Expired Domain Name – What is it?
SHORT ANSWER: An expired domain is a domain name that was once registered to an individual or a company whose registration has expired.
LONG ANSWER: Domain names get “registered” to either you personally or to a company – you decide which way to go. Your domain name registration is good for one year, at which time you can renew ownership. After that, each year, you renew your ownership of that domain name. Domain name renewal costs anywhere from $5 to $15, depending on which domain name registrar you use.
Most domain name registrars give you the option of a multi-year renewal, which saves a few dollars and the headache of renewing every year. Multi-year renewals are a good idea if you have a domain name you are pretty certain you will want for the foreseeable future.
Even if you decide to let go of the website attached to the name, you can always use it for PPC and affiliate ads like the big guys do!
An expired domain name is one with an expired registration – no one can claim ownership. If you don”t renew at the end of the year, that domain name becomes available for purchase by someone else.
Why would someone allow a good domain name to expire?
- Maybe the domain name wasn”t so good after all!
- Absentminded website owners who simply neglected to renew their domain names;
- Webmasters who got tied up in other ventures or interests;
- Webmasters who discontinued a site due to time constraints;
- Webmasters who ran out of money to continue to operate.
Your domain name registrar should send you several renewal notices prior to the name expiring so you don’t miss renewing a domain name you want. Make sure you have a working email address on file with your registrar so you don’t miss a renewal notice!
When a domain name expires these days, the bigger domain name registrars assume control of the name for a few months before allowing it to be sold again. Your domain name registrar parks your old domain name because there might still be traffic to the site, traffic thta just might click on an ad. The parked page will now be filed with Pay Per Click ads with all the money going to the domain name registrar. Smart!
Here’’s the rub: if you decide you want the name back after it’s expired and the registrar has assumed control of it, the registrar will charge you anywhere from $50 to $150 (those are the prices I’ve seen) to pull that domain name out of limbo and reinstate it to you! (Even a domain name without much traffic might cough up a few pennies over time… even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then!)
The lesson here is, if there is any chance you can use that domain name, make sure your email address is good so you don’t miss your renewal!