When a domain owner fails to renew their registration, it eventually becomes ‘expired’. Expired domains can hold value due to their existing backlinks, previous traffic history, or strong keywords. Successfully acquiring and repurposing them can offer potential SEO advantages and opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs.
Tips for Finding High-Value Expired Domains:
- Dedicated Expired Domain Search Tools: Platforms streamline the discovery process:
- ExpiredDomains.net: One of the largest databases with filtering options by keywords, metrics, and more.
- DomCop: Offers sorting features and data insights to help evaluate domains.
- FreshDrop: Provides a curated list of recently expired domains.
- Domain Auction Platforms Sites often present domains with better potential value, but may come at a higher price due to competition:
- GoDaddy Auctions: A popular marketplace with a massive inventory of expired domains.
- Sedo: Features a wide range of domains along with filtering and appraisal tools.
- Flippa: Offers not just domains, but also established websites and online businesses built on those domains.
- Metrics Matter – Focus on These
- Backlinks: Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to identify domains with high-quality backlinks pointing to them, potentially boosting SEO if you repurpose the domain.
- Domain Authority (DA) & Page Authority (PA): Indicators of the domain’s overall strength and potential ranking ability.
- Traffic History: Check services like Wayback Machine for prior website content and a rough estimate of previous traffic.
- Relevance: Domains with keywords pertinent to your niche or industry are more likely to hold value for your purposes.
Important Considerations:
- Thorough Due Diligence: Before purchasing, investigate the domain’s history to ensure there are no past penalties or associations with spammy websites.
- Budgeting: Popular expired domains on auction sites may have competitive bidding, so establish a realistic budget in advance.
- Patience is Key: Finding the perfect domain takes time & effort. Stay consistent and be prepared to sift through many options.
Additional Strategies
- Look for Misspellings: Seek out expired domains that are common misspellings of popular websites. These can redirect traffic to your own site.
- Target Your Niche: Focus on industry-specific keywords for targeted results.
- Consider New gTLDs: Don’t overlook newer domain extensions like .io or .co – they can hold valuable domains as well.
Important: Building a successful website on any domain, even an expired one, requires quality content and a strong marketing strategy. Don’t rely solely on past domain metrics. View an expired domain as a potential head start rather than a guaranteed shortcut to success.
