I registered a domain today for 10 years, the first time I have registered a domain for that long.

It was a .com and I privately registered it so it was much more expensive than buying a 1 year domain.

Before purchasing the domain I wondered “why would somebody register a domain for 10 years?” My answer to myself was some rather obvious advice:

You should register a domain for 10 years if (thinking out loud):

-You plan on the site being around more than 1 year
-You plan to invest money in the site
-You plan to invest considerable time in the site
-The domain is too valuable to lose if you forget to re-register it
-The content is timeless, or at least has longevity longer than 1 year

All of those points in my opinion are signals of quality.

I’m guessing a search engine would favor a domain registered for 10 years for the same reasons you would register a domain for 10 years.

Now to contrast that with why you shouldn’t register a domain name for more than 1 year:

-Your not sure if you’ll care about the site in over a year
-You are only wanting to invest the bare minimum in the site
-The content won’t be relevant in more than a year
-It wouldn’t be the end of the world if somebody else snatched the domain if you forgot to re-register it

Most of my domains I register for only 1 year because I’m not sure if the site will be around in a year, therefore I don’t want to make a longterm investment.

For instance, I’m throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, and if I REALLY want to make a good site I will now register it for 10 years, as a small testament to the quality and lasting power of the site.

For more discussion on length of registration check out this post and accompanying thread: Does Registering A Domain Name for 10 Years Help Search Ranking?

So how long do you register your domains and why?