When a person or business registers a domain name, they normally continue to hold that domain name until they stop paying the renewal fees (which are usual annual) to the domain registrar. A domain may not be renewed for any number of reason, although probably the most common reasons are the original owner either lost interest in the domain name, or is no longer trading. Whatever the reason that a domain is not renewed, it then goes through a gradual multi-step process which eventually culminates in it being available again to register on a first come, first served basis.
Domains that expire in this way can be valuable for two main reasons:
1. The domain name may be valuable itself – and may therefore represent an opportunity for a new owner to build a new web site on it, or simply sell on (”flip”) the domain name.
2. When a person buys an expired domain name, although they will not get copies (nor legal rights to use) the previous content of any associated web site, the new owner may nevertheless inherit incoming links from other third party sites. For example, if the old web site was previously listed in directories, the new owner of the domain name may be able to derive some benefit and initial traffic from such listings.
Acquiring expiring domains thus represents an interesting business area. Fortunately, there are many tutorials, and a wide range of software and web tools that can help an entrepreneur in entering this field. These include software for searching for expiring domain names, lists of expiring domain names, and software and services designed to help win the race to acquire particular names when they do expire.
