Life Cycle of Domain Name: Expired!
Posted on May 13, 2009
Filed Under Can You Succeed While Working from Home? |
Make Some-Net Marketing Sense.Com
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: When you purchase a domain name, you have a choice of whether to register it to you or to your company. Once it’s registered to you or your company, it stays registered for one year. 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 fail to renew your domain name, it becomes available for purchase.
Who would allow a good domain name to expire?
- Perhaps the domain name turned out to be not so good!
- 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 you have a working email address on file with your registrar so you don’t miss a renewal notice!
Now, when a domain name expires, registrars take over the name for 3-6 months afterwards before putting it on the market 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 page will be filled with PPC ads, all profits going to the 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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