Any publisher with a domain name he or she isn’t using (yet) can now squeeze a couple of extra dollars out of it by using Google AdSense For Domains, another way for the search giant to make more money from online real estate and give some of it back to people with parked domains. The company is opening up to ‘English-language AdSense publishers located in North America’ in phases, but says it will soon expand to other regions and languages as well.

If I remember correctly, Google AdSense for Domains has been around for many years under the name ‘Domain Park’, but the program was previously reserved exclusively for owners of domain names wielding in a lot of traffic (1M+ monthly pageviews), up until yesterday. GAFD received a lot of criticism for returning advertisers poor quality traffic in the past, and yesterday’s launch won’t exactly reduce that criticism. You don’t have to be a genius to know this will attract more domain squatters to expand their questionable business. Here’s a step by step guide for advertisers who want to block domain parked sites on Google AdWords.

If anything, this shows Google is scrambling for every penny it can get its hands on these days even if it means lowering their quality standards, but I have to add that I can’t exactly blame them for it either.

What is adsense for domains?

AdSense for domains allows publishers with unused domains to help users reach relevant information by presenting content on the domains.

Users often type domains into their address bar or follow expired links leading to sites with no content. Instead of an “under construction” page or 404 error, AdSense for domains provides links, search results, advertisements and other content. To do this, we use semantic technology targeted to the domain name. You earn revenue when users interact with the ads on your site.

If you have a site that has content on it (e.g., articles, reviews, forums, blog postings or other text), then your site should be used with AdSense for content. If you have a page with no content on it, then AdSense for domains can help your users. To get started with AdSense for domains, check out our set-up instructions, or search or browse our AdSense Help Forum for more information.