Domain Names & Company Copyrighting
Protecting Yourself & Purchasing Expired Domains while Staying Morally Unblemished
An on-going issue for website owners is the loss of their Domain Name when renewal time comes around. When a name is purchased it is most important that you keep control of that name, but it has become common for registration companies to sell a client's domain name to the highest bidder which is often a seedy company looking for free click throughs and past SEP ranking. This can become quite embarrassing when a potential client visits your site or is directed to it by way of a search engine and finds that it is now owned by a gambling or pornography company. Unfortunately there is seldom any legal recourse for this, and the expense would be very high if you did have a good legal argument.
To avoid this problem it is important to make sure that your name and contact information is used when purchasing the domain name. Because of convenience, many people rely on their site development or hosting company to take care of the domain name purchasing. We at Roadside Multimedia offer this service and as of late are taking a firmer stand on our clients' future. If you have any questions as to your personal site and your ownership for the domain name, please contact Roadside Multimedia at 360.658.2626.
Although this domain name purchasing scheme is often abused, it can be done up-front and morally to your great advantage. Many sites are forgotten about or abandoned. There are limited rules in place to protect people by giving a small grace period for renewal, that is if you personally own the domain name.
Imagine using a name that is already getting solid traffic and is indexed well through the search engines. Below are two articles. One is about finding and purchasing a good already existing domain name, the other is a high profile legal case currently going on about copyrighting.
How to Leverage Expired Domains to Increase Your Rankings and Traffic
Geico sues Google, Overture over trademarks
How to Leverage Expired Domains to Increase Your Rankings and Traffic
Written by Matt Paolini / Edited by Brent Winters
New sites appear on the Web each day at a blistering pace. Just as thousands of new sites are born each week, according to DomainsBot.com, one hundred thousand other domains will disappear. What happens to these domain names? Unless the owner continues to pay rent on the defunct domain, the name will eventually expire and be offered back to the public.
If you know where to look, you can often purchase a pre-owned domain name at a bargain basement price. There are at least five benefits to buying used rather than new when it comes to domain names:
- A Better Name -With so many of the best domain names already taken, many businesses settle for a domain that is less than ideal when they first get started. However, there are services that can watch for the availability of your ideal domain name and can then grab it as soon as it becomes available. Keep reading, as I'll explain more about this soon.
- Better Rankings via Keyword-rich Names -While you may have a great domain name now, it may not include all of your best keywords in the name. Sites with the keyword in the domain tend to rank higher than domains without the keyword. Many search engine optimizers will divide their content among various keyword topics with each topic hosted on it's own domain. This allows you to improve the focus and theme of each Web site, along with the ability to cross-link the sites for improved link popularity. WebPosition Gold's Page Critic describes this strategy in more detail.
- Existing Traffic Flow -Many active domains still receive a steady stream of traffic when they expire. If you snap up a previously active domain that is relevant to your business soon after it expires, you could benefit from an instant flow of free traffic.
- Reselling Domains for Profit - There are individuals and companies that turn a profit from domain name speculation. This is similar to someone purchasing land in a certain area believing that it's value will increase over time or when offered to the right buyer. There's risk involved of course, but if you're careful, you can make money.
- Built-in Link Popularity - If you've had a Web site long, you know building link popularity takes time and dedication. Previously active pre-owned domains often have dozens if not hundreds of existing links to them. Those links do not disappear as soon as a domain expires. Acquiring such a domain can save you a lot of work if you can find a domain that relates to your type of business.
Purchase only Relevant Domains
It is very important to find a domain name that is relevant to your industry. For instance, if you own a Web site design company, don't try to purchase an expired domain name that was once hosting a clothing site just because it has a lot of incoming links. Remember, search engines rely heavily on relevance when calculating your link popularity score.
If your pre-owned domain has a number of sites related to clothing pointing to your Web design site, the traffic will not be targeted and the links will not be relevant. This could hurt your link popularity score and visitors traveling from these links would feel deceived, and thereby will be unlikely to buy anything. In addition, Google and other engines may frown on such a tactic, declaring it a form of link spamming. However, if you're in the clothing business or are planning to start one, then a pre-owned domain like myclothing.com could be an excellent buy for you. For example, you might be able to acquire such a domain for $20 that includes several dozen incoming links and a flow of existing traffic. In this scenario, everyone wins.
Some of the most valuable pre-owned domains are those that are already included in Yahoo and DMOZ with a description relevant to the new site you have planned. These directories are great for improving a new site's link popularity and traffic.
In this article, I will supply you with the resources needed to help you locate and purchase pre-owned domain names that already have built in traffic and link popularity. Armed with the proper tools and knowledge, it is possible for you to find a hidden gem for no more than the cost of a regular domain.
Domain Name Life Cycle
Our first step is to become familiar with the actual domain name life cycle. This is the cycle of a domain from the time it is first registered through the time it is finally deleted.
Below is an outline of the important phases of a domain's life cycle:
- Active (1-10 years) -After purchasing a domain, it becomes active for 1 to 10 years depending on the length of the subscription. Most people purchase domains for one or two year terms and then can renew at the end of that term.
- On Hold (1-45 days) -When the registrar receives no response from the owner of the domain after the subscription ends, the registrar may send the delete command to the registry at its discretion. The domain could continue to operate for 1 to 45 days depending upon the registrar and other factors. The domain is still in the Shared Registry System (SRS) during this time.
- Redemption Grace Period (30 days) -After the on hold period, the domain name is held in the registry for 30 days during the Redemption Grace Period (RGP). During this time, the general public cannot purchase the name and the Web site no longer operates. This gives the original owner a grace period when he or she can still renew it. Sometimes domains accidentally expire when the owner had meant to renew it.
- Deletion (5 days) -After the final deletion command is sent, there can be 5 additional days where the domain remains in the Shared Registry System and cannot be purchased by others. The original owner can still renew the domain during this time.
- Available -Once the deletion completes, the name is released for purchase by the general public, normally on a first come, first served basis.
Expired and Pre-owned Domain Names Resources
In order to find expired and pre-owned domain names, you need to know where they're listed. There are many services that maintain large databases of domain names that have expired each day. Below, I have compiled a small list of the best services I could find:
DomainsBot.com – This service offers an extensive list of expired, high traffic, and pre-owned domains that are listed in Yahoo and DMOZ. They have a light version that you can try for free. Alternatively, you can subscribe to their pay service for $34.95 per month which offers unlimited access to all areas of their site such as automated email notifications of expired domains and much more. There's also a search function to help you find the domains most relevant to your business. I subscribed to the service and was very satisfied
with the results.
Pool.com – This site also offers an expired domain names list via its searchable interface. Best of all, it's FREE. You can view their list here.
DirectNic.com – They offer a list of expired and pre-owned domain names. You can sign up for free.
Domain Name Pro– In my opinion, this $59 software tool is an absolute must to save time in locating the best pre-owned domain deals. It can be used in conjunction with the services listed above, which is what I would suggest, or it can be used on its own. The program is feature rich and after trying about every expired domain software program on the market, this one is by far the best I've found.
For example, Domain Name Pro gives you the capabilities to import domains from an external text or html file. Or, you can copy and paste a list of domain names into the program. It then reports the link popularity of each domain as well as the Alexa rating and the status of the domain (i.e., the WHOIS information).The Alexa rating gives you an idea for how much traffic the domain may receive after you purchase it.
Another great feature of Domain Name Pro is its ability to intelligently parse through text that may contain both domain names and extraneous text. This is extremely useful when you're trying to quickly copy and paste from a Web page or text file produced by another program or service.
The whole point of Domain Name Pro and services like it is to help you efficiently sift through the tens of thousands of expired domains and zero in on only the most attractive ones.
You'll also find Domain Name Pro to be a great domain name brainstorming tool. Just plug in a couple of words related to your business, click Search and you have a list of thousands of domains that are available for purchase within minutes!
How to Estimate the Resell Value of a Domain
If you are thinking of purchasing an expired domain to resell for profit, be sure to learn how to estimate the value of a domain. You'll also need to have a good plan on how you're going to resell it later. There are many helpful resources on the Web for this, including a free guide at domain-research-labs. While you can turn a profit reselling domains, you must be careful not to purchase a lemon, or to pay too much for the domain.
Backordering a Domain Name
So you've searched the list of new and pre-owned domains and found nothing? If you haven't found that perfect domain, there are several services that will allow you to backorder any domain name for a fee. If the domain does become available, each of the following services will attempt to register the expired domain on your behalf.
SnapNames– At $69 per domain name, SnapNames will attempt to register a domain name as soon as it expires, on your behalf for a period of one year. If the name becomes registered to someone else within that year or if you want to pursue another domain name, SnapNames will allow you to modify your subscription as many times as you like.
Pool.com – This is probably the best and most successful service I tried. Unlike many similar services, they only charge you if they actually secure the domain for you. However, there's one catch. Once Pool.com secures the domain for registration, they will notify you and if there are other people whom backordered the same domain through their service, then they will auction off the domain name to the highest bidder.
Enom – Enom offers a service called First Dibs. The service costs $35 per year, which includes the price of the domain registration for one year, assuming no one submits a higher bid than you. Unfortunately, you pay the $35 fee upfront even if they aren't successful at securing the domain. When and if they secure the domain name, whoever previously submitted the highest bid wins the domain.
GoDaddy– This can be the least expensive of these services, but from my experience, the least effective. I tried GoDaddy's service and unfortunately didn't have any luck securing expired domain names. You pay only $18.95 per domain name. However, they keep that money until they finally secure the domain that you originally requested or another domain if you should change your mind later. Your odds of securing a domain increases if the original registrar for the domain is GoDaddy.
Backordering services should be used with caution. The reason being that many people are utilizing the same or similar services to try and register those same domain names when they expire. Competition can be fierce for the better domain names that have not yet expired. Whichever service manages to register the domain first, wins. Therefore, there isn't any guarantee that you will be the one to successfully acquire the name assuming it ever becomes available at all. That's why using any service that requires a non-refundable fee upfront is a gamble.
On the other hand, an automated service will give you the best chance to grab a domain you really want as they monitor availability 24 hours a day. Many will also notify you when any changes are made to the WHOIS record.
Of course a back-order service is not always needed. There are thousands of pre-owned domains available today without having to wait around for availability. Therefore, try to find that hidden gem from the lists of currently available domains before considering a back-order service.
You might be asking yourself, Does this really work? or Is this worth my time? For me at least, the answer was a definite yes. I tried it and found it very possible to discover those diamonds in the rough. Through my research, I found and registered several domain names that had expired or were about to expire that were already included in Yahoo, DMOZ and/or had high link popularity. I benefited not only from the new domain, but also from the built-in traffic, the instant link popularity, and by using WebPosition Gold, the improved rankings.
Matt Paolini is a Webmaster and support specialist for WebTrends, the makers of WebPosition Gold. He's also an experienced Search Engine Optimization Specialist and Cold Fusion, ASP.NET and SQL server developer.
Geico sues Google, Overture over trademarks | CNET News.com
Auto insurance company Geico has sued Google and Overture Services for allegedly violating its trademarks in search-related advertisements, in the latest legal salvo against the Internet companies.
Geico, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company owned by Warren Buffett, filed suit against Google and Yahoo-owned Overture on May 4, in federal court in Alexandria, Va.
The insurer charged the two companies with infringing on its trademarks when they sold them as keywords to Geico's rivals, so that the protected terms could appear in sponsored search results. According to the suit, that practice causes consumer confusion, in violation of the Lanham Act, the primary federal law covering trademark registration and protection.
This practice deliberately misleads consumers and allows Geico's competitors and these defendants to illegally exploit for their own commercial purposes Geico's investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in its brand, company spokeswoman Janice Minshall wrote in an e-mail.
The insurer is seeking damages and an injunction against Google's and Overture's use of its service marks in their advertising programs.
Geico, the largest direct marketer of auto insurance in the United States, is the most high-profile American company to have filed a complaint against Google and Overture over their ad-selling practices. It launched its lawsuit only weeks after Google announced plans to limit concessions made to trademark owners regarding their rights to keywords sold in its popular ad program.
The suit also comes only weeks after Google filed to raise $2.7 billion in an initial public offering. In its S-1 filing, the company highlighted the financial risks it would face if it were forced to limit sales of keyword ads to generic words. Roughly 95 percent of Google's $1 billion in annual revenue comes from search-related advertising, according to its filing.
Complaints abound about misuse of trademarks in search engine ads. Google and Overture have built billion-dollar businesses by marrying text ads with search results; the technique has been effective because Web searching is such a common method for people to find products and services. Consequently, more companies have sought control over their brand names and trademarked terms in paid search. Businesses including American Blind and Wallpaper Factory have filed trademark complaints against search engines.
Still, U.S. law is unclear about how far search engines must go to make sure trademarks aren't infringed upon.
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the past, representatives from the company have said that trademark law allows for the use of registered marks, as long as there is no likelihood of consumer confusion.
An Overture representative said the company cannot comment on pending litigation. But Overture employs a fair-use policy for evaluating requests from trademark owners.
In cases in which an advertiser has bid on a term that may be the trademark of another, Overture allows the bids only if the advertiser presents content on its Web site that (a) refers to the trademark...without creating a likelihood of consumer confusion...or (b) uses the term in a generic or merely descriptive manner, according to a notice posted on the company's Web site.
In contrast, Google has adopted a more hands-off approach, opting to review fewer trademark complaints. In April, the search company began allowing U.S. and Canadian advertisers to bid on any keyword, including trademarked terms, in its sponsored listings service.
Keyword policy
Previously, Google had granted requests from advertisers, including 1-800 Contacts and eBay, to bar competitors from bidding on their trademarked names. Google will now only review trademark complaints that relate to text appearing in sponsored listings on its Web site and those of its partners.
According to Geico's complaint, the insurer considered Google's policy change before pursuing legal action: Google's recent change in trademark policy constitutes a deliberate decision to use the registered trademarks of other companies, including Geico, for the financial benefit of Google and to the detriment of (others).
Google faces a number of lawsuits similar to Geico's. Louis Vuitton sued Google and its French subsidiary for similar alleged trademark infringement, and a French court ordered Google to cease the practice and pay a fine. In January, American Blind and Wallpaper Factory filed suit against Google in a New York federal court, alleging trademark infringement.
In an effort to preempt American Blind's suit, Google late last year asked a U.S. District Court judge in San Jose, Calif., for a declaratory judgment in the dispute. American Blind still insists, though, that Google stop selling keyword phrases that the company claims violate its trademarks.
Overture faces two pending U.S. trademark suits, one filed by JR Cigar and another by Pets Warehouse.
Paid search is one of the fastest-growing and most closely watched segments of the online advertising business. According to Jupiter Research, paid search will grow from $1.6 billion in sales in 2003 to $2.1 billion this year, and it will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 20 percent through 2008.
At least some of that growth could be jeopardized if legal rulings bar Google and other search engines from selling off well-known terms such as Wells Fargo in their ad programs, legal experts have said.
Research shows that many inquiries at search engines are for brand names or trademarked terms. Within the finance category, for example, more than half the total searches are for branded keywords such as Wells Fargo, according to ComScore Networks, a market research company.
This is yet another reminder we have to question the core revenue-generating practices of Google and Overture and whether it's sustainable as a legal proposition, said Eric Goldman, an assistant professor of law at Marquette University Law School.