Don’t Let That Domain Name Expire!

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 must be registered to either an individual or to a business; you choose which for your domain names. Once it’s registered to you or your company, it stays registered for one year. 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!

A domain name with an expired registration, meaning no one owns the name at the moment, is known as an “expired” domain name. If you fail to renew your domain name, it becomes available for purchase.

Who would miss a domain name renewal?

• 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 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. Domain name registrars park that page with PPC ads on it so they can rake in the profits – no matter how small – from any continuing traffic you’ve built up. 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 that didn’t produce much traffic for you might produce a penny one day!)

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!