Domains & parking · also called parked page, parking page
Parked domain
A parked domain is a registered web address with no developed website, typically showing a placeholder page of ads or links.
Google's advertiser glossary defines a parked domain site as a web address that was purchased but not thoroughly developed. Visit one and you typically see a plain page with a list of related topics, perhaps a "this domain may be for sale" notice, and little else.
The traditional parked page was a two-click flow. The visitor clicked a topic and then saw sponsored listings, supplied for most of the industry by Google's AdSense for Domains. To the advertiser these clicks arrived as part of the search partner network.
Advertisers long questioned the value. Someone who mistyped a web address is not obviously looking to buy. Google gave advertisers an exclusion setting, then made exclusion the default during 2024 and 2025, and from 10 February 2026 parked domains stopped being an ad surface in its partner network. Separately, Google Ads policy does not allow an advertiser's own ad to lead to a parked domain.
Parked domains still exist in vast numbers. They are now monetised through other feeds or by redirection, and security researchers warn that many visits to them end at scams or malware. Treat an unexpected parked page with caution.
An example
You type a half-remembered address and reach a page headed with the domain name, a few links such as "Car insurance" and "Credit cards", and a note that the domain may be for sale. That is a parked domain.
Related terms
Domain parking
Domain parking is earning money from a domain name that has no real website by showing ads to, or redirecting, the people who visit it.
AdSense for Domains (AFD)
AdSense for Domains was Google's programme for showing search ads on parked domains; Google removed parked domains as an ad surface on 10 February 2026.
Zero-click parking
Zero-click parking is monetising a domain by instantly redirecting each visitor to a paying advertiser's site, with no page shown and no click required.
Typosquatting
Typosquatting is registering misspelled versions of well-known web addresses to capture people who make typing mistakes.
Direct navigation (type-in traffic)
Direct navigation is reaching a website by typing its address into the browser bar instead of searching for it or clicking a link.
Advertiser opt-out (search partners / parked domains)
Advertiser opt-out is an advertiser's ability to stop its search ads appearing on partner sites, and in 2025 to 2026 on parked domains, outside the search engine itself.
Sources: Google Ads Help: Parked domain site, Google Ads Help: Search partners network (SPN) announcements, Krebs on Security: Most parked domains now serving malicious content (Dec 2025)