|
What is parking?
Parking allows you to point a domain name directly to the auction or appraisals for that name, your member page, your member showcase, or the auction details of the top name in your showcase.
For example, browse:
http://www.BugWatch.com/
Parking can seem a little complicated at first and is best described through an analogy. Just like the telephone system, where everybody has a unique phone number, every web site has a unique number called an IP (Internet protocol) address. For example, www.Afternic.com has the IP address "208.215.157.11". The problem is that while computers are great with lots and lots of numbers, most people have an easier time remembering names. It is a lot easier to remember Afternic.com as opposed to "208.215.157.11"! . To solve this problem, the Domain Name System (DNS) was created.
To call a friend on the telephone, you need to know their phone number. If you don't know, or can't remember the number you can look it up through information or in a phone book. Like a phone book, the domain name system allows us to map domain names ("www.Afternic.com") to IP addresses ("208.215.157.11") so that you do not have to remember all those numbers. Every domain name is associated with a set of nameservers, which act like phone books. When you enter "www.Afternic.com" into your web browser, the nameservers associated with Afternic.com will direct you to the correct IP address.
When you register a name you are asked to provide both a primary and secondary name server which control the DNS for your domain. Your name is considered "parked" at the name servers that you specify. At any time you can update or change the nameservers associated with your domain name, by updating this information through the registrar of that name. When you park a domain name with Afternic.com, you are assigning the domain to our name servers. We can then point your name directly to the auction or appraisals for that name, your member page, or your member Showcase.
Why is it important that I park at Afternic?
Afternic's Free Domain Name Parking is a vital part of promoting your names. If you don't have a developed website for your domain names, you can give them a home at Afternic.com. Our free parking services gives you the power to quickly and easily point people directly to individual auctions, your member page, the appraisals for a name, your member showcase, or your top name.
In addition, Afternic will soon be tracking the number of hits each parked page gets, allowing you to monitor the traffic your names get. Owners will have the ability to view this information, and make it publicly available if they choose. Also, with Afternic.com's Showcase Sort Tool, you can arrange your domains so that your top 20 names appear on the first page of your showcase. If you park all you domains so that they resolve to (bring up) your Member Showcase then you can focus all of your name traffic on the name you're most actively promoting. You can also point all or any of your names to the auction details of your top name. The Point and Park Strategy is the best way to bring in the buyers and show off your best names.
Do you have any examples of parked domains?
A) BUILD YOUR OWN SHOWCASE
Now you can point all of your names to a single electronic storefront that features your portfolio of auctions. From here visitors can click through to auction details and bid on any items in the inventory.
To see an example please browse:
http://www.EveryPerson.Com
B) BRING BIDDERS TO YOUR AUCTION DETAILS
If you want to direct all visitors to a specific auction you can point people to your auction details.
To see an example please browse:
http://www.BugWatch.com/
C) BRING BIDDERS TO YOUR TOP NAME
Harness the traffic behind your entire domain portfolio to promote your top name. Point any or all of your names to the auction details of your top name. Have an auction closing soon? Change your top name at any time, and redirect all of your traffic to another one of your auctions.
Please see the auction detail example above.
D) SHOW VISITORS YOUR NAME APPRAISALS
If you're not sure you want to sell your name or if you've got it listed somewhere else you can point your names to your Afternic.com appraisal.
To see an example please browse:
http://www.itchy.com
E) PROMOTE YOURSELF
If you're a broker or dealer, you can point all of your domain names to your member profile. This page is ideally suited to build personal relationships with buyers and sellers.
To see an example please browse:
http://www.Alums.net
How do I park a name that I already own?
Parking at Afternic is as easy as 1, 2, 3 - or, more specifically, 1A, 1B, 2!
STEP 1A: Parking - Select Names
Select the names from your portfolio that you are going to park. This tells the Afternic.com automated system that you want to park these names. You can park your entire portfolio in one step, or manage the parking of names individually.
STEP 1B: Parking - Notify Registrar(s)
Telling Afternic.com which names you want to park is half of the first step; notifying the registrar(s) is the other half. The best way to notify your registrar depends upon which registrar you are using. All reputable registrars provide detailed, easy to follow help and customer support to make this step go smoothly. In most cases it should be as simple as going to a web page, logging in and changing the primary and secondary name servers to Afternic.com's name servers.
Important: Afternic.com has no control over this step; it requires that you work with your registrar. Also, it generally takes a few days for the parking change to propagate across the entire Internet. If you are registering new names, you should park them at Afternic.com right from the start.
|
NOTE: Steps 1A & 1B can be done in any order, or at the same time. Until both steps are done, however, the name is not parked at Afternic.com. Once steps 1A and 1B are complete, you can move on to Step 2 if needed.
|
STEP 2: Managing Traffic (optional step)
Once a domain name is parked at Afternic, you can control where its traffic goes. By default, if a name is on auction, traffic will be directed to the auction detail for that name. Names that are only up for appraisal have their traffic directed to the appraisal detail, and names that are hidden in your portfolio are parked to a "place holder page".
You can change either the default options (e.g. point all your names to your top name, or point all names on auction to their appraisals) all in one easy step, or you can change where traffic goes for each individual domain name you have parked. You can point a name to its auction or appraisal, your member page, member showcase, or the auction details of your top name.
Can I park a name when I register it?
While the registration process is unique to every registrar, each should give you the opportunity to specify nameservers at some point during the registration process. When you're asked to provide this information, specify Afternic's nameservers (see "What is your name server information?"). Please note that you need to complete STEP 1A. (For more information on Step 1A see, "How do I park a name that I already own?")
What is your name server information?
Change the name server information for your domain as follows:
Primary Server Name: ns1.Afternic.com
Primary Server IP: 208.215.157.62
Secondary Server Name: ns2.Afternic.com
Secondary Server Name: 208.215.157.40
NOTE: some registrars also require a Host NIC handle:
Primary Server Host Nic Handle: NSP953-HST
Secondary Server Host Nic Handle: NSF1098-HST
Can I have an e-mail address at a parked domain?
We regret that we do not currently support e-mail for parked domains.
I still have questions, how to find out more information?
If your questions have not been answered above, or if you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact
|
