Earn money with your unused domain names
Domain parking refers to the registration of an internet domain name without that domain being associated with any services such as e-mail or a website. This may have been done with a view to reserving the domain name for future development, and to protect against the possibility of cybersquatting. Since the domain name registrar will have set name servers for the domain, the registrar or reseller potentially has use of the domain rather than the final registrant.
Domain parking can be classified as monetized and non-monetized. In the former, advertisements are shown to visitors and the domain is 'monetized'. In the latter, an "Under Construction" or a "Coming Soon" message may or may not be put up on the domain by the registrar or reseller. This is a single-page website that people see when they type the domain name or follow a link in a web browser. Domain names can be parked before a web site is ready for launching.
Parked domain monetization
Domain parking may also refer to an advertising practice, more precisely called parked domain monetization [1], used primarily by domain name registrars and internet advertising publishers to monetize type-in traffic visiting a parked or "under-developed" domain name. The domain name will usually resolve to a web page containing advertising listings and links. These links will be targeted to the predicted interests of the visitor and may change dynamically based on the results that visitors click on. Usually the domain holder is paid based on how many links have been visited (e.g. pay per click) and on how beneficial those visits have been. The keywords for any given domain name provide clues as to the intent of the visitor before arriving.
Another use of domain parking is to be a placeholder for an existing web site. The domain holder might also choose to redirect a domain to another website it has registered, either through URL redirection, domain cloaking or by pointing it as an alias of the main domain, although if this is done by the ultimate registrant, the domain is then in use, rather than parked.
Expired domains that were formerly websites are also sought after for parked domain monetization. A domain that was used as a website and is allowed to expire will still maintain most of its prior inbound links. These types of domains usually attract their largest amount of visitor traffic initially after being claimed from the domain drop lists. As website operators and search engines begin to remove the former inbound links, the traffic to the parked domain will begin to decline. The process of re-registering expired names is known as dropcatching and various domain name registries have differing views on it. [2]
On domains with a 'one-click' implementation, a click on a keyword is not necessary to generate ads. The ads are targeted based on the domain name. Domains with 'two-click' implementations require a click on a keyword or a keyword search to generate ads.
There are several companies that actively cater to domain name holders and act as middlemen to serve advertisements on parking pages. The parking pages are propagated automatically on a domain holder's web property when they either change the name servers or forward the URL.
Domaineering
Domaineering is the web-based marketing business of acquiring and monetizing Internet domain names focusing on their use specifically as an advertising medium rather than primarily speculating on domains as intellectual property investments for resale as in domaining where generating advertising revenue is considered more of a bonus while awaiting a sale. In essence, the domain names function as virtual Internet billboards with generic domain names being highly valued for their revenue generating potential derived from attracting Internet traffic hits from natural type-in address bar searches. Revenue is earned as potential customers view pay per click ( PPC ) ads or the Internet traffic attracted may be redirected to another website. Hence, the domain name itself is the revenue generating asset conveying information beyond just functioning as a typical web address. As the value here is intrinsically in the domain name as an information carrying vehicle and not in a website's products or services, these domains are developed for advertising, ( i.e, "parked" ), and not into "conventional" websites. As with traditional advertising, domaineering is part art and part science. Often to be the most effective as an advertising tool, the domain names and their corresponding landing pages must be engineered or optimized to produce maximum revenue which may require considerable skill and keen knowledge of search engine optimization ( SEO ) practices, marketing psychology and an understanding of the target market audience, including demographics. Domaineering generally utilizes a firm offering domain parking services to provide the sponsored "ad feed" of a word or phrase searched for thus creating a mini-directory populated largely by advertisers paying to promote their products and services under a relevant generic keyword domain often found through direct navigation. Occasionally content is added to develop a functional mini-website. Ethical domaineers contend that their product, i.e., "domain advertising", is a bona fide offering of goods or services in and of itself which provides rights to and legitimate interests in the generic domains they use. This serves as a rebuttal or defense in addressing occasional spurious accusations of cybersquatting on trademarks. Domaineers and some of those who advertise online using generic keywords believe domaineering provides a useful, legal and legitimate Internet marketing service while opponents of domaineering decry the practice as increasing the ubiquitous commercialization of the world wide web. Domaineering aka "domain advertising" is practiced by both large organizations which may have registered hundreds or even thousands of domains to individual entrepreneurial minded domaineers who may only own one or a few. The earliest known verifiable identification and defining of domaineering as a distinct Internet advertising practice is attributed to Canadian Professor William Lorenz
DomainDomain parking is an extremely inexpensive way to secure a domaindomaindomain for later development, redirection of Web traffic, or re-sale. DomainDomainDomain registrants, or sellers, commonly offer domaindomaindomain parking free with domain registration, as there is virtually no cost involved with domaindomaindomain parking.
A parked domaindomaindomain includes one simple page. If the site is intended for development, the page will indicate it is under construction or coming soon. DomainDomainDomain parking can be renewed annually, and there is no deadline as to when a site need be developed. You might find you don’t have time, or you might decide to let the domaindomaindomain expire at the end of the contract, typically one year. In this case, the only investment lost is a few dollars.
If you decide to develop your domaindomaindomain, you will need to pay for hosting services at that point. The right hosting service will provide enough space for your website and any special scripts or services you require. Once the domaindomaindomain is being hosted, it is no longer parked.
If you already have a successful site, another use of domaindomaindomain parking is to secure addresses similar to your main website and redirect traffic there - an inexpensive way to protect your website. For example, wiseGEEK.net redirects traffic to the proper site, wiseGEEK.com. The first domaindomaindomain is parked. The parked domaindomaindomain need not reside on the same host server as the main website.
Some people use domaindomaindomain parking for the sole purpose of ‘re-selling’ the address - transferring ownership to a buyer for a fee. This occurred more in the early days of the Internet, when major companies had yet to arrive and were willing to pay a high price for their trademark names. Laws were eventually enacted to protect trademarks, but a parked page can still advertise the sale of a domaindomaindomain.
If interested in domaindomaindomain parking, keep in mind a few considerations. Most domaindomaindomain registrants offer hosting services, but you may or may not want the domaindomaindomain seller to host the domaindomaindomain once it is no longer parked. Be sure to check that the domaindomaindomain seller does not retain any rights to the domaindomaindomain. The buyer should have the power to control the domaindomaindomain’s registration information, and most importantly, the ability to transfer the domaindomaindomain to an independent hosting service when and if desired. Check to see whether a fee is associated with transferring the domaindomaindomain.
DomainDomainDomain registration once cost over 60 US Dollars (USD) per year, but today a domaindomaindomain can be had for as little as 5.99 USD annually or less. Hence, domaindomaindomain parking is an attractive proposition.
