Domain Names

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: Your domain name can be registered, or owned, by either you as an individual or by your business name. Domain names are registered for a year at a time. Then, every year you renew 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.

Who would allow a good domain name to expire?

• Perhaps it wasn’t such a good domain name 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.

As domain name renewal comes around, you should get several renewal notices from your domain name registrar. Make sure the email address on file with your domain name registrar is working so you don’t miss a renewal!

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. Why would they bother? Because just maybe there is still traffic finding its way to your old domain name. And traffic is money. 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! (This is a good indication of how much even a cheap domain name is worth!)

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!

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