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Leveraging expired domains is 1 of the astir untapped and effectual ways to accelerate SEO performance.
In this guide, I’m going to amusement you 4 ways you tin usage expired domains to get amended SEO results. Then, I’m going to amusement you however to find and vet domains truthful you tin get the astir bang for your buck.
Let’s leap close in.
What Makes Expired Domains Worth Pursuing?
So, earlier I amusement you immoderate ways you tin leverage expired domains, I request to reply an important question: wherefore are expired domains adjacent worthy using?
Well, the information is that an expired domain unto itself has nary value.
These domains go invaluable erstwhile A) they person a prime nexus illustration (with unoptimized anchor text), B) they were applicable to your website, and C) they weren’t antecedently utilized for spam.
This criteria whitethorn look straightforward, but it tin beryllium challenged to find domains that really conscionable it.
So, aft I amusement you however you tin usage expired domains to amplify your SEO campaign, I’ll past amusement you however you find prime domains.
But first, fto maine amusement the 4 ways you tin leverage expired domains for SEO.
4 Ways to Leverage Expired Domains
Here are 4 ways you tin leverage expired domains to turn your integrated hunt traffic:
1. Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
Private Blog Networks (PBNs) are the astir fashionable method for leveraging expired domains. The occupation is that utilizing PBNs is besides the riskiest method connected this list. I volition archer you that I personally bash not usage PBNs. I was a PBN addict backmost successful the time until I got obliterated.
Listen:
I’m not 1 of those SEOs that bashes different people’s methods.
If you privation to usage PBNs that’s chill due to the fact that they work.
But, it’s my work to archer you that they travel with important risk. Ultimately, your determination to usage PBNs requires thing much than risk/reward analysis. If you judge the “reward” (ie: integrated hunt traffic) is larger than the hazard of utilizing PBNs, past spell for it.
The information is that you bash NOT request to usage PBNs to get SEO results.
That’s the 1 mindset contented I spot with immoderate die-hard PBN advocates… They go truthful obsessed with the full process of utilizing PBNs, that they hide that determination are different ways to rank.
In fact, I’ve seen threads of forums saying that “anyone who says they aren’t utilizing PBNs to rank, is lying.”
Having this benignant of passageway imaginativeness volition execution your occurrence overtime. We each are trying to turn postulation organically, truthful wherefore wouldn’t you privation to support your tactics organic? Why would you privation to beryllium rigid with the tactics you usage erstwhile SEO and concern are fluid and ever-changing?
Anyway… here’s the truth:
You don’t person to usage risky tactics to turn your integrated hunt traffic.
Always see the risk/reward of immoderate SEO strategy you use. Don’t conscionable deliberation successful the abbreviated term. Envision each imaginable scenario. Both affirmative and negative.
So, I’ve completed my rant and arsenic you tin imagine, I’m not going to beryllium showing you however to make a PBN.
If you are consenting to judge the hazard of utilizing PBNs, past you should check retired Matt Diggity’s blog due to the fact that he’s the apical canine erstwhile it comes to utilizing backstage blog networks.
The pursuing 3 ways to leverage expired domains are overmuch little riskier than utilizing PBNs.
2. White Hat Alternative to PBNs
If you’re much hazard averse, past the White Hat Alternative to PBNs mightiness beryllium a amended approach. The bully quality is that this method has practically zero punishment risk. The atrocious quality is that it requires a large clip concern due to the fact that you person to execute outreach.
Time concern shouldn’t beryllium excessively large of a interest due to the fact that A) each different tactics volition instrumentality a akin magnitude of clip to execute and B) you tin easy make procedures and outsource these methods.
The process is simple:
- Find a applicable and high-quality expired domain
- Extract its backlink profile
- Find interaction accusation for each the prime nexus opportunities
- Reach retired and fto the linker cognize that they are linking to a dormant resource/website
- If they respond, transportation the thought of them replacing the dormant nexus with a nexus to your website
This method works champion if you are promoting a applicable SEO contented asset.
3. The Merger Technique
The Merger Technique is my idiosyncratic favourite method due to the fact that it requires the slightest magnitude of effort, but usually gets the champion ROI and ROT. The astir clip sucking constituent of this method is the process of uncovering relevant, high-quality domains.
So, what is The Merger Technique?
Well, I person an full usher dedicated to this tactic, but I’ll concisely explicate it here.
The Merger Technique is the process of uncovering applicable expired domains with beardown nexus profiles and past 301 redirecting them to your website.
I stumbled upon this maneuver erstwhile I was moving with a information halfway institution that would often get different information halfway companies passim the United States. Every clip they acquired a caller company, we would 301 redirect that company’s website to the due section page.
For example, erstwhile they would get a Dallas information center, we would 301 redirect the website to our client’s “Dallas” landing page. This was incredibly effectual to accelerating our client’s website authority. This made their SEO run a breeze.
The crushed wherefore the authorization accelerates utilizing this method is due to the fact that of nexus prime and nexus quantity.
4. Niche Websites
This method isn’t needfully a nexus acquisition method, but much of a strategy. If you person ever tried to commencement a niche website, you astir apt person encountered what is often referred to arsenic the “sandbox” effect.
In short, this means that Google inhibits caller websites from performing good successful integrated hunt until they found age, trust, and authority.
If you person a caller website, it tin instrumentality months to get traction. One mode to bypass this sandbox period is to commencement your niche website connected an expired and aged domain. Just to beryllium clear, this method is not foolproof, but it’s effective.
Okay, truthful present that you cognize the 4 ways you tin leverage expired domains, fto maine amusement you however you tin find expired domains. Then, I’ll amusement you however to suffice the domains you find.
How to Find Expired Domains
There are galore ways and tools you tin usage to find expired domains. I could walk each time showing you what’s available, but it would beryllium a batch much businesslike if I amusement you what I’ve personally utilized (and enjoyed).
1. DomCop
Here’s an over-the-shoulder video showing however you tin usage DomCop to find prime expired domains:
2. ExpiredDomains.net
Here’s an over-the-shoulder video showing however you tin usage ExpiredDomains.net to find prime expired domains:
How to Qualify Expired Domains
I concisely showed immoderate qualification standards successful the videos above, but I’ll get a small deeper here.
So, astatine the apical of the qualification process, you privation to analyse the following:
What is the Domain’s History?
Go to Archive.org and analyse the erstwhile usage of the domain. The perfect concern is that the domain’s erstwhile usage was the original.
For example, if they were a web plan company, past the past mentation of the website should beryllium a web plan company.
On the other broadside of the spectrum, you privation to ticker for domains that person been repurposed oregon utilized arsenic a blog network. Some signs of a repurposed domain is erstwhile the taxable isn’t applicable to the archetypal oregon determination is present a overseas connection being utilized connected the domain.
Most blog networks are casual to place due to the fact that the website volition look generic, the outbound links volition beryllium irrelevant, and each portion of contented volition beryllium connected a antithetic topic. What I conscionable described is much apt for a nationalist blog network.
Well developed backstage blog networks tin beryllium harder to identify. Especially if they exported the erstwhile website from Archive.org.
In this case, conscionable look for irregularities successful domain ownership oregon wide changes wrong Archive.org.
One happening I mentioned successful the videos supra is that you shouldn’t instantly disregard a domain conscionable due to the fact that it was utilized arsenic portion of a blog network.
Why? Because you tin inactive usage the White Hat Alternative to PBNs!
Although the domain itself mightiness beryllium considered “toxic” due to the fact that of its erstwhile use, that doesn’t mean that backlinks going to that domain are toxic. That means you tin extract the links distant from that toxic domain. The champion portion is that you tin leverage the information that the domain is present a portion (or was) a portion of a blog web successful your outreach.
Is the Domain Indexed?
If you’re going to absorption connected expiring domains successful auction, past it’s captious that the domain is indexed successful Google. Some domains that person already expired won’t beryllium indexed. In these cases, erstwhile the domain becomes “live” again, Google volition usually reindex it.
That is, if it’s a prime domain and hasn’t been utilized for immoderate questionable objectives.
Does the Domain Have a “Clean” Link Profile?
I deliberation the easiest mode to audit a nexus illustration is to recognize what a prime nexus really looks like.
A prime backlink volition person astatine slightest 1 if not each of these qualities:
It’s from a intimately applicable domain
Getting backlinks from applicable domains is the mecca of effectual nexus acquisition. There are times erstwhile relevancy isn’t ever critical.
For example, let’s accidental the expired domain utilized to beryllium an SEO company. After reviewing its nexus illustration you observe that it has a backlink from the New York Times.
Is the New York Times applicable to SEO? No. But is the New York Times a trusted, respected, and authoritative root for information? Yes.
In this situation, relevancy doesn’t substance arsenic overmuch due to the fact that the New York Times’ authorization counteracts the deficiency of relevancy.
It’s from a “real” website
I’m not going to insult your quality and archer you what a existent website should look like. You’re presently connected a existent website speechmaking this article. This website you’re connected has a voice, has idiosyncratic engagement, and astir importantly, has existent traffic.
Use your champion judgement (or your gut) connected this due to the fact that it’s astir apt right.
It’s anchor substance makes sense
It’s good to person immoderate keyword-rich anchors successful the nexus profile. However, the keyword-rich anchors should marque sense. I’ll usage the “SEO company” illustration again.
Let’s accidental you are analyzing the nexus illustration and find a nexus from joeschmoesblog.com. You past spot that joeschmoesblog.com is linking to the prospective domain’s homepage with the anchor substance “replica ray prohibition sunglasses”.
Does this anchor text marque consciousness for a domain that was antecedently an SEO company? Absolutely not.
Use your champion judgement present and ever ask: “Does this marque sense?”
One much important constituent is that the bulk of the anchor substance illustration for the domain should beryllium unoptimized. You don’t privation to enactment with a domain that’s been abused from an SEO standpoint.
The linking domain has authorization itself
If the expired domain has galore backlinks from websites that are unauthoritative, past it mightiness not beryllium a prime opportunity.
And erstwhile I accidental “unauthoritative”, that means the linking domains don’t person galore backlinks themselves. This would beryllium an denotation the expired domain volition person debased spot and debased authority.
A operation of debased spot and debased authorization equals a anemic opportunity.
Are the backlinks “sticky”?
You privation to consciousness assured the existing backlinks person a precocious probability to “stick”. Meaning, that determination is simply a debased accidental they volition beryllium removed.
An illustration of a backlink benignant that has a debased probability of being removed is 1 from a dated article. On the other side, a backlink injected successful a website’s footer has a precocious probability of being removed. That’s wherefore I’m not a instrumentality of leveraging domains that utilized to beryllium web plan companies (since that’s usually the bulk of their nexus profile).
Conclusion
So, that is each I person for you today. I showed you however you tin leverage expired domains for SEO, I past showed you immoderate ways to find expired domains, and past I showed you however to vet each prospective domain you find.
Hope you learned a happening oregon 2 and convey you for reading!
Nathan has led 100s of palmy SEO campaigns successful the astir competitory verticals similar SAAS, health, finance, and law. He's besides helped 100s of bureau owners standard by systemizing their SEO. Nathan is featured connected Ahrefs, Semrush, and Search Engine Journal and his YouTube transmission has implicit 1 cardinal views.
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