Tasting Domains: Getting Millions Of Free Domains

These maneuvers were known as domain kiting and domain tasting. If you register a domain name multiple times and cancel it multiple times in rapid succession, you will end up owning it for free. This is domain kiting. A scheme of utilizing the five-day grace period to register a multitude of domains, domain tasting helps the schemer find out the most valuable domains to keep. The person who registered the domains decides what names to keep and which to delete without paying for them.

ICANN altered their policy and cost structure to stop these practices in August 2008. To battle the problem of multiple domain name registrations, Google decided to withhold advertising from domain names that were less than 5 days old. The fact that Google Adsense and others have stopped advertising on new domains and ICANN has imposed fees has put a damper on the practice of domain tasting and stopped domain kiting. However, the fees are only a problem for small time domain tasters. They are just an inconvenience to the big players.

Because of the high number of domains registered, the cost for deleting domains within a given grace period are not high compared to the costs of doing so. Therefore, domain name tasting is still profitable to the big time players. They just pay their fees and keep on going using other ad companies besides Google Ad Sense. AdBrite is one example. However, it is a problem for small players. For this reason, UK’s Nominet created new regulations and rules to end contracts with registrants who continue this sort of practice. These steps have been fairly effective in halting the practice of abusing the system by employing domain tasting to try out domain names without having to pay for them.

A Message Labs intelligence report dated September 2009 makes it clear that, even though it is still possible to make some money with domain name tasting (at least internationally), the practice is on the decline. The report emphasizes “stopping domain tasting”. This is not completely honest. It’s true that the industry for these methods has decreased, however the phenomenon still occurs. Internationally, domains governed by ICANN still offer some measure of profit for domain name tasters if the technique is used properly. However, it must be done on a large scale and closely monitored to turn a profit.

These methods were known as domain kiting and domain tasting. For this reason, domain tasting can be a profitable practice. The fees just eliminate the small players. Nonetheless, for international domains that are governed by ICANN, domain tasting remains a profitable tactic if it is used properly.

Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. InfoServe Media is a Houston web design and web hosting company. Or if you just need a few changes to an existing site, InfoServe Media also offers website maintenance.