Domain Name Parking - What Does it Mean?

Domain name parking refers to the registration of an Internet domain name without that domain being used for a website. Well to some people, that doesn't make much sense, but there are some reasons why you would do that. A friend recently asked me what parking a domain meant and and why someone would do that. I've also been asked about ways to make money through domain name parking. To really understand it, you must really understand what a domain name is and why you might want to purchase one and then park it.

What is a Domain Name?

When I talk about a domain name, I mean a name like the name of this website, Create-a-great-website.com. It's the address of your website. It's what people see in Google's search results when they do a search for the topic of your website. It's what people type into their browser's address bar to get to your site.

In reality it's the representation of the numeric address of your website. But because the words or name of your website address is usually easier to remember than a long string of numbers, we use the word version of your website address and call that a domain name.

If someone wants to set up a website, they will usually "rent" space from a web hosting service such as Bluehost. Then they can register a domain name and point it to their website on the Bluehost server. This is called Registering a Domain Name. Whenever a visitor types the domain name of your website into the address bar of their browser, they will be taken to the home page for your website. For example, if you were to type in the name www.guidesandtutorials.com into your browser, you would be taken to the main page of one of my websites about technology and software tutorials.

Parking your Domain Name

There are several reasons why you might decide to park your domain name. You might do it to reserve the domain name for future development. If you've thought of a cool name, you can purchase it now knowing that you plan to develop a related website in the future but you want to be certain that the domain name is available. It's available now, so you register it and then park the domain until you're ready to use it or have your website fully developed.

While I do not recommend it, some people buy a domain name before they ever research their site concept and consider the implications of the domain name they choose. So they have a domain name before they have the their website content developed. In this case they can't point the domain name to a website so they can park it temporarily until they have their site ready to publish. Some people are clever enough to find ways to make money with this, but I'll explain that later.

Domain names are registered through Domain name registrars. These are the companies that provide domain registering services. Usually when you purchase web space on a hosting provider and point your domain name to that server, the hosting company will provide you with a dummy page until you get your home page created. The dummy page is what visitors will see when they type your domain name into their browser. They will see this placeholder provided until you replace it with your home page. This is also considered domain name parking.

You might also consider domain name parking when you're trying to research or decide which would be the best domain name for your website, so you purchase more than one and park them until you can decide which is the best one to use. This prevents someone from "stealing" or registering the domain name you wanted before you get around to it.

Make Money from Domain Name Parking

Domain name parking can also be a way to generate income by monetizing the parked domain. This is commonly done by domain name registrars but it can be done by anyone who ones a domain. So how do you make money from domain name parking? Simple, you create a web page and monetize it. That means you place information on your web page that can earn you money. Google even has a program called Google AdSense for Domains. This program allows publishers with parked domain names to help others by providing relevant information including ads, links, and search results on the page.

With AdSense for Domains, users can find relevant information rather than see empty pages, "Under Construction Signs" or "page not found" errors. AdSense for Domains provides advertisers with additional opportunities to find their customers, and ads on these pages usually convert well. AdSense for Domains can be used on any domain that adheres to Google's policies.

This can be especially beneficial for those who purchase or own domains that have been previously used but for some reason have expired. There are more than likely a fair number of inbound links to that domain that will generate traffic even though the domain has expired. If you can use the web page as a place for advertisements, relevant links, search results, etc., you can use domain name parking to take advantage of the inbound links to get visitors to your page. Even though the domain may have expired, if people click on old links to the expired domain, they will arrive at your web page, where they might click on an ad resulting in income for you.

For webmasters with lots of domains, this can be a missed opportunity if they are not monetizing their parked domains.

What Else Do You Want To Know?

If youre thinking about parking a domain name or creating a website, you might want to read some of my other articles.

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