Register.com's Rconnection solution offers three different partner programs, all fully branded to the ISP.

by Jeff Goldman [January 9, 2008]

Register.com was founded in 1994. Like most registrars, it's been through a number of significant changes since its founding, and now offers not only domain name registration but everything from webhosting to site design, SSL certificates, and more—with new services added on a regular basis.

According to Jack Brandt, the company's business development manager, that's just the nature of the business. "There's been a huge shift from just domains to small business internet services, because the industry has changed, and what we believe the customers want out of their internet services provider—or web services provider, for that matter—has changed quite a bit," he says.

The company re-branded its reseller offering a few years ago as Rconnection, to reflect the fact that resellers were marketing more than just Register.com domain names. "We started adding website building tools, e-mail solutions, search engine optimization solutions, and wholesale digital SSL certificates—as well as a professional services team for those organizations that wanted to outsource some of the technology and put in place a set of best practices," Brandt says.

And Brandt says the fact that Rconnection now offers a complete range of services makes it particularly attractive for ISPs. "They've kept a lot of the technology in-house, and as they find out that a trusted partner like Register.com has several different solutions to offer that are competitive and meet the needs of their clients, they start looking to us to help take away some of the technical headaches they might be experiencing," he says.

Express, API, and Portal
Rconnection offers three different partnership levels. The R.Express program provides a pre-built, private labeled website through which the partner can sell whatever selection of services they choose. The site can be fully customized with the partner's logo, colors, copy, banners, and graphics.

Under the R.Express program, both billing and support are handled by Register.com, but are fully branded to the partner. "At the end of the month, the partner can simply click a button inside the interface, and Rconnection will send them their commission check based on the difference between the wholesale cost of the services and the retail price they set for the services they were selling to their clientele," Brandt says.

The second option, R.API, uses an XML-based API to put the partner in control. "It gives the partner full control over the registration process and where it sits inside their purchase paths," Brandt says. "It's a great opportunity for them to enhance their web presence with all of our services, or just a couple of them."

And it isn't limited to those companies that have the technical expertise in-house to handle all the integration themselves—the company's technical services team, Brandt says, is available to "apply industry best practices to help them incorporate their services with our services."

Finally, R.Portal, designed specifically for companies like consultants and web developers, gives the partner a private portal through which they can order and manage services on their clients' behalf. "It's a great program for those organizations that do a lot of volume but have maybe one person in-house who handles registrations," Brandt says.

Pricing and support
Pricing for the services is generally the same between the three partnership programs, though Brandt says R.Express often has a slightly higher wholesale price point to make up for the fact that Register.com is taking care of all billing and support for the partner. R.Express also requires a $125 per year maintenance fee.

While there's no maintenance fee for R.API or R.Portal, both accounts require payment in advance for products and services purchased. "For those accounts that pass a credit application and do a significantly higher volume, though, we do offer net 30 invoice," Brandt says.

Overall, Brandt says the quality of the company's ongoing relationships with its partners is a key differentiator. "We have some major account managers that I think are head and shoulders above guys in the rest of the industry and are very, very personable and very knowledgeable," he says. "They can help with everything from a simple name server change up to API call information."

And looking ahead, Brandt says the company will continue to add new products and services in the coming years. "The more we can help an ISP outsource and take some of the headaches off of their plate, the better off they'll be," he says. "They'll be able to focus on their core competencies, market their services more effectively—and make their customers happier."

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