What if I Don't Want My Personal Information on the Web?

When you register a domain name, whether or not it's a personal or business site, you're asked to provide personal information. You can either publicly register the domain, which is what most people do, or you can privately register it. A public registration allows for anyone on the web to do a WHOIS search for any domain names you own, and the search results will return your street address, e-mail address, name, and any other information you've entered in. A private registration hides all of that information, but it can have certain drawbacks as well.

What are some of the drawbacks of private registration?

Depending upon what you're using the domain name for, there are different pitfalls. If it's a business website, then it's a drawback because that's one less contact point. If you're just using it for a personal page, though, it obviously protects you from spam e-mails and people harassing you to sell your domain to them. For domain resellers, private registration can put you out of business because others will have a hard time getting in contact with you to buy your domain.

Regardless of the use, private registration could have a negative impact on SEO or get your site blacklisted. Matt Cutts, a Google employee who specializes in search engine optimization issues, stated at PubCon that while privately registering a domain name wouldn't necessarily lower your listing rank on Google, it raises a red flag that you may be a spammer or black-hat SEO practitioner. Combined with other red-flags, you can be labeled as a troublemaker. Also, human-reviewed web directories, such as DMOZ (The Open Directory Project), may be wary of adding you if you're not publicly registered.

So, what can I do to protect myself from spam?

Many people choose to create a proxy entity which acts as a buffer between their personal information and the world. Most likely, a proxy will be a company with its own e-mail address, street address, and phone number where people can contact the original owner, but the owner won't have his or her personal account flooded. If the proxy isn't a real company, that could lead to some problems if there is ever any question as to who owns a domain name. Suppose there was a mix-up at your registrar for a domain you had registered under a fake name or fake company: there is nothing showing that you own the domain except for a credit card, which may or may not be enough!

Setting up a company for a domain name is also a lot of trouble to go through. Really, a private domain registration isn't going to harm you. Assuming that you're creating a legitimate website with real content, it's not at all likely that you will be flagged as a spammer. Why would so many major domain registrars offer the option of private domain registration if there wasn't a place for it on the web? Private registration was designed to protect your personal information, so if you don't want any spam, it's a great way to prevent it.