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This paper provides a review of recent developments in the inter-related markets of secondary domain names and Internet search services,  both of which are fundamental to identify, locate and access information and services on the Internet and therefore, are elements of considerable importance to the continued successful growth of the Internet. The paper provides an overview of recent developments in Internet domain name markets, and more specifically, in the market for secondary domain names that is largely driven by Internet advertising on search engines.
 
Although developed in very different ways, the relationship between the Domain Name System (DNS) and Internet search engines and services is fundamental and multi-dimensional. On the one hand, a stable resolvable DNS is the critical foundation for the progressive development of innovative search engines and services. Users are increasingly comfortable with these search engines, as their primary means to navigate the Internet1, which some believe is likely to relieve some of the commercial pressures on the DNS by enabling users to navigate to sites that that do not know and by finding sites in search-engines2 even if their domain name is do not necessarily need a short and memorable name. 

On the other hand, both the commercial operators of the DNS and the providers of search systems depend on Internet traffic and Internet  advertising to increase their revenue. Secondary domain name registrations and the growing markets for targeted Internet search advertising have given rise to a range of new practices and business models on the Internet. Initial domain name speculation has been replaced by more sophisticated and complex models for determining the value of, leasing, and using existing domain names in the secondary market, largely according to their search engine visibility: domain names are used to help attract traffic from search engines and generate cost-per-click advertising revenue. 

Growth in scale and scope of the Internet creates ongoing opportunities and challenges for the mainly commercial operators of the DNS who manage global Internet name resources.

The primary domain name market appears relatively mature. It has received considerable attention and benefited from progressively established rules, largely those introduced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN3 enabled competition in the Domain Name System by separating  registry from registrar functions. Registries maintain a centralised registry database for each Top-Level Domain (TLD), perform back-office functions and provide services. Registrars, in turn, provide services to users ─ or registrants ─ with whom they have contractual agreements. The separation of these two functions by ICANN  resulted in reduced costs, better management and vibrant competition in the registrar market. ICANN also introduced some competition in registry markets, for example by creating new generic Top-Level Domains (TLDs). 

The secondary domain name market is still undeveloped and its complexities may not be easy to understand by registrants. For example, registrants may not fully appreciate the value of a domain name they either let expire or are not using. At the same time, the needs of  registrars serving the secondary market may create different technical demands for some registries, or for other registrars providing a
broader range of services. 

A combination of consensus policies and market forces could progressively assuage the above-mentioned issues in the secondary market for  domain names, as the market matures. Several recent developments point in this direction. First of all, the ICANN community has started to identify and examine issues and solutions. Secondly, a recently created market-based open exchange4 that provides access to aggregated information by registrants could help them benefit from typical supply and demand forces, though it will need to gather a critical mass of  secondary domain name service providers and registrars.