<s>
A	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
auction	I-Protocol
facilitates	O
the	O
buying	O
and	O
selling	O
of	O
currently	O
registered	O
domain	O
names	O
,	O
enabling	O
individuals	O
to	O
purchase	O
a	O
previously	O
registered	O
domain	O
that	O
suits	O
their	O
needs	O
from	O
an	O
owner	O
wishing	O
to	O
sell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Drop	B-Protocol
registrar	I-Protocol
offers	O
sales	O
of	O
expiring	O
domains	O
;	O
but	O
with	O
a	O
domain	O
auction	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
need	O
to	O
wait	O
until	O
(	O
and	O
if	O
)	O
a	O
current	O
owner	O
allows	O
the	O
registration	O
to	O
lapse	O
before	O
purchasing	O
the	O
domain	O
you	O
most	O
want	O
to	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
factors	O
have	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
rise	O
in	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
auction	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
auctions	I-Protocol
have	O
become	O
more	O
popular	O
when	O
buyers	O
and	O
sellers	O
are	O
looking	O
for	O
specific	O
domain	O
names	O
to	O
achieve	O
high	O
Search	O
Engine	O
Optimization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
parking	I-Protocol
,	O
once	O
the	O
most	O
efficient	O
method	O
for	O
advertising	O
a	O
domain	O
for	O
sale	O
,	O
allowed	O
a	O
domain	O
owner	O
to	O
post	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
the	O
domain	O
on	O
a	O
page	O
,	O
hoping	O
someone	O
who	O
was	O
interested	O
in	O
that	O
name	O
would	O
surf	O
through	O
and	O
see	O
it	O
listed	O
for	O
sale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sites	O
such	O
as	O
eBay	B-Application
and	O
Sedo	B-Protocol
have	O
made	O
using	O
auctions	O
very	O
commonplace	O
,	O
and	O
domain	O
auction	O
sites	O
also	O
require	O
little	O
to	O
no	O
technical	O
knowledge	O
to	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	O
names	O
are	O
substitutes	O
for	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
are	O
presented	O
numerically	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
further	O
simplify	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
searching	O
for	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	O
name	O
servers	O
maintain	O
the	O
list	O
that	O
matches	O
domain	O
names	O
to	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
types	O
of	O
domain	O
names	O
TLDs	O
or	O
Top	O
Level	O
Domains	O
which	O
include	O
:	O
.com	O
,	O
.edu	O
,	O
.gov	O
,	O
.net	O
,	O
.org	O
,	O
etc.	O
,	O
and	O
SLDs	O
or	O
secondary	O
level	O
domains	O
,	O
which	O
precedes	O
TLDs	O
in	O
the	O
web	O
address	O
,	O
and	O
usually	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
organization	O
that	O
has	O
been	O
registered	O
to	O
TLD	O
by	O
ICANN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
step	O
that	O
led	O
to	O
auctioning	O
off	O
domain	O
names	O
was	O
Google	B-Application
’s	O
Pay	O
per	O
click	O
(	O
PPC	O
)	O
auction	O
model	O
which	O
allowed	O
bidders	O
to	O
buy	O
search	O
terms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
webpage	O
owners	O
to	O
sponsor	O
a	O
keyword	O
so	O
that	O
their	O
ad	O
could	O
appear	O
each	O
time	O
a	O
user	O
searched	O
the	O
term	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
and	O
thus	O
increased	O
the	O
likelihood	O
of	O
the	O
‘	O
clickthroughs’	O
their	O
sponsor	O
ad	O
obtained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
US	O
government	O
has	O
officially	O
renounced	O
its	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
’s	O
technical	O
operations	O
,	O
including	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
,	O
as	O
of	O
March	O
15	O
,	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Responsibility	O
has	O
been	O
handed	O
over	O
to	O
the	O
global	O
multi-stakeholder	O
community	O
in	O
hopes	O
that	O
the	O
community	O
transitions	O
away	O
from	O
any	O
US	O
government	O
oversight	O
of	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
transition	O
away	O
from	O
US	O
government	O
control	O
over	O
Internet	O
domain	O
names	O
officially	O
began	O
in	O
1997	O
when	O
oversight	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
’s	O
technical	O
operations	O
were	O
assigned	O
to	O
a	O
nonprofit	O
group	O
,	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Corporation	I-Application
for	I-Application
Assigned	I-Application
Names	I-Application
and	I-Application
Numbers	I-Application
(	O
ICANN	B-Application
)	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
until	O
now	O
,	O
the	O
US	O
government	O
has	O
remained	O
a	O
prominent	O
force	O
in	O
regulating	O
and	O
monitoring	O
these	O
auctions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
Senate	O
Commerce	O
Committee	O
chairman	O
,	O
John	O
Rockefeller	O
,	O
their	O
recent	O
decision	O
to	O
hand	O
over	O
all	O
control	O
to	O
private	O
entities	O
is	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
continue	O
“	O
transitioning	O
movement	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
’s	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
to	O
an	O
independent	O
entity	O
that	O
reflects	O
the	O
broad	O
diversity	O
of	O
the	O
global	O
internet	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
