When you register a domain name you will see other options with different extensions, such as.com, .net, .org etc. Sometimes you'll see that domain names are unavailable. Many people work in the domain name buying and selling business, purchasing up all sorts of names that may have some value now or in the future. By keeping hold of domains people use them as an investment. Expired domains are a big part of this marketplace. They provide the opportunity to get premium or quasi-premium domain names at affordable prices.
How Do Domain Names Expire?
When you register a domain name you keep it for certain period of time, for example 12 months or 24 months. Your web host will probably give you the opportunity to auto renew the domain name. If you don't do this, you choose to let the domain name go and not pay for another registration period, there will be a period of grace where you can get the domain date back, and then the domain name will become available again. This is what is meant by an expired domain. The domain name was once registered and now it is not.
What Happens To Expired Domains?
When the domain name has not been re-registered, the domain name goes through a process. The website will become inactive and the domain name no longer linked to the hosting server. You then can't make any updates on the domain name and it is gone.
The Grace Period
The grace period is a time when you can't use the domain name as it is disabled, but you will be able to renew and will have first refusal, normally for a 29-day period.
Redemption Period
After this grace period has expired your domain name will enter a redemption period. This is where the registrar is in the process of deleting the domain in the registry. During the redemption, you will be able to buy back the domain name. You likely have to pay an additional fee as well as a standard renewal price.
The Deletion Period
The deletion period is a five-day window where the registry has the domain name held pending full deletion. Once it is fully deleted it becomes expired and available for access and purchase by anyone.
There are lots of tools out there to help you identify domain names that are coming up for renewal, or in the grace, redemption or deletion periods. If someone has let a domain name go into a redemption, it is quite likely that they will not renew. There is then a mad scramble with companies trying to pick up domain names with value.
What Kind Of Value Can You Get For An Expired Domain Name?
Although an expired domain name will have been deleted, and the files gone, the name itself might have value, or people might still be typing the domain name into the browser search bar looking for the service or product. In addition, the domain name might have a lot of inbound links which provide the domain with authority and even traffic.
People tend to look at metrics such as trust flow, domain authority, the number and power of inbound links, and the Alexa rank of domain names to understand whether they have value.
Why Might You Buy An Expired Domain Name?
The value of an expired domain name in terms of SEO is contentious. Some people consider expired domain names pretty much a blank slate. However, there is a lot of soft evidence that expired domains carry a lot of weight with them after expiration and that's you can get a head start on a website using an expired domain name.
You may like to purchase expired domain name for this reason, or simply because it's a really nice pool to fishing when you are looking for a business name or any other type of website name. If someone has registered the domain name before it's quite likely that it may be good, and that's it may be better than options in your niche that have not been registered before. You can visit openhost for a domain or other key guidance you may need. You can pick up some gems when you are looking at the expired domain marketplace.
