What is a Parked Domain & How to Make Money From It?

Last updated on September 5th, 2022 by Melinda Bartley

Do you want to know what a parked domain means?

A parked domain is owned by someone but isn’t being used for any website or email hosting. It’s simply parked for future use or resale. In fact, domain parking is a lucrative business.

In this guide, we’ll explain what parked domains are all about. We’ll also show you how to park a domain name and how you can make money from it.

Here’s what we’ll be covering:

What is a Parked Domain
What is Domain Parking?
How to Park a Domain Name?
Best Domain Parking Companies
How to Make Money with Parked Domains?
FAQS on Parked Domains

Let’s get started.

What is a Parked Domain

A parked domain is one that is registered by a person or company and parked for future use. The domain is registered under their name but isn’t used for any website or email account. This means it isn’t connected to any web hosting server either.

Here’s an example of a parked domain with a ‘for sale’ sign:

What is Domain Parking?

Domain parking and parked domain are used interchangeably but there is a difference between the two.

Domain parking usually refers to cash parking where the domain name is used to make money from advertisements while it is parked. So instead of simply letting the domain be idle, the domain parking service will display an ad to anyone who happens to visit the domain name.

You’ll make money when someone clicks on the ad.

So why would anyone want to spend money and simply park the domain? There are plenty of reasons for this:

Secure for Future Use: The buyer may want to build a site in the near future and is buying the name before anyone else can. They may have an idea for it and aren’t ready to build the website just yet. This is especially useful if you don’t want to invest in a web hosting plan just yet, you could buy and park the domain for free with quite a few services.
Prevent Misuse of Your Brand: If you own a popular website, chances are malicious users may buy similar domain names or extensions to steal your traffic and revenue. You could become the victim of cybersquatting where someone tries to profit off of your trademark by buying domain names with the same trademark.
Send Users to the Main Website: You may have multiple domain addresses pointing to one website. This allows you to divert all traffic going to the wrong spelling or wrong extension of your domain name. So for instance, if your site is example.net, you may also buy example.com, example.org, and example.biz and redirect any traffic coming to these sites to your main website. In this case, you could just park the domain name and point it to the main website.
Resell the Domain Name: There are people and even full-fledged businesses that buy and sell domain names. Domains are like digital real estate and can be extremely valuable just like real estate in the real world. Domain brokers and resellers buy domains for low prices and then sell it later to interested buyers at a profit.
Forced Parking by Registrar: If you fail to renew your domain name, the domain register will take down your website and display a parking page. They usually grant you a grace period to renew an expiring domain name. Beyond that, the domain name will expire and go back on the market for someone else to buy it. During this time, the registrar will display a landing page that alerts visitors the domain is available for sale. They may also display ads to monetize the domain.

Like this, there may be other reasons why you would want to park a domain name. The good part in all this is that it’s really easy to park a domain.

How to Park a Domain Name?

Parking domains is easy. There are many domain parking services that take care of the technical side of things. All you have to do is sign up with the service and follow their steps to park your domain.

Most domain parking services allow you to park your domain for free. This is without monetization. The domain will be reserved in your name and protected from being registered by anyone else.

If you choose to monetize your domain name, there may or may not be upfront sign up costs. Or they may take a percentage of the ad revenue you make on your domain name. It depends on the domain parking service.

Step 1: Register the Domain Name

To get started, you’ll want to find the domain name you want to park. You can use our Nameboy Domain Name Generator to find available names. You simply need to enter one or two keywords into the search bar.

nameboy

Then you’ll see a list of the best domain names available. The generator checks domain name availability with Bluehost and Domain.com, 2 of the best domain registrars in the world.

Once you’ve selected your name, you can buy the domain name with 2 exclusive offers for Nameboy users:

1. Domain.com

You can register the domain in your own name on Domain.com. As a Nameboy user, you’ll get 25% off on your purchase on Domain.com.

2. Bluehost

Bluehost is a top web host company with reliable hosting services at affordable rates.

You can get started with a web hosting plan for as low as $2.75 per month. You’ll get a free domain name, free SSL certificate and CDN that will make your website more secure and faster.

Click HERE To Get This Exclusive Bluehost Deal

We recommend using Bluehost as they let you park domain names under your hosting plan.

With Bluehost’s basic shared hosting plan, you can park up to 5 domain names. But with all the other plans that includes the Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro plans, you can park unlimited domain names. There are no extra charges.

These higher-tiered web hosting plans are affordable (starting at $4.95 per month). And they’re completely worth it, here’s why:

Free one-year domain registration
Free SSL included
Free CDN access
Unlimited primary domains
Unlimited parked domains
Unlimited subdomains
Ample storage space

Once you’ve registered the name, you’re ready to park it.

Step 2: Park the Domain Name

We’ll show you how to park your domain name with 3 of the most popular domain parking services:

1. Bluehost

When you register the domain name, it’ll be mapped to your web hosting account. First, inside your Bluehost dashboard, open the Domains » Assign Domain tab.

Here, you can specify a directory to point the addon domain.

Next, you need to choose ‘Parked Domain’ from the list of available domain options.

Click the “Assign This Domain” button at the bottom of the page to assign the domain.

When you’re done, you’ll be able to see the domain listed in the Domain Manager tab.

2. SiteGround

SiteGround also offer an unlimited amount of parked domain names with all hosting plans. To create a parked domain, log in to your SiteGround dashboard. Head over to Site Tools and select Domain » Parked Domains.

Now enter the desired parked domain in the Domain field and click ‘Add’.

It’s that simple. And if you want to delete the parked domain, go to Site Tools » Domain » Parked Domains.

Here, click ‘Delete (delete icon)’ next to the entry for the parked domain name.

3. HostGator

To park a domain with HostGator, log in to your account and go to cPanel » Domains section and click the Aliases icon.

Under Create a New Alias Domain, enter the domain name you would like to park on top of your primary domain.

Review your details. Then click on the Add Domain button. That’s it. You’ve parked your domain.

To remove the parked domain, back in the Domains section, click the ‘Aliases’ icon. find the domain you wish to remove.

In the Actions column for that domain, click Remove.

With that, you’ve learned how to add and remove parked domains with HostGator.

Best Domain Parking Companies

There are many domain parking companies that let you park your domain name safely. Here’s our top 5:

There are also domain brokers like Sedo that let you park your domain for free.

See: 5 Top Domain Name Broker Services

Now we’ll show you how you can make money from parking domain names.

How to Make Money with Parked Domains?

There are a 2 main ways you could make money from a parked domain:

1. Domain Flipping

You could get into the business of buying and selling domain names for a profit. This is called domain flipping and it could generate a sizeable income for you. It could also generate nothing if you don’t invest wisely and buy domain names that are worth nothing.

Read more about it: Domain Flipping: How to Start and Make a Profit.

You’ll also find this guide helpful: Domain Brokers: What are They and Should You Use Them?

2. Advertising

You can sign up with domain parking services that let you monetize your idle domain. You won’t have to build a website or manage anything.

So for instance, GoDaddy has a CashParking platform. Every time a visitor drops by your parked domain and clicks an ad, you receive money through your cash parking account. Depending on your preference, your options normally include PayPal, direct deposit, and personal checks.

There’s also Sedo that lets you monetize with thematically matched advertising links featured on your domain. You will earn money whenever a visitor clicks on the advertising links. It’s easy to set up and completely free.

Now you’ve learned how to make money from parked domains. Up next, we’ll answer frequently asked questions about parked domains.

FAQs on Parked Domains

Are parked domain names safe?

Every domain name on the internet can become a target of domain hijacking. There are measures you can take to safeguard your domain name like making sure you use strong user credentials and passwords for your domain account. Learn more here: How to Recover a Stolen Domain and Prevent Domain Hijacking.

How to keep parked domains safe?

We recommend making sure the domain lock is on for your domain name. You’ll find this setting inside your domain account.

Next, you should enable domain privacy that will hide your personal details so hackers, identity thieves and spammers can’t access them.

You’ll also want to keep your contact information up to date so that the registrar can get in touch with you about renewal notices.

Also read our guides on domain squatting and domain hijacking.

What’s the difference between parked and addon domains?

An addon domain is a fully functional domain name that’s connected to a hosting server. It would likely have a website or email account active. A parked domain is an idle domain name that’s not in use and is simply parked for future use, resale, or ads.

Do I need a hosting plan to park a domain?

No. You can park a domain without a hosting plan with companies like Sedo. However, there are many web hosts that let you park unlimited domains for free when you sign up for one of their hosting plans.

That’s all we have for today. We hope you found this guide helpful. Next, you’ll want to read more of our posts:

These posts will give you more related content on domains and how to get a good deal on them.

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