. They're entitled to their opinion, of course, but I know what I'm seeing, and I'm simply trying to warn people that we need to start doing things differently from what we've been doing for the last 10 to 15 years."

Do you think that Google's recent updates have improved the quality of search results?

Portrait photo of SEO expert Chantal Smink
SEO expert Chantal Smink

"One of Google's aims is to counter abuse and spam. However, judging by the talk amongst US SEO experts, I'm not hopeful. It looks as if malicious actors are still managing to get in amongst the hits. So it's fair to say that the new Google still isn't delivering perfect results. At the same time, you have to ask yourself whether the content produced by many content providers, SEO experts and agencies is actually that good. A lot of content is little more than a bunch of keywords, and doesn't really meet users' needs. At the end of the day, Google can only point people to the content that's out there."

People are also saying that Google's updates are giving big players an increasing advantage over SMEs. Is that the way you see it?

"Yes, it is. Since the recent updates, Google's results seem to increasingly favour large organisations and well-known brands. That's making it harder and harder for small players. Many businesspeople and experts assume that Google will always take account of their interests, but I'd say, 'Google is not your friend.' Google wants to help users as best they can, but also to maximise their own earnings. From the beta-version chatbot that's operating in the US, it's clear that they can answer a lot of queries themselves, and don't need to refer people on. But that chatbot isn't the only example. If you look at a current screenshot of Google USA, it looks like a page on Amazon. Organic shopping is at the centre of things, and only one organic result of the kind we're used to is visible. If, for example, you ask 'What's the best water bottle?', Google can answer that without pointing the user to a third-party website."

That's bad news for small players. Is there anything start-ups and SMEs can do?

"Increase the breadth of your brand and authority. If you plan to start a webshop, a branding budget is indispensable. Make use of Instagram and LinkedIn. Do podcasts. Make YouTube videos. Do everything you can to build up your name and add to the weight of your brand. In that context, your website is the place where you can show your expertise to your customers. It's the end point of the customer journey. But, actually, you need to make yourself such an authority that Google has got to tell their users about you."

There are 6.3 million .nl domain names, many of them registered primarily for reasons of findability. What do Google's recent updates mean for the value of such domain names?

Until recently, you could get high up the rankings with an exact-match domain, such as carpenter.nl, plus some fairly ordinary content. That's now pretty much a thing of the past. Domain names are now valuable mainly for link-building, because Google doesn't want exact-match domain names to automatically get a high ranking. I also suspect that users are placing less trust in exact matching. If I'm looking for a caravan park that I can go to for my holiday, I want to find a reliable service provider, not whoever happens to have registered caravanpark.nl. So branding is increasingly important for a business. A website like 123inkt.nl shows that you need more than keywords to be successful; you need to build up your reputation. A domain name and website are increasingly the end point, the final confirmation for the visitor that they're dealing with a reputable organisation."

Finally: Google is currently one of the most powerful players on the internet. Could dissatisfaction with recent developments ultimately undermine Google's position?

"The speed at which they have been rolling out updates recently eclipses anything I've seen in the last 15 years. It looks a little like a panic response. Particularly considering that not everything has had a positive effect on quality. Google doesn't want to be another Nokia, and I think that the response to the HCU will have raised that spectre in their minds. I think that they'll do everything they can to prevent people looking for alternatives that might render Google redundant."