Thousands of developed and thriving domains expire everyday. When a domain name expires, it becomes available to the public until someone else registers it. These expired domains would be continuing to receive endless traffic from search engines and also from a number of valuable links spread out across various locations in the Internet. Imagine launching a new website that already has a web presence with established traffic, the website having been promoted by its previous owner. This would be every marketer’s dream! Buying an expired domain name would be a good opportunity for you to cash in on.

Why Do Domains Expire?
There are many reasons for a domain name to have expired. The owner could just have forgotten to renew the domain name (maybe he was on a trip!), not paid the renewal fee, or just lost interest in the project.

How Do Domains Expire?
When a domain reaches its expiry date, the registry no longer delegates the DNS servers to its owner. All services will terminate and the domain goes into “expired” status. Termination does not mean the domain has been deleted. Some registries provide a grace period after deactivation following which the domain gets deleted. Grace periods may vary depending on registrars and TLDs. During the grace period, the current holder can still renew the domain for a standard renewal fee. However, achieving this status is a good indicator that the domain may not be renewed.

After the grace period, the domain moves into the “redemption period” during which time all WHOIS information is erased, and it will now cost the current holder an additional fee to reactivate and renew the domain registration. Back orders can be placed with the registrar at anytime during this process to guarantee you are first to be eligible when the domain registration becomes available.

The Benefits of a Pre-Owned Web Address

• A domain registered with major site listings is better than a “blank slate” domain that nobody knows about. (more…)