Domain Names Revealed Chapter 1: So What is a Domain Name Exactly?
What is a domain name? That is the question many people ask when they first hear about them. In fact, I am often surprised that many people have no clue what a domain name is (despite typing one in the browser bar daily), much less how to profit from them. I am even more surprised that there are some people who have actually registered a domain (sometimes in conjunction with a website) and simply watched as their domain name expired after they decided to end their venture (instead of reaping the potential profits by reselling the domain). So with all the confusion & questions, let’s start with a brief definition & explanation of a domain name.
Definition
Simply stated, a domain name is a unique name that identifies a website. It can consist of letters, numbers, and also a hyphen. These letters and/or numbers are not case sensitive (which means capitalization doesn’t matter) and they simply represent a numerical IP address. An example of a domain name is www.example.com. When you type the domain (example.com) into your browser, you will be taken to the website used in conjunction with the domain name. Of course, you don’t have to use a domain with a website. You could simply register the domain & do nothing.
Classification of Domains
Domains are usually classified by their extension (.com, net, etc.) or the “top level domain” unit. The top-level units can be divided into 3 basic categories: Generic top-level domains, country code top-level domains, and an infrastructure top level domain. The generic top-level domains are the most commonly used & traded. They normally consist of 3 letter extensions and contain the well known
.com, .net, .org, and many more. Country code top-level domains are domains that are usually only 2 letters long and they are associated with a specific country or region. For instance .us is used for the United States. The country code domains are also occasionally used & traded, but much less often than the generic level domains. The infrastructure top-level domain extension is .arpa and it is used only with
internet infrastructure (not traded or used by normal individuals or businesses).
These different extensions used with domain names usually stand for the intended purpose or location of the domain. The .com stands for “commercial site,” .net means “network,” .org means “organization,” .gov is used with “government authorities,” and etc. Some of these extensions are open and unrestricted (such as .com), which means anyone can register it & you don’t necessarily have to use it for its intended
“commercial” purposes. It could be used for just about any kind of a website. Other domains extensions, however, are more tightly regulated & can only be used or registered for a particular purpose or by individuals in a certain location or organization. For instance, .edu can only be registered by a post-secondary school that shows proof of accreditation.
The list below contains common generic top-level domains along with their originally intended purposes:
Generic Top-level Domain Names
.com- commercial organizations (open & unrestricted)
.net- for networks & organizations (open & unrestricted)
.org- for use with various organizations (open & unrestricted)
.biz- for use with Business (open & unrestricted for business uses)
.pro- for use with professions (restrictions apply)
.edu-for accredited secondary schools (restrictions apply)
.gov- for governments & agencies (restrictions apply)
.mil-for U.S. military (restrictions apply)
.info- for information sites (open & unrestricted)
.jobs- for job/career sites (restrictions apply)
.coop- for cooperatives (restrictions apply)
.aero- for air travel related sites (restrictions apply)
.name- for families & individuals (open & restricted to personal names)
.tel- for telephone & internet organizations (restrictions apply)
.travel- for vacation, travel agents, hotels, etc. (restrictions apply)
.int- for international uses (restrictions apply)
.cat- for Catalan cultures & languages (restrictions apply)
.museum- for use by museum (restrictions apply)
.mobi- for sites used with mobile devices (restrictions apply)
Again, just because .net was originally intended to be used with a network doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be used for that purpose. You could use it with about any kind of website because it is open & unrestricted for registration.
Regulation & Authorities
Domain names are maintained and regulated by authorities and systems such as the DNS (Domain Name System), ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers), the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) & more.
Basically, these systems & organizations are in place to deal with the technical aspects of domain names (such as maintaining accurate IP address data) as well as making certain delegations & restrictions to ensure stability and expansion of the World Wide Web. For instance, ICANN oversees the introduction & approval of new domain name extensions, the regulation of the DNS, and much more.
Registration & Expiration
Most domain names can be registered for periods ranging from 1 year to 10 years. To register a domain, you must use a company (called a registrar) that deals with domain name registries. There are several companies that perform this service (such as Godaddy.com, Yahoo.com, etc.) and you can find a complete list of available registrars at the following address: http://www.internic.net/alpha.html.
When you decide to register a domain you will need to first make sure the domain is available, then select a registrar, & register the domain name (the complete steps will be given later on how to register & transfer a domain). Again, you can select a domain registration period between 1-10 years depending on your own personal choice.
Once you register a domain, the domain is in your possession for the complete registration period. Your contact information will by made public in the WHOIS system (unless you opt for private registration). You can then renew the domain before it expires & theoretically own the domain indefinitely (as long as
you continue to renew the domain & you don’t break any major “rules” set forth by ICANN or other authorities). If you do not renew the domain name prior to its expiration date, then the domain will “expire” and another individual will have the opportunity to register it.
However, the domain expiration process is actually quite slow and the exact process & time frames can vary for different categories of domains and for the different registrars. For most top-level domains, the individual that registered the domain will likely receive a notice from the registrar (the company they used to register the domain) approximately 90 days before the domain expires. This is to simply inform the owner that the domain will expire in 3 months if it is not renewed. Then a 60 day notice will usually be given, followed by a 30 day notice, a 5 day notice, and then a final notice. If the domain is not renewed after the final notice, then the domain will start the expiration & deletion process (which could take as long as 1-3 additional months).
After the expiration date, the domain name is typically placed on a 30 day grace period. During this period, the domain is given the status of “REGISTRY-HOLD” which will prevent the domain name from functioning (as well as any websites or email addresses associated with the domain). This will indicate to the owner that the domain has expired & give them another chance to renew the domain in case
they did not receive the expiration notices. During this grace period the owner can still renew the domain by paying the renewal fee.
After this 30 day grace period ends, the domain name will change to a REDEMPTION-PERIOD status. During this stage, the owner can usually still renew the domain, but will also have to pay an additional service fee that could range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. Usually when a domain reaches
this stage it will continue through the entire deleting process. If the domain is not renewed by the owner during this final REDEMPTION period, the domain’s status will change to PENDING-DELETE for approximately 5 more days. This means that the domain name is now preparing for deletion from
the registry. Usually at this pending-delete stage, the domain cannot be renewed by the owner or the registrar.
Once the domain name has been deleted from the registry, it will then be available for purchase by the general public. Even this process, however, can be complicated. If there were people interested in buying the domain before it even expired, they may have used a backorder service (we will discuss more about
backorder services later). If this is the case, the individual using the backorder service will be able to acquire the domain before anyone else. If there are multiple individuals using a backorder service, then the domain name will likely go into a private auction between those individuals (more will also be discussed on auctions later).
Chapter 2: Finding Valuable Domains
How to Make Money With Domain Names-Intro
What Is a Domain Name Exactly-Chapter 1
How to Find Profitable Domain Names-Chapter 2
How to Estimate and Appraise Domain Value-Chapter 3
How to Make Money and Profit from Domains-Chapter 4
How to Make Money and Profit from Domains-Continued
Domain Name Tips & Tricks-Chapter 5
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This post was written by Ben on May 31, 2009
