The Ultimate Expired Domain SEO Strategy Guide: How to Unlock Potential

Looking for an expired domain SEO strategy that can turn a struggling website into a success? Formulate one with the help of this guide. 

Learn everything from how to vet an expired domain, what can be done with it, and what's the best management practices are to leverage it to boost a new website’s search engine optimization. Let’s get started. 

What Are Expired Domains?

An expired domain is a web address once owned by an individual or an organization but not renewed after the domain name’s registration period has ended. After a grace period, expired domains become available for others to register. 

Reasons Why Domains Expire 

A domain can expire for a variety of reasons. Here are some possible scenarios. 

• Owner neglect. Some owners simply forget to renew the domain before the expiration. 
• Disabled auto-renew option. A domain registrar typically offers owners the option to remember to renew a domain’s registration automatically. 
• No budget for domain renewal. Financial constraints may also prevent a domain owner from keeping a domain name.  
• Change in priorities. Business owners may choose not to renew their domain registration because of rebranding or changes in objectives.
• Legal disputes. Domains can expire if their owners face trademark language and other legal disputes. 
• Expired email. If there are issues with the email used to register the domain, the owner may lose access to it. 
• Multiple domains. Multiple domains registered at different registrars can make it difficult for owners to track them all. 

What Makes Expired Domains Worth Pursuing?

The truth is that expired domains often retain no inherent value. They’re only valuable when they have a good back link building profile, are relevant to the owner’s website, and aren't used for spam. These criteria are pretty simple, but it can still be difficult to find high-quality domains that meet them. 

What Makes a Good Expired Domain for SEO?

So, what qualities give an expired domain name SEO value? In a nutshell, an expired domain’s history, backlinks, and domain authority all contribute to its usefulness in boosting a site’s search engine rankings. This article will discuss these qualities in more detail in later sections. 

Should You Use a New Domain or an Old Domain?

Choosing between the two options will depend on the domain owner’s goals. A new domain will be a better choice for those who want to create a business and brand on a new website. 

Buying expired domains is recommended if you're looking to build a content site in a new market and are looking to achieve a greater level of traffic. 

Benefits of Using An Expired Domain for SEO

Leveraging expired domains is one of the most effective ways to boost SEO performance. This can be done because an expired domain name has these qualities.

• Existing authority. Domains with existing traffic, authority, and backlinks are a great asset. Their credibility gives projects a head start from an SEO standpoint. 
• Creates faster results. Because of the aforementioned qualities, expired domains can expedite the process of ranking a site on the Google results pages. 
• Niche relevance. Relevant, expired domains may offer topical authority and can produce SEO results for projects that target a specific audience.  

How to Find Expired Domains for SEO Projects

There are several ways to find expired domains. Here are some reliable platforms that compile and sell them. 

Spamzilla 

Spamzilla is a database for high-quality expired domains at a competitive price point. One of its main selling points is that it provides information like backlink data from sources like Ahrefs and Majestic so that users can find expired domains with a lot of SEO value. 

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is one of the largest domain registrars in the world and has a thriving marketplace for expired domains. It sells domain names via auction, letting users bid on them for a set amount of time. GoDaddy Auctions also has an advanced search feature that filters for factors like the right keyword, extension, price, and industry.  

How to Qualify Expired Domains for SEO

Identifying high-quality domains from the bad ones is crucial in an SEO strategy that will feature expired domains. Here are some considerations to keep in mind when searching domains for SEO. 

Domain History vs. Domain Age

According to Google’s John Mueller, a domain’s age isn’t considered in search engine rankings. Instead, what matters is its history. A domain that received a punishment when it was active will carry over when a new owner reactivates it. Use the Wayback Machine (Archive.org) to investigate the domain's previous use.

Aside from punishments, buyers should also find out if an expired domain has been used as a private blog network (PBN). Telltale signs of a PBN are irrelevant outbound links and a generic-looking website. 

Domain Authority (DA) and PageRank (PR)

Domain authority is a metric the SEO solutions company Moz created to gauge how well a website will rank on Google. A high domain authority means a better chance of appearing on top of Google search pages. 

The two deciding factors of DA are the following.

• The number of sites that lead back to the main site as a reference 
• The quality of sites that lead back to the main site as a reference

Related to domain authority is page authority, which is determined by the PageRank algorithm. PR takes the same things into consideration as DA but does so on a page-by-page basis. 

The Role of Backlinks 

To examine an expired domain’s link profile, check the quality of the backlinks it has. A good quality backlink will have the following characteristics.

• It’s from closely relevant domains.
• It’s from a website with real engagement and user traffic.
• Its anchor text makes sense.
• The linking domain also has authority.

Number of Ranking Keywords

Search for domains with keywords that rank well in searches. This way, the website built on the expired domain will have a head start on SEO, and searchers will be able to find its pages right away.

Additional Factors to Consider When Using Expired Domains

Here are other factors to consider when picking an expired domain for an SEO project.

• Content relevance. Make sure that the expired domain has content that’s relevant to the project it will be used for. 
• Spam scores. Use tools like Moz’s Spam Score and Google’s Disavow Tool to identify spammy links that might be linked to the expired domain. 

Buying Expired Domains for SEO

Some expired domains sell for a lot of money. So, learning how to vet one before splurging is a must for those who want to use expired domains for SEO. Use the criteria elaborated in the previous section as a guide when buying domains through auctions or closeout sales. 

How to Use Expired Domains for SEO

Depending on the strategy and goal, expired domains can be used for several purposes. To get started, one must find a suitable domain and buy it. Here’s a short guide on how to do just that and leverage expired domains effectively. 

How to Utilize Expired Domains: 4 Steps for SEO Success

Follow these four key steps to get started. 

1. Find suitable expired domains

Conduct proper research to find out if an expired domain would be suitable for an SEO project.

• Find authoritative domains in the website’s target audience.
• Use programs like SEMrush, Moz, and Ahrefs to analyze domain metrics like traffic, authority, and backlinks.
• Analyze metrics and judge domains to see which ones will fit SEO goals and objectives. 

2. Assess domain quality

After compiling a list of suitable expired domains, assess each one for the following qualities: Those that pass are high quality assets that will help meet SEO goals. 

• Excellent link profile with existing backlinks from authoritative websites
• High Moz scores for Domain Authority and Page Authority
• History of relevant content
• No history of search engine punishments on the Google Search Console

3. Secure expired domains

Once a buyer is sure which expired domains are worth purchasing, it’s time to acquire them. Here are some reliable places to find domains for sale. 

• Auctions and backorder services. Participate in auctions to bid on expired domains. If the desired domain is not up for auction, consider putting in a backorder for it. 
• Private sale. Some expired domains aren’t available in public auctions or sales. In this case, the buyer will have to negotiate directly with the current owner. 

Pro tip: Only negotiate through reputable platforms with secure payment options. Choose a trusted domain registrar to securely transfer the expired domain’s ownership after the purchase. 

4. Implement in SEO projects

Make the most of that recently acquired expired domain by utilizing it in the following projects.

• Redirecting expired domains to an existing website 
• Creating a new website on an expired domain
• Maximize the expired domain’s potential by building on its existing authority and link profile.

Learn more about the specific steps for using expired domains for these projects in the following section.   

4 Ways to Leverage Expired Domains in Your SEO Strategy

See which of these projects is the best fit to fulfill an expired domain Search engine strategy.  

1. Creating a Private Blog Network (PBN) 

Creating PBNs with expired domains is probably the riskiest method on this list. Although popular, using PBNs is considered a black hat SEO tactic. A PBN is a website that passes link juice from high-authority domains to improve the listing of another website within the network.

2. White Hat Alternative

The good news is that there is a white hat tactic for using the backlinks of an expired domain to benefit a different site. It will take more time to work, but it eliminates the unnecessary risk of being hit with a penalty when Google determines that a site is manipulating search listings through unethical link-building tactics. 

Here’s how it’s done.

a. Find a high quality expired domain.

b. Extract its backlink profile.

c. Find the site owner’s contact information for quality links.

d. Reach out to the owner of the linking site and inform them that they are linking to a dead website.

e. Suggest that they replace the dead link with a link to the new website. 

Note: This will only work if the site owner responds positively to the request. 

3. The Merger Technique

The Merger Technique involves 301 redirecting expired domains to another website to boost the latter’s authority and traffic numbers. Just make sure that the domains being redirected have strong link profiles and are relevant to the other website's niche. 

SEO experts consider this technique the simplest way of utilizing expired domains. The domain search itself is the most time-consuming element. 

4. Building Niche Websites

Starting a niche website from scratch is an uphill battle. Those who have tried will be familiar with the ‘sandbox effect,’ Google’s tendency to prevent new sites from performing well in organic searches. That said, establishing a new niche site on an expired domain may be a shortcut to ranking higher on the search results pages. 

Here are some actionable tips to build a niche website on a expired domain name.

• Create good content based on the domain’s past content.
• Use a WordPress plugin to redirect all 404 links to the homepage.
• Update the old content as needed.  

Best Practices for Using Expired Domains

Ensure a website’s long-term success by following these guidelines when using expired domains for better SEO. 

Adhere to Search Engine Guidelines

Search engines like Google have rules that govern website optimization practices. Those who violate these policies are subject to penalties, such as being de-indexed and losing search visibility. 

Use Ethical SEO Practices

Aside from avoiding the practice of outright black hat practices, make it a habit to check the history of an expired domain before using it. Ensure that it doesn’t have spammy elements that could harm its reputation. 

Monitor and Track Results

To meet SEO objectives, monitor a domain's performance using tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics. Reflect on the results and adjust the search strategy accordingly.