Parking

Domain name parking works on the basis that your domain name already receives or is likely to receive traffic. It’s generally only appropriate for “expired” domains – previously used domains that have not been renewed by the previous owners. It may also be appropriate for unregistered domain names that are likely to attract a significant level of “type it in” traffic – a significant number of people typing the domain name into their browser.

Let’s say, however, that you have an expired domain name that receives a steady stream of traffic. (How do you know that the domain receives traffic? There are a number of ways of estimating whether – and the extent to which – a domain name receives traffic. At a minimum you can make an educated guess based on

(a) where the name ranks in the major search engines, and (b) the number and quality of backward links.

So you decide to park the domain with a parking company. You submit your domain name and are asked to select a keyword or keyphrase. This keyword or keyphrase should generally relate to what the domain name was previously used for, and what visitors to the site are expecting to see. (Nothing will turn off that traffic – and destroy your income potential – faster, than significantly changing the nature of the site!)

If, for instance, you have a domain name related to car insurance, you might choose “car insurance” as your keyphrase. The parking company will then display content and advertisements related to car insurance on the website. Parking companies obtain these advertisements through their arrangements with major advertising networks, like those operated by Google and Yahoo. When a visitor clicks on a given advertisement, you will receive a percentage of the pay‐per‐click revenue.

There are key advantages to parking a domain:

• You don’t have to create any html pages or add any code – the parking company does it all for you;

• You can quickly change keywords to optimize your site (much more difficult when you do it yourself);

• Parking companies have pre‐made graphics and layouts you can use;

• There are various automated systems to track statistics, conversion rates, and how much money you’re making – so you don’t need to buy or implement your own;

• You can get a site up and running, and earning you money, much more quickly than if you had to wait by creating – or even hiring someone to create – your own site. In the time you spend creating or overseeing the creation of your own site… you could be analyzing, buying, monetizing and selling more domains!

For all of the above reasons, most domainers will park their names. It’s quick, easy and often a “no‐brainer”. If you don’t have the time to develop a web site… or just want something up there making money until you’re able to sell it… park it. After all, at the end of the parking company’s billing period (usually a month), you’ll receive a wire transfer into your bank account or money deposited into your PayPal account. Not bad, eh? Buy a domain, park it, do nothing and get paid money! However, there are two major disadvantages to parking:

• You could be leaving a lot of money on the table. If you are making money via parking… chances are the parking company is taking most of it. Which leads us to the second disadvantage…

• Most parking companies don’t disclose how much money they make from you! In other words, you don’t even know how much money they’re making from the advertising they display on your website… or what percentage of this you are getting. The parking company will just say, “We take a percentage”.

My “hit prediction” is that this will change. As parking itself becomes more competitive, the parking companies will start revealing how much they keep and how much they pay to domainers. In the meantime, never assume that you’re getting the best deal from any one parking company. Test the same domain name with different parking companies and find out for yourself which company makes you the most income. (Remember, it’s not just about how much money they pay per click, but the combination of how much traffic they get, how much of this they convert and how much they pay per click that determines your overall level of income.)

Also, although most domainers don’t spend a lot of time building websites, you may decide that this is the best monetization strategy for some domains. In this case, you might decide to build (or hire someone to build) a content website that displays affiliate offers and advertising directly from an advertising network. Now, when someone clicks on an ad or buys through your affiliate offers – you’ll keep all the cash.

If you are considering this option, just be sure to read the terms and conditions of the affiliate merchants and/or ad networks. Each one has different rules about how and where you can place their offers and advertising. It’s also critical to provide valuable content. Don’t just put up a website full of advertising. Provide valuable content that keeps visitors coming back for more (or at least entices them to click on your ads or affiliate links).