EuroDNS
References from this period: 1 LinkedIn recommendation, full text. They vouch for the role, not for any one claim.
Proof points: 4
| Role | Product | Situation | Task | Action | Result | Year | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing Director, EuroDNS | EuroDNS EuroDNS, an ICANN-accredited international domain registrar specialising in unusual domain extensions. Customers included MailChimp, Lotus F1 and Time Warner. | Four years of decline when Tom joined: traffic dropping, online sales down, a legacy website, and SEO damage left by a previous agency's black-hat work. | Turn it around. | Restructured the marketing department (four direct reports), implemented KPIs and rebooted every marketing channel including the website, in under 8 months. Remediated the black-hat SEO damage. Analysed user flow and redesigned the website and ecommerce funnels. Collected customer feedback and repositioned the product. Launched over 500 new domain extensions, repositioning dry domains with Creative Commons photography of the world. First provider to offer a free SSL certificate with every domain. | Decline reversed. Organic traffic doubled in 12 months. Bounce rate halved, from about 60% to about 30%. | Feb 2013 - Nov 2014 | turnaround, growth, conversion, SEO, funnels, KPIs, launch, marketing, ecommerce, domains, team leadership, international |
| Marketing Director, EuroDNS | EuroDNS EuroDNS marketing team, run from another country | Based in Copenhagen; the team of four in Luxembourg, visited every two weeks for three days. | Lead a turnaround team without being in the room most of the time. | Set a cadence: fortnightly face-to-face meetings, 1:1s and plenum discussions when in the office, then space to focus and get on with it in between. Available for ad-hoc calls but not hovering. | Structure without micromanagement: clarity on direction, autonomy on execution. It taught him to manage by outcomes rather than tasks, a habit kept since. | Feb 2013 - Nov 2014 | ways of working, turnaround, marketing, team leadership, remote, international |
| Marketing Director, EuroDNS | EuroDNS SEO remediation EuroDNS organic search | A previous agency had used black-hat SEO. The damage was part of why traffic had fallen for four years. | Repair the search footprint and get organic growth back. | Implemented remediation for the black-hat SEO damage, analysed user flow and redesigned the website and ecommerce funnels on the back of it. | Organic traffic doubled in 12 months. Bounce rate halved, from about 60% to about 30%. | Feb 2013 - Nov 2014 | turnaround, growth, conversion, SEO, funnels, KPIs, marketing, ecommerce, domains |
| Marketing Director, EuroDNS | EuroDNS domain extensions EuroDNS domain product range | A registrar whose edge was unusual domain extensions, selling them to a customer base that had been shrinking. Hundreds of new extensions were arriving in the market. | Reposition the product and give customers a reason to buy from EuroDNS rather than the giants. | Collected customer feedback and repositioned the product. Launched over 500 new domain extensions: where most registrars showed extensions as word art, EuroDNS showed .aq with a picture of icebergs, Creative Commons photography with the author credited, so a string of characters became a place. Rebooted the newsletter and built content marketing around it, including interviews with Rand Fishkin and the EFF. First provider to offer a free SSL certificate with every domain. | Part of the turnaround that reversed four years of decline in traffic and online sales. | Feb 2013 - Nov 2014 | turnaround, growth, conversion, SEO, launch, marketing, ecommerce, domains, team leadership, remote, international |
Tell me about EuroDNS
source: Tom's own account
EuroDNS is an ICANN-accredited international domain registrar, specialising in excellent service and unusual domain extensions. Customers included MailChimp, Lotus F1, and Time Warner. A turnaround project.
I joined as Marketing Director with a remote-hybrid setup - mostly managing the team from Copenhagen.
Key achievements:
- Reversed a 4-year decline in traffic and online sales
- Doubled organic traffic in 12 months, and halved bounce-rate (~60% to ~30%)
- Launched over 500 new domain extensions
Direct answers
- First provider to offer a free SSL certificate with every domain; over 500 new domain extensions launched, each shown as a place with Creative Commons photography rather than word art.
- Marketing Director by title; the product work was mine: discount ladders, management panels, bundling features, product strategy. EuroDNS's product managers managed the TLDs with the registries.
- Company context: founder-led. Probably about 50 people.
- At EuroDNS the product team was his: led the tech team building the customer control panel, alongside discount ladders, bundling and product strategy; reversed the sales decline and grew domain search revenue[EURODNS].
source: Tom's own account, direct answers
Related
- EuroDNS: how did you reverse the traffic decline EURODNS.R1.TURNAROUND
- EuroDNS: how do you manage remote teams EURODNS.R1.STORY.REMOTE
- Turnarounds: tell me about other turnarounds THEME.TURNAROUND
How did you turn around EuroDNS?
source: Tom's own account
The business had been in decline for 4 years when I joined. Traffic was dropping, online sales were down, and the website was legacy.
I restructured the marketing department, implemented KPIs, and rebooted all marketing channels including the website - all in under 8 months.
Key interventions:
- Implemented remediation for black-hat SEO damage from previous agency
- Analysed user flow and redesigned website and ecommerce funnels
- Collected customer feedback and repositioned the product
The result: reversed the decline, doubled organic traffic, halved bounce rate.
Direct answers
- Repositioned dry domains with curated photography, created content marketing & rebooted newsletter. Introduced OKRs and implemented tracking.
source: Tom's own account, direct answers
Related
- EuroDNS: how do you manage remote teams EURODNS.R1.STORY.REMOTE
- UK2 Group: how did you turn around the US marketing UK2.R1.USTURNAROUND
- Opbeat: how did you grow Opbeat OPBEAT.R1.GROWTH
How do you manage remote teams?
source: Tom's own account
I was Marketing Director at EuroDNS, but based in Copenhagen while the team was in Luxembourg. I travelled there every two weeks for three days.
Like any long-distance relationship, you need to trust each other.
I created a natural cadence: fortnightly face-to-face meetings and plenum discussions when I was in the office, then space to focus and get on with it in-between. I was available for ad-hoc calls but wasn't hovering.
It worked really well. The rhythm gave structure without micromanagement. The team had clarity on direction and autonomy on execution.
This setup taught me about managing by outcomes, not prescriptive tasks. When you're not in the room every day, you have to delegate properly.
Related
- UK2 Group: how did you turn around the US marketing UK2.R1.USTURNAROUND
- Leadership and management: what is your management experience THEME.MGMT
- EuroDNS: how did you reverse the traffic decline EURODNS.R1.TURNAROUND