The Hidden Purpose of Parked Domains: What Every Website Owner Needs to Know
This way, you lock down those clever domains now and decide how to use them later, whether that means launching spin-off sites, redirecting traffic, or keeping them from falling into someone else’s hands.
Telltale signs of a parked domain
Looking at a website and wondering if it’s actually parked? Here’s what to look for:
- A generic, templatized landing page: Parked domains display a cookie-cutter design without much customization. They also typically have placeholder content.
- Lack of navigation: These sites don’t have menus or sitemaps to show that they’re functional. You’ll find a single landing page with nowhere else to go.
- Broker or registrar branding: You’ll see logos or footer text from domain registrars. You may also see display banners like “This domain is for sale” and a domain broker’s contact information in case you’re interested in purchasing it. Here’s an example:
- Page filled with ads and links: You might see an ad-heavy page showing links related to the domain’s keywords. This is a tactic for generating passive income through unused, parked domains.
- Low or no website traffic: In the end, if you’re still unsure whether a domain is parked, try looking it up with a domain monitoring or SEO tool to check for traffic or activity. If it has minimal visitor activity, it may be parked.
Now that you know how to spot them, you may be wondering why someone would leave a domain sitting idle in the first place.
