Acquiring high-authority expired domains is the starting point for creating a successful PBN. Expired domains have solid backlink profiles that can increase your target website’s chances of ranking.
However, not all expired domains can give the same value. You need to inspect their backlink profile and check if the domain is spammy or previously penalized. This blog post will give you practical steps to help you find the right expired domains that will strengthen your PBN.
Expired domains are domains that were registered previously but the owner has not renewed them before the expiration date. The registration typically lasts for one year, and when the domain expires, several things can happen. The domain can either be renewed, auctioned, returned to the registry, or set up for domain squatting, which is illegal.
Registrants usually have up to 90-day redemption period to renew their domain before it’s moved for auctioning or dropped. If the domain hasn’t been auctioned after 75 - 90 days, it returns to the registry for general purchase.
A high-authority expired domain is valuable when used in a PBN because it passes authority to the linked domain and increases its chances of ranking.
Also, you can set up a 301 redirect to pass the traffic to the main website if the domain used to be a high-traffic site. However, know that the content on your new website should match the content that was previously hosted on the old domain so that the incoming traffic will match. Plus, 301 redirects don’t just pass on traffic. They pass the domain’s full authority instantly like linking does, but it’s more effective.
When acquiring an expired domain, what are the key metrics to help streamline your search? Let’s find out:
The first thing you need to evaluate before buying an expired domain is its traffic history. You need to know whether the domain received consistent traffic or if it lost traffic at any point.
Factors like algorithm changes, server downtimes, and broken links can cause domains to lose traffic, but you need to be sure that the sudden loss in traffic was not due to penalties.
You should also evaluate the backlink profile of an expired domain because it typically determines its credibility.
Check if the links are from reputable, authoritative websites and avoid any domain with spammy backlinks. Also, check if the domain has built links consistently over time. Any unusual pike in backlinks may suggest manipulation and may be penalized over time.
A good backlink profile should consist of generic, branded, and keyword-rich anchor texts, so look for a domain with such anchor text diversity. Avoid domains with over-optimized anchor texts, like using exact-match keywords, because search engines may suspect an attempt to rig the ranking process.
This metric reflects the overall strength of a backlink profile, but also accounts for factors like number and quality of referring domains. Checking Ahref’s DR is necessary because it usually suggests strong authority, but it's not a strong guarantee that the website's backlink profile is solid or that its content will rank well on SERPs.
Now that you know the key metrics to evaluate when purchasing an expired domain, how do you find one? Let’s find out.
The most popular place to acquire a high-authority expired domain is a domain marketplace like Odys Global or Namejet. Such platforms list pre-vetted domains for sale, so you can go there and filter by categories like age, traffic, price, and niche to get the type of domain you want.
Recently expired domains typically go to auction sites like GoDaddy Auctions and are sold to the highest bidder. Domains on such platforms are usually pre-vetted and sold for a limited time, so you need to conduct your research and act fast to get the best deal.
You can use tools like ExpiredDomains.net and Domain Hunter Gatherer that specialize in helping people find expiring or expired domains. These tools give detailed metrics that can enable you to assess its potential value and make the best purchase decision.
A broker service like Odys Global looks for high-authority expired domains for clients who may not have the time or expertise to do the search. These services are invaluable because they typically have insider information and can help you purchase domains that may be difficult to acquire otherwise.
Using an RSS feed or setting up alerts in domain platforms can help you to streamline your search for expiring domains.
RSS feed, which stands for Really Simple Syndication Feed, allows you to receive updates from a website without reading or browsing through it. It simply extracts the headline, updates, and summaries, with links back to the main page. So, you can create an RSS feed for the website you want to purchase the domain from.
Also, setting up an alert to inform you when an expiring domain matches a specific criteria (age, DA, high CF and TF) will help you to effectively monitor expired domain lists.
Here’s the comprehensive guide to helping you find the best expired domains for your network:
The first step is to search for the right domain on marketplaces, auction sites, or expired domain tools. If you don’t have the time to hunt, you can pay for a broker service or domain expert to do it.
When searching for the right domain on a platform, you will certainly meet thousands of options. However, most platforms don’t have a search filter.
If you use a platform that does, streamline your options by narrowing your search with filters that indicate the type of expired domain you want in terms of niche, industry, age, backlink profile, trust flow, citation flow, and other desired factors.
It’s vital to check if the site is already indexed. One way to do this is by using the Google Site Search Operator. Search for this: “site:[URL]”. If nothing comes up for the exact match of the domain, the site either doesn’t exist or has been previously penalized.
After selecting a domain, you need to check its history with WHOIS services like Whois and iCANN lookup. Find out who owned the domain and how long they held it.
Once you’ve confirmed the domain history, you need to check its past SEO performance with a tool like Ahrefs by analyzing vital data like backlinks, traffic history, and domain authority.
To be safe, go for websites with a DR of 40 and above and a backlink profile that links to highly authoritative websites. The number of backlinks and referring domains should ideally be 1:3, which means 3 links per referring domain. If a domain has 50k backlinks and 1000 referring domains, it’s obviously a spammy domain.
Plus, the domain should have a solid traffic history with no previous penalties. Observe the rate at which backlinks are acquired. It should be a steady, upward trend.
Any sharp surge would suggest the purchase of cheap links, and any sharp decline would suggest penalties. Tools like Ahrefs typically suggest when Google updates caused the sharp decline.
The next step is to check if the website has been active or used for research purposes. A good place to start is by checking www.archive.org’s Wayback Machine. This tool will help you to know the type of content the domain has hosted over time and if the domain’s content matches yours.
Study the color dots on archive.org’s calendar ad and know what they represent. These color dots represent the HTTP status codes during a capture attempt.
Here are some of the best places to buy high-authority expired domains:
Founded in 2017, Odys Global is a premium domain marketplace that primarily helps people to get the best domains to build a profitable website.
Aside from selling high-quality, pre-vetted expired domains, Odys Global also has a team of experts that helps customers to vet any domain and check for advanced site vulnerabilities that could harm their website in the future.
Seo.domains has a comprehensive expired domain database that houses over 95% of aged domains with solid backlink profiles. This platform has a state-of-the-art system that pre-vets domains and sells them at a fixed price (i.e. the price doesn’t depend on auctions).
GoDaddy Auctions is one of the world’s biggest marketplaces for expiring or auctioned domain names. It has an incredible, user-friendly interface that allows customers to easily navigate through the platform, even though they’ve never bought a domain before.
While GoDaddy sells many quality expired domains, several spam domains still exist on the platform. So you need to do a thorough research before purchase so that you don’t buy a previously penalized domain.
Namejet is another excellent marketplaces for premium expiring and deleted domains, with access to 30 million domain names every year. Namejet stands out because of its exclusive inventory from some of the world’s biggest domain registrars.
Also, aside from public auctions, Namejet places backorders for domain names customers want. When it readily becomes available, they buy it and put it up for a private auction if more than one person is interested.
Founded in 2002, Dynadot is home to over 5 million domains that are sold at affordable prices.
Aside from helping customers find the right expired domain, this ICANN-accredited marketplace comes with other solutions like a website builder, custom email address, Whois Lookup, and even a domain suggestion tool if you’re stuck choosing a name for your website.
Others include ExpiredDomains.net, Domain Hunter Gatherer, Flippa, Afternic, Sedo, and NamePros.
Acquiring the right expired domain lays the groundwork for a successful PBN, so you must pay close attention to every detail.
Ensure you buy vetted domains from domain marketplaces and leverage the right tools to evaluate their traffic history and backlink profile to avoid penalized domains that derail your SEO strategy.
However, a powerful domain needs the best hosting service to keep it safe. A solid PBN hosting service like Priority Prospect with excellent servers and high-quality network infrastructure will provide your website the speed and stability it needs to thrive.
Sign up for our hosting service today and take your PBN to greater heights.
How to Find High-Authority Expired DomainsAcquiring high-authority expired domains is the starting point for creating a successful PBN. Expired domains have solid backlink profiles that can increase your target website’s chances of ranking. However, not all expired domains can give the same value. You need to inspect their backlink profile and check if the domain is spammy or previously penalized. […]
