This document discusses domains registered in Bulgaria and opportunities for improvement. It notes that the .bg domain registration process still requires paperwork and is handled manually, creating inefficiencies. Removing documentation requirements and automating the process could help. Creating a local ICANN registrar through cooperation of hosting companies may generate a Bulgarian aftermarket for generic top-level domains by handling over 100,000 domains. The document also lists mistakes made by some European country-code top-level domains regarding expiration policies, restrictions, pricing, and WHOIS data collection and availability.

1. Tool.Domains
lDatabase of 556+ million domain names (active
and expired).
lFocus on ccTLDs and SEO metrics (backlinks
quantity and quality)
lWhois и DNS research
lContent and owner relations

2. .bg zone
lAbout 70 000 domains registered (no data)
lUsed to have restrictions (company name,
trademark or other entity corresponding to the
domain name) up to 2008.
lStill requires signing documents (digital
signature possible) for registration.
lHandled manually and registrars don't use the
API. Huge waste of paper for documentation.
lTransfers and changing registrant is a nightmare
(mostly for registrars).

3. Outcome: com/net/org/eu/*.*.bg
lBig websites like bmwpower-bg.net
lSmall market for ICANN registrars so only their
resellers (the Bulgarian hosting companies)
target Bulgaria
lNo local ICANN registrars means no domain
aftermarket for gTLDs.
lFinal result - The treasure of expired domains
leaves Bulgaria to go into the hands of foreign
spammers. Nice websites disappear forever and
precious web content is lost.

4. Ideas for improvement
lRemoving all documentation required for .bg
registrations and automating everything.
lBulk availability (yep, no such thing now!)
lDecreasing the price for .bg from ~30 Euro to
~10-15 Euro (VAT included).
lThe leading hosting companies can
cooperatively create one ICANN registrar to
handle all their gTLDs (over 100 000 domains).
This will create a true Bulgarian aftermarket.

5. European ccTLD mistakes
lDomains do not expire (.ro)
lRestricting names to existing entities (.com.tr)
lUnclear rules about restricted names (.pt)
lToo cheap for the first year (.pl) – creates opportunities
for domain tasting and SEO spam
lToo expensive (.hr)
lParanoid about valid Whois data (.uk)
lMissing Whois data or only via web (.es .be)
lMissing Whois server or only via web (.gr .al)
lRequiring NS to be set upon registration and checking
the NS zone for errors (very annoying!)

6. Contacts
linfo@tool-domains.com
lhttps://www.facebook.com/tool.domains
lhttps://plus.google.com/+ToolDomainsLtd
lhttps://twitter.com/ToolDomains
lLinkedin.com/company/tool-domains