One of the most common and cost-effective ways to build a trustworthy website is to use expiring domains. A typical digital marketing strategy builds on a domain with a backbone.
However, there are things to consider when working with an expired domain if you want to do it right. After all, working with an expired domain can either make or break your site.
Before you buy an expired domain from marketplaces like Odys Global Domain Marketplace, it’s important to learn about SEO strategies and differentiate which domains can help boost your site.
Here’s a quick guide to help you acquire an expired domain and see how it can build your website’s SEO value.
SEO Strategies for Expired Domains
An expired domain is any URL of a website that no longer exists. Any functional website can collect links to other sites. However, these are canceled once the website isn’t in business anymore.
These domains are treasure troves for anyone wanting to help their website rank on search engines. It can redirect traffic and get the link juice to help your site’s credibility.
However, you’ll need to choose the right expired domain to get the most out of them. You’ll need a comprehensive SEO strategy that evaluates many factors, such as linking domains and keyword optimization.
Check out these strategies for expiring domains and how to make the most of them.
Why SEO Matters with Expired Domains
As mentioned, an expired domain is a treasure trove. It has all the gold you need to get your website rich. That’s why people buy expired domains.
If you choose a good one, you can ride the existing links and traffic or build it for reselling. Your success will depend on the SEO factors that can help make your domain more visible on sites like Google.
Rather than starting with a new domain from scratch, you can build on an existing one. You can use expired domains for their content and quality link profiles to help you rank faster.
Google usually finds it hard to identify re-registered expired domains, making it an effective shortcut compared to working with new domains.
If you properly leverage an excellent expired domain, you’ll see your site at the top of search rankings and become an authority in your industry in no time.
SEO Benefits of Expired Domains
The best expired domains can help you build a good website in a short amount of time. One of the best ways they do this is by helping it rank and get handpicked by a Search Engine Journal.
The best expired domains can help you build a good website in a short amount of time. One of the best ways they do this is by helping it rank and get handpicked by a Search Engine Journal.
These are some of the most common benefits of an expired domain in terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) value:
- Mature domain age: Older domains are more likely to rank better because they’ve been in search engine indexes for longer and have built a reputation online.
- Page and domain authority: Domain rating depends heavily on the site’s credibility. The more credible domain names rank better on search engines like Google.
- High monthly traffic: Popular expired domain names already have existing traffic which can be easily targeted when working with expired domain names.
- Brandability: If you’re working with expiring domains with a professional or recognizable name, you can use it to help your brand, provided that you don’t breach any established trademark or copyright.
- Existing backlinks: A good backlink profile can easily help you gain more traffic to your site, especially if the existing backlinks have authority sites with high credibility.
- Quality content: If websites like the Wayback Machine show that the domain history is filled with good content, you can leave a good impression on search engines and become visible to more people.
Whether you’re building your website or looking for ways to monetize expired domains, it’s important to consider how to make the most of its SEO factors.
SEO Tips for Optimizing Expired Domains
Now, you might be wondering, “How can I buy and optimize an expired domain?“
Currently, there are many marketplaces for finding expired domains, which you can use to ensure that you’re getting a credible and reliable domain for your site.
You can use online tools to optimize these domains and maximize their traffic and authority.
Ensure you’re working with clean domains never used in a Private Blog Network (PBN) or deindexed from Google. These tend to cause penalties and will harm your chances of ranking up.
Whether you’re using a blog post or a tremendous website, you can optimize an expired domain to help boost your search rankings and increase traffic to your site.
Ways to Leverage Expired Domains
There are many ways to work on an expired domain, depending on the type you get. Here are the ways you can leverage them and how they can help your website rank on search engines.
The Merger Technique
This technique is also known as 301 redirection, where you take the business of an expired domain and redirect it to your site.
It can make or break your site, especially when you connect it to your target page. Some would purchase multiple expired domains to manipulate the rankings. However, it’s a black hat move that can get your site penalized.
Doing this correctly can help boost your rankings and make your site more visible to the right audiences.
This technique will be discussed later on, along with why it’s been one of the most common ways to make the most out of a domain.
Niche Websites
If you’re working with blogs or sites catering to a specific audience, you might prefer to look for more niche-specific domain names.
These tend to have keyword-rich anchors for specific topics, which you can specifically rank for based on your niche. You can use it to look for unlimited premium domain names at an affordable price.
The more you focus on a high-quality domain with an authoritative profile, the easier it will be to rank.
Building Authority Sites
It takes time to build a new domain, especially with all the links you have to add to its authority. However, working with an expired domain can easily help with that.
Look for a domain with high authority, excellent content, and an established link profile to give you a head start on the SEO rankings.
Compared to starting from scratch, you’ll already be working on the existing authority of the old domain you purchased.
Why You Should Consider Acquiring Expired Domains
Working with expiring domain names is one of the best ways to build a private blog or professional website that’s sure to enter the ranks of search engines.
You don’t have to start from scratch to get the organic traffic you want.
Older sites are more established and are already known to Google. They’re more likely to appear in searches, which can help your site gain attention.
Backlinks Already Exist
If you buy an expired domain that was trying to rank in particular niches, you can already tell that it has a backlink profile you can work with.
Google uses backlinks as an indicator of authority. Using an older domain with a good profile can back up your site and catapult it into the upper end of search results.
You’ll simply be riding off of the existing authority of the expired domain you purchased and keeping it updated as necessary.
Existing PageRank (Domain Authority)
If your site ranks higher on sites like Moz and Ahrefs, Google will most likely treat it as an authority for specific terms.
Find a domain filled with valuable links that can help your site rank quicker compared to a new site that doesn’t have links.
Passing Authority with 301 Redirects
This strategy was often used. However, it has been axed by search engines using domain resets after expiration.
There is still a way to get around it if done correctly. It can be a bit gray or black hat, but it has been proven effective. It’s best to use an expiring domain with quality content that ranks in keywords.
These are commonly used on private blog networks, which can be easily blocked if detected by Google.
Any existing traffic on the purchased domain will be redirected to your site and further help your ranking.
Domain Flipping
This method allows people to sell an expired domain to make a profit from it.
You can easily find domains through sites like Obys Global or other domain hunter-gatherer sites that offer affordable domains.
You can build them with links since age can increase their value in the auction. Then, you can resell the domain at a higher price.
Qualifying Expired Domains
Finding a domain to work with doesn’t usually come in a snap. Each has properties that can make or break your site’s reputation online.
These are the things to consider if the qualifying expired domain names can be safely bought and beneficial for your site.
Domain History
Before you find a relevant domain for your site, it’s best to check its history. You can use internet archive sites to check its previous activities and content.
While you can hire a web design company to update a site to fit your branding better, you will need a domain with a positive history to elevate your website and not penalize it.
It can be challenging to find these well-built domains, especially if they’re from private blogs. You would have to look for irregularities and changes through internet archive websites.
An alternative is to find a toxic domain and extract its links. If done correctly, you can use that to leverage your site and block any malicious content that may have been linked to the original domain.
Google Index
Domain age is one of the most important things for these pages, especially since they show authority and value. This information can be found on the Google Index.
Those domains which don’t appear on the index are considered expired. Once they’re live on the internet again, they would also be reindexed by Google.
However, these would only be included on the index if they’re good quality and haven’t been used for malicious online activities.
Clean Link Profile
When looking through a domain hunter-gatherer site, it’s also vital to look into the backlink profile of these domains.
It shouldn’t be connected to irrelevant backlinks, spamming websites, etc.
Reviewing the domain is vital, especially if you want to avoid problems. Check out the following to see if your target is clear:
- Links Are From an Actual Site: They need to be connected to a site with real traffic, engagement, and voice that helps build relevance and credibility for your site.
- Sticky Backlinks: They should stay online and work for a long time. A great example is dated articles which are most likely to stay up. On the other hand, footers tend to be easily removed from sites, making them bad backlinks.
- Appropriate Anchor Text: Keywords and anchor texts should make sense based on what niche you’re working with.
Relevant Domain
The best way to get good-quality backlinks is to find domains suitable for your blog post or webpage. It helps ensure that any referring domains are connected to the contents of your main website.
However, finding relevant expired domains isn’t the top priority. After all, authority trumps relevancy.
A typical example of this is how sites like New York Times aren’t relevant to SEO But are highly regarded as backlinks for their authority as a news site.
Domain Authority
Authority is usually determined by the site’s backlink profile and age. Its content needs to be credible and helpful to the audience.
If you find expired domains with backlinks that hold no value, it’s useless.
Copyright Infringement
Some domains can be attached to brands with trademarks and copyrights. They can have content or terms which aren’t for public use.
You couldn’t use these domains even if you purchased them. Working with them can lead to penalties and lawsuits due to copyright infringement.
Was the Site Engaged in Email Spam?
It’s common to find an old domain used for spam emails. It can negatively affect your site’s ranking since Google does not permit these.
Tools online can help you check if your target domain is involved with spam backlinks and messages to help you avoid them.
It’s best to avoid domains with spammy content to prevent fines and adverse effects on your main website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We’ve gathered the most common questions about buying expired domains to help you with your research.
Is It Legal to Buy Expiring Domains?
Buying expired domain names is 100% legal. However, there is a process to it, and you’d have to be careful about the expired domain you’re planning to purchase.
Domain owners usually receive an email reminding them to renew their expiring domain name. However, if they don’t renew it within the set time, they’re no longer interested in the said domain.
It’s now open for anyone to purchase through bidding.
How Long Does It Take to Purchase an Expired Domain?
A domain’s expiration depends on the domain registrar. During the 30-day grace period given to the domain owner, the site is no longer online. However, it can still be renewed.
Once the ownership is forfeited, it’s placed on backorder and can be purchased by anyone interested.
If there is no backorder, it goes into domain auctions for different domain investors to bid for.
If it’s not sold during the auction process, it will be put up for deletion within five days. Then, it will return to its original registry, where a person can register it for its regular price.
Conclusion
Using an expired domain for a new website is a quick and easy way to up your user engagement and the ranking of your main website.
With a reliable marketplace for expired domains, a knowledgeable SEO agency, or link-building services, you can make the most of these expired domain names, especially for digital marketing.