Three solutions to exploit an expired domain name

Leveraging expired domain names is one of the most effective ways to accelerate a project’s SEO performance. We will not discuss here, the different possibilities to find an expired domain name on the French market. But be aware that there are two big players specialized in this field: Kifdom.com and Youdot.io.

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In this article, we will present you three solutions that can be used with expired domain names to get the best SEO results.

Why choose an expired domain name?

Before explaining in more detail the best ways to use expired domains, we need to answer an important question: why are expired domains worth using? In the end, an expired domain name by itself has no value. They become interesting when they have a good link profile (with natural, non-optimized anchor texts), if their subject matter is relevant to your new project, and finally if they were not previously used for spam.

 

These criteria may seem fairly basic, but it can be difficult to find domain names that meet all of them. Fortunately, many indicators and metrics allow you to quickly get an idea of the power of a domain name. A tool like Majestic SEO, for example, allows you to access the number of links the domain receives, the number of referring domains, its TF (Trust Flow), its CF (Citation Flow) and many other indicators.

If you want to see more, many blogs explain in detail all its parameters and how to interpret them. Without further ado, let us show you three ways in which you can take advantage of expired domains for your natural SEO.

How to use the potential of an expired domain?

Create a new site

This solution is not necessarily a method for acquiring links, but rather a strategy for converting an expired domain name. If you’ve ever tried to create a website from scratch, you’ve probably been confronted with the “sandbox” effect. In short, and to simplify the process, Google has a filter that prevents new sites from positioning themselves too quickly in organic search results until they have acquired a certain seniority, authority and level of trust.

One way to get around this Sandbox period is to start a new site using an expired domain name with a certain seniority and popularity level. This method is not infallible, but it is very effective and can save several months when starting a new web project.

In recent months, many sites based on this technique have bloomed in search results. These include Marine2017.fr, which has recycled the former domain name from Marine Lepen’s presidential campaign, Suite101.fr, and Selectronic.fr, which has launched a comparison and shopping guide site based on a famous electronics store that closed two years ago.

Redirecting 301

The redirection technique is one of the solutions that requires the least amount of effort, but generally provides the best ROI. The part that takes the most time in this technique is the process of searching for relevant, high quality expired domains in your topic. This technique consists of finding relevant expired domains with strong link profiles and then redirecting them to your website with a 301 redirect.

301 redirection is a very effective technique when used correctly. It allows to indicate to search engines that the old URL (the expired domain name) has changed, and that its new address is your website. All the SEO juice of the expired domain will be sent to your website. However, this technique is now proving less popular with SEOs because of the potential risks involved.

Using the link profile

Here is a White Hat alternative that is virtually risk-free. The bad news is that it takes a lot of time to invest in this process to get results. However, the investment in time is not really a problem, because no matter what technique is used, implementing SEO strategies takes time. Here is a simple process to implement:

– Find a relevant and quality expired domain
– Extract your link profile through a tool like Majestic SEO
– Find contact information for all sites that link to the domain with quality links
– Contact the site and tell it that it is making a link to a dead website.
– If he responds, offer to replace the dead link with a link to your own site.

This method allows you to obtain backlinks and works best if you are able to offer in return, relevant content in line with the theme of the dead link.

For several months now, there has been a strong increase in the interest shown by SEO for expired domains. The result is a market with constantly increasing prices on backorder and domain name snap platforms. Also, it is no longer uncommon today to see a powerful domain name going up for auction at several thousand euros.

Jimmy Nedbeyw

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