Domain parking
Encyclopedia
Domain parking is the registration of an Internet
domain name
without using it for services such as e-mail
or a website
i.e without placing any content on the domain. This may be done to reserve the domain name for future development, to protect against the possibility of cybersquatting
, or to engage in cybersquatting. Since the domain name registrar
will have set name server
s 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 registrant gains revenue. 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.
s and Internet advertising publishers to monetize type-in traffic
visiting a parked or minimally 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 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 decline. The process of re-registering expired names is known as dropcatching and various domain name registries
have differing views on it.
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 domain parking companies that actively cater to domain name holders (domainer) 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.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
without using it for services such as e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
or a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
i.e without placing any content on the domain. This may be done to reserve the domain name for future development, to protect against the possibility of cybersquatting
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting , according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else...
, or to engage in cybersquatting. Since the domain name registrar
Domain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity, accredited by both ICANN and generic top-level domain registry to sell gTLDs and/or by a country code top-level domain registry to sell ccTLDs; to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of...
will have set name server
Name server
In computing, a name server is a program or computer server that implements a name-service protocol. It maps a human-recognizable identifier to a system-internal, often numeric, identification or addressing component....
s 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 registrant gains revenue. 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
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. 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 known as parked domain monetization used primarily by domain name registrarDomain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity, accredited by both ICANN and generic top-level domain registry to sell gTLDs and/or by a country code top-level domain registry to sell ccTLDs; to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of...
s and Internet advertising publishers to monetize type-in traffic
Type-in traffic
Type-in traffic is a term describing visitors landing at a web site by entering a keyword or phrase in the web browser's address bar Type-in traffic is a term describing visitors landing at a web site by entering a keyword or phrase (with no spaces or a hyphen in place of a space) in the web...
visiting a parked or minimally developed domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
. The domain name will usually resolve
Domain name system
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
to a web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
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
Pay per click
Pay per click is an Internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers pay the publisher when the ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market...
) 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
URL redirection
URL redirection, also called URL forwarding and the very similar technique domain redirection also called domain forwarding, are techniques on the World Wide Web for making a web page available under many URLs.- Similar domain names :...
, 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 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 decline. The process of re-registering expired names is known as dropcatching and various domain name registries
Domain name registry
A domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...
have differing views on it.
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 domain parking companies that actively cater to domain name holders (domainer) 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.