What Is Domain Parking And How Does It Work?

Technological advancements and digitization have forever changed our world and how we express ourselves, creating new meanings for many commonly used words. For instance, when someone speaks about surfing, they are usually referring to browsing the world wide web and not the same name water sport.

Something very similar is happening with the word parking, and here in this short and informative blog post, we are going to outline the new meaning of this word that usually refers to the spot where you park your vehicle. To better understand what domain parking is, how it works, and why it’s becoming an everyday phenomenon on the Internet from which many smart entrepreneurs gain an economic advantage, we encourage you to read along. For a better understanding, some basic domain knowledge, which we’ll discuss in the paragraph below. 

The Basics

As you already know, websites are exclusively accessible via their online addresses, generally referred to as their domains. Technically speaking, a domain is only the component of the address that comes after the “www.” It is important to note that each domain has a remarkable quality – it is unique, which means that two matching domains can’t and don’t exist.

Suppose you are interested in a domain and find that it is available,  you can go ahead and register that domain for a specific fee and take full possession of it which prevents others from registering the same one for the duration that it is under your possession.

Photo from Force 36

 

However, registering the domain name alone doesn’t ensure online existence but only indicates the website’s name. Upon registering your domain, you will undoubtedly need the “physical space” where you’ll be able to create pages full of content and upload files.

That’s why you have to assign your domain to a reliable hosting service that will allow your website to become connected to the domain name system and be available twenty-four-seven. So what is domain parking?

Domain Parking

Fundamentally, domain parking is a legitimate method by which domain holders profit from their unused domains where the “parking lot” acts as the home page. Crafty domain owners modify the home page once they obtain a particular domain, and instead of creating a landing page with specific content, they place ads.

This way, the domain owners create revenue from the number of visitors and clicks generated from the ads. So if you register a catchy domain, park the domain and place ads on it instead of regular content, you can establish an automated profit system in a matter of hours.

Likewise, many websites opt for non-for-profit ads, helping a particular cause or generating buzz around a sensitive topic without deriving economic advantage out of it.

Corresponding notes like “coming soon” or “under construction” signify that the domain owner is planning on actively using the domain in the future and might be interested in placing an ad for the time being.

Advantages Of Domain Parking

This intelligent entrepreneurial method is specifically designed to meet the various needs of Internet users. So, why should domain holders consider this technique, and what are the top advantages that domain parking offers? 

• Registering and parking domains became a regular investment practice since the registration of domains emerged some twenty-five years ago. Frequently, domain investors expect to sell their parked domains at the right time to the highest bidder.
• People who possess many domains but have no time or interest to actively run websites use domain parking frequently to recoup their investments. 
• Many website developers create their websites offline. They acquire the domain before making their website and connect it to the domain name system immediately after finishing their web project. This leaves a significant amount of time for domain parking in between. 
• Domain holders want to avoid cybersquatting ops and prevent celebrities or famous brands’ acquisition. It’s a common practice that trademark owners of recognized products also register similar domain names to protect themselves from counterfeiting.

Now that you know what domain parking is and the top advantages it offers, you probably recognize why this method is a popular choice among domain owners. Read along to find out how it actually works.

How Does It Work?

Domain parking pertains to unused domains and not the ones currently connected to an active project, and it is set up so when a person browsing the internet lands on the parked domain, they will see a “parking lot” full of ads. From there, if the user clicks on any of the ads on the landing page, the domain owner receives the “parking revenue” – it’s that easy.

Suppose the website has been linked from other websites or had formerly been used for a successful project, in that case, the domain could attract a lot of traffic and generate considerable profits. For the domain to be settled to a parking page, the domain holder must configure the name server settings at their registrar to match those of their parking provider.

 

The domain holder can easily choose the ad content of their parking page, for example, if they only want to have ads from the healthcare industry. As a parked domain owner, you can effortlessly see how much traffic arrives on your parking page, the number of clicks, the CTR rate, and how much revenue the website generates on your parking provider’s interface. You would be in total control of your entrepreneurial activity.

Monetize From Domain Parking

Profiting from domain parking is not hard at all. Ads that fit thematically with the name of the domain are added to the domain’s landing page. After that, the ads, which use various partners like Yahoo or Google, are activated by the corresponding providers in collaboration with the parking provider.

Whenever a page visitor clicks on an ad, the ad company compensates the website operator money based on the PPC model. Afterward, the parked domain’s earnings on account of the clicks are split between the domain owner, the advertising partners, and the parking provider.

Final Thoughts On Domain Parking

Now that you know a thing or two about domain parking and how it works, you can understand the hype surrounding it and the possibility to encounter claims of huge returns if you hunt around a catchy domain name. Having said that, if you own a domain you’re currently not using, parking it can be a great way to make it pay for itself. Moreover, if you choose your domain names correctly, you can see an excellent return from them.