Technically speaking, you don’t really buy a domain name; you’re actually leasing it. The registry, or organization that oversees a particular top-level domain (.COM.ORG.NET.EDU.EDU, etc.), and registrar (likely your web hosting company) work out the specific terms of how much a TLD should cost, who can register them, and for how long. According to ICANN, registrars are allowed to offer domain registrations and renewals in increments between one and 10 years, so long as the total unexpired time never exceeds 10 years. Most commonly, you’ll see options for fewer than five years. As long as you (and your successors) re-up your domain each time, though, you can own your domain forever. Many hosts offer a way to automatically renew your domain registration without any work from you, which is a great way to make sure you don’t accidentally lose control of your website. Site owners often assume the length of domain ownership has an impact on how well a site ranks in search results, but Google officials are on the record as saying it does not affect SEO. Generally speaking, more established sites have spent more time gaining authority and other SEO perks.