What is Domain Parking?

The Domain Name System is an essential part of the internet. While you don’t need a domain name to have a website, it is what gives your website an identity. This adds a level of professionalism and credibility while allowing you to distinguish yourself from the web host.

Most of us purchase a domain name for our site and immediately take it the server of a particular web host. Some people will buy a few names at once with plans of building later. Others have a totally different idea, using their name in hopes of profiting with domain parking.

Domain parking describes the process of registering an internet domain and not associating it with a service such as website or email account. Aside from using the name for future development and profit, some individuals use this practice merely to defend against cyber-squatting.

Domain parking essentially falls under two classifications: monetized and non-monetized. On a monetized parked domain you will find content in the form of various advertisements on the website. A non-monetized parked domain usually lacks content and displays messages such as “Coming Soon” or “Under Construction”.

Profiting From Parked Domains

Parked domain monetization has become a regular online advertising practice. It is primarily used by advertising companies and even domain registrars to generate revenue from type-in traffic that comes across the website. The typical parked domain set up for profit features several links and advertising listings. This content is generally targeted to the visitor’s interests and might alter dynamically based on how the user interacts. When the visitor types a domain name into the browser, it enables targeted content to be generated before the visitor even arrives. In most cases, the domain owner is compensated based on the number of links that have been visited. There may also be specific requirements that determine compensation such as acquiring a sale or subscription.

Former websites that resulted into expired domains are often sought after for monetary purposes, a practice known as drop-catching. Even when the website expires, it typically maintains most of its primary incoming links. This method has become popular because such domains tend to attract the greatest amount of traffic, typically right after being claimed. As search engines and website administrators realize the domain is no longer active, they remove those inbound links, significantly decreasing the level of traffic on the parked domain.

Another way to profit from domain parking is to act as a placeholder for an existing site. In this instance, the domain owner could also decide to redirect the domain to another website they created. This can done with a URL redirection, pointing the domain as an alias of a primary domain, or by using a method known as domain cloaking. When such processes are handled by the eventual owner, the domain is then considered to be in use and no longer parked.

Parking Your Domains

Domain parking has become so widespread, it is now common web hosting feature. You will find that many companies allow you to park an unlimited amount of domains. Of course the names will have to be purchased, but they can be profitable if you’re able to master the system.

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