If you own a domain with Google you could receive an email explaining the migration to Squarespace and you might as well wonder why? Or what is Squarespace?

Squarespace is a website building and hosting company based in New York City, US launched in 2004. They provide templates and easy to use elements to build your website with little or no technical experience.

Why is Google selling its domains?

It has been almost 9 years to date since Google launched their product Google Domain. The goal was to boost its business email and app products by providing an email and the option to register your domain in one single package.

So What changed then? Matt Madrigal, VP and General Manager Merchant Shopping of Google explains the reasoning behind the decision:

“In keeping with our efforts to sharpen our focus, we have entered into a definitive agreement with Squarespace for the acquisition of customer accounts of the Google Domains registrar business”.

Google understands the importance of domains as the foundation of the entire www, but has eyes elsewhere. This shift in priorities suggests that Google's focus is on a much bigger and far more important playground for the years to come.

It’s no surprise that with the rise of new tools built with Generative AI and Machine Learning, a new market has entered the stage. Google is considering this market big enough to suggest a change in their business priorities, and their progress and focus on their AI services has proven that.

Pressure for growth

This change suggests that the size of this new playground is going to require a reasonableamount of resources not in terms of money, but in terms of people required. The agreement with Squarespace involved the acquisition of 10.1M domains for a value of $180M. A reasonably big number for many, but a drop in the bucket for (Alphabet) Google’s net profits of $60 billion in 2022.

Their growth experienced a slow-down compared to their net profit in 2021 ($76 billion). It’s certain that Google’s focus on business growth is fundamental to ensure continuous innovation with their products, services and research. In 2022, Google alone has spent $39.5 billion on research and development, making it the second biggest spender within all the big tech companies - the first was Amazon.

What is going to happen with your domain?

As mentioned before, if you own one of the 10.1M domains that are going to be transitioned, you might have received an email from Google already explaining what’s going to happen. Until the transition is done, nothing is going to change from your side and your domain is going to continue to operate and be managed by Google. There will be a migration phase in the incoming months, but you will be notified with the status of the transition.

Are your performance’s website going to change?

There are no expected changes in performance as Squarespace publicly stated their interests in using Google Cloud DNS infrastructure during the migration. There are final considerations and checks that still need to happen, but the bottom line is that it’s in both companies interests to keep the transition as smooth as possible for their customers.

Can I transfer my domain before the migration happens?

Yes, you can. Google has announced that Customers will continue to have the ability to transfer their domain(s) to another registrar before the end of the transition.

Are prices going to change?

Squarespace has stated on their website that it will honour the existing Google Domains customers’ renewal prices for at least 12 months following the closing of the transaction.

What’s next?

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. Until then we are going to receive updates and monitor the situation up close. Google has published an article on their Help Center (https://support.google.com/domains/answer/13689670?hl=en) that you can read if you want to learn more.

For Squarespace's business this deal makes complete sense. Their customer base will increase 2.5-fold, making their revenue and free cash flow larger over time. Google, on the other hand, will be able to profit from the deal and concentrate its resources on other priorities more aligned with their innovation plans.