Domain Squatting Explained

The one thing that annoys me most about the topic of domain names is when trying to find a domain name for a new site only to find most of the names I come up with are already taken. Even more annoying is that these names are not being used for a site that relates to the domain name.

Domain squatting or cyber squatting is the term used for someone who registers a domain with no intention of using it, that would otherwise be used for a site relating to the domain name.

Let me give you an example, recently I came up with an idea for a site and there was a couple of domains that were ideal, keyword1keyword2.com and the plural version, so I checked to see if they were available. I found that both the names I thought would be perfect were taken. Both domain names were directed to a generic search page whose sole purpose is to make money off of direct type ins.

Now I haven't given the names as I don't want to give away my idea and I don't want to give the sites any free advertising. This is not a one off incidence but something that happens quite often, especially with domain names with good or popular keywords. This activity is not illegal unless you use a trademark name, but it is against the ethics of what the internet is about.

There is a difference between domain squatting and domain parking and that difference is intent. If you register the domain with the intent of using it in the future for a purpose relating to the domain name then you have just parked the domain. If you register a domain with the sole intention of making money from reselling it or getting revenue from people typing in the domain name then that is domain squatting.

As I have explained it is not illegal it is just unethical, it is a free market economy and people are motivated by profit. I do not agree with domain squatting as it forces webmasters like myself to use domain names that are far from perfect, take this site on domain names, this name was far from my first choice. It also misleads internet users as the expect a site to be related to the keywords in the domain name making the internet less user friendly.

Find out more about domain names and get some advice before registering your next domain.

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.onlinecasinoadvisory.com/casino-news/online/kentucky-online-gaming-case-not-over-42216.htmcid=0ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNGb22z9yQk9lpiI585muicZ0aeOLgKentucky Judge Hears Arguments in Online Casino bDomain Name/b Case/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fOnline Casino Advisory,nbsp;Canadanbsp;-/font nobr32 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The arguments have been presented in the Kentucky online gambling bdomain name/b case, and now the judge will take a week to consider his decision. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/go-daddy-revved--ready/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B47F93A71-1A2B-4498-8B5A-159951ADAE9B%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1255174303ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNGCOU0c6q8IVvMdrFOi-5joBifO-wGo Daddy Revved amp; Ready for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Go Daddy Group, Inc. has more than 31 million bdomain names/b under management. Go Daddy registers, renews or transfers a bdomain name/b every second. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/10/07/online_scams/cid=0ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNFNMnbK_ez4QFWJL4hoMTBWdxt2hwKeeping Up With Online Scams and Frauds/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNorth Country Gazette,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The targeted bdomain names/b go well beyond just those that are identical to the brand. For example, suppose my hypothetical company is named PeirceBev and I b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://domainnamewire.com/2008/10/06/what-the-economic-meltdown-means-for-domain-names/cid=0ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNHpPEl-wnFt9kmz8cHf7TFoMU6fFgWhat the Economic Meltdown Means for bDomain Names/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDomain Name Wire,nbsp;TXnbsp;-/font nobrOct 6, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1So what does this mean for your bdomain names/b? It depends on if you have a short term or long term view. And if you have a diversified portfolio. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release%3Fid%3D238828cid=1254740540ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNFpmTmGQS98IKzQUOcgSPDiEU7nCwrss.com bDomain Name/b set for $750000 USD Sale/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPR Newswire UK (press release),nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobrOct 6, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Sedo, the leading marketplace for buying and selling Internet bdomain names/b and websites, has been appointed by Torex Retail Holdings (Torex(TM)) to oversee b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/afilias-announces-new-policy-make/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B8AC6E8D9-FEDB-477B-9FCD-450A8B3641BC%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1255113571ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNEbVKfgm-OJNK7GNx-R_6l4rTy5jAAfilias Announces New Policy to Make .INFO Even Safer for Internet b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;This policy is the result of over a year of dedicated work by Afilias to understand and curtail the abusive use of bdomain names/b, and to design effective b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5in2yXuUGuZIyhtcotrl7E6S5-t_wcid=1255145312ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNHNHYtt9f1N-ftK5pYT_0g7GmEx_gimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=FAOk-K9B2r8Jimgurl=afp.google.com/media/ALeqM5jM17oTo3R7pefiLsYrc6lmPiSigg width=80 height=61 alt= border=1brfont size=-2AFP/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5in2yXuUGuZIyhtcotrl7E6S5-t_wcid=1255145312ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNHNHYtt9f1N-ftK5pYT_0g7GmEx_gVeriSign sells Jamba mobile to News Corp./abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fAFPnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1VeriSign, which had revenue of 1.5 billion dollars in 2007, operates the largest bdomain name/b registry in the world, managing .com, .net, .cc, and .tv bdomain/b b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/7712dd02e0f6bc6ae174250e0636890a.htmcid=1255145312ei=RLrrSJbHNqTe6AOE44nHBgusg=AFQjCNEJwivs_eh7xhpVHQsykhvryprQgQNews Corp. buys rest of VeriSign#39;s stake in Jamba/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255145312hl=ennobrall 36 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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