A Domain Name can be:
- Completely Fresh: Not taken or registered by anyone ever! These type of domains can be registered without any worries.
- Active but listed for Sale: A domain is currently active, but its owner wants to sell it using Domain Auctioning websites, direct advertisements, marketplaces etc. Carefully read the description of the domain, type of content hosted on it and its expiry date. You can see a live example of a marketplace here.
- Used but Expired: Someone registered a domain, but it got expired because the owner didn’t want or forgot to renew it, and now it’s available for registration again.
- Used and Expired, but Banned!: Someone registered a domain in the past, but it got banned by Search Engines (Google, Bing etc.) OR by some online monetizing programs (AdSense etc.) because of illicit practices (Black Hat SEO, fake clicks on advertising slots etc.) by the webmaster.
- Active or Expired, but has a Search Engine Penalty.