How to Use Expired Domains for Link Building

Building backlinks takes time, and in a month, you can build only so many. Especially if you’re short of resources or in a highly competitive niche with limited opportunities.

The consequence?

You may not see the results of your link-building efforts on SEO performance for a while.

Acquiring expired domains with strong backlinks profiles could be a way to speed up the process.

But here's the catch: It's a grey-hat tactic, and many people fear it could harm their search engine rankings.

That's true, but it is much more complex than that.

In the article, I will explain how the tactic works, how you can find expired domains, and how you can minimize the risks. And why we don’t use it for our clients.

Let's get started!

What Are Expired Domains With Backlinks?

Expired domains are domain names that haven't been renewed by their previous owners and are available for sale.

Unlike brand-new domains, expired domains often have existing backlinks pointing to them.

Here's an example of ello.co, which is for sale through Seo.Domains.

The domain has a strong link profile. It has a DR83 and 3.4M links from nearly 28k domains.

And not just any domains! They include godaddy.com, cnn.com, wix.com, and theguardian.com, all with DR90+.

Best Strategies to Use Expired Domains with Backlinks

 If you had the $180k to acquire ello.co, you could leverage it in three ways.

1. 301 redirect to your main website

Setting up the redirects is the most common way to use expired domains.

Essentially, when you set up the 301 redirect, you tell Google that the page has been moved permanently to the new domain. Which means it will pass the link juice to your website.

This gives it an instant authority boost.

You can redirect it at the domain level. For example, an e-commerce site can purchase its competitor's domain and redirect it to its website.

You can redirect the domain to a specific page on your website rather than your homepage. For example, if you buy a calculator website, and your site has a calculator page, you could redirect it to that page.

Finally, you could set up page-to-page redirects. For instance, if the expired domains had a blog whose topics aligned with yours, you could redirect their articles to yours.

What if your website doesn't have pages that align with those on the acquired domain?

Create them.

SiegeMedia did just that when they acquired contrast-ratio.com.

Here's what the original page looked like:

They rebuilt the exact copy of the page on their domain.

And then set up the redirect.

2. Rebuild the old website

Expired domains with strong backlink profiles can benefit you not only as a source of backlinks but also traffic.

If the domain used to attract lots of traffic, it’s safe to assume it could do it for you if you restore it to its previous glory. You can then funnel the traffic to your main website.

The easiest way to do it?

Use the Wayback Machine to rebuild it. Restore its content, update it, and job done. Just make sure the content hasn't been published somewhere else in the meantime.

Once the website starts to rank and bring traffic, set up the redirect.

Or, you can turn it into a successful business venture in its own right.

3. Use expired domains for a PBN

Expired domains are also used for PBNs or Private Blog Networks.

These are website networks created to provide backlinks to the money site you're promoting.

Although not named in the official Google guidelines, PBNs tick all the boxes for link-building schemes.

As a black-hat tactic, they come with a risk. If Google figures out a website is benefiting from a PBN, it will devalue all the links. This will likely cancel all the rankings improvements.

It isn't cheap either. A decent domain can cost $2000-5000, and you need a few of them to set up the PBN. On top of that, you have the cost of hosting, rebuilding the websites, creating the content, and managing all the websites.

Despite all of that, PBNs are still very popular, especially in difficult niches like gambling, pharma, or adult content, where opportunities to build links the legit way are scarce.

How to Find Expired Domains With Strong Backlinks

We have used two methods to find domains for sale (for our affiliate websites).

Take part in domain auctions

Domain registrar auctions are the most common places to purchase an expired domain with a strong backlink profile.

Here's what it looks like on GoDaddy Auctions, one of the most popular platforms of this kind.

You can find the domains to buy by searching current auctions.

Alternatively, you can start your search by filtering auctions by relevant keywords, price, traffic, age, and more.

For example, if your budget is up $25k, and you want to leave out low-quality domains, you could search only for those within the 10-25k range.

Once you narrow down the search results, browse the available options.

Like on many other auction platforms, you can place bids, buy the domains for a fixed price, or make an offer to the seller.

GoDaddy gives more details about the domain and its auction history. However, this isn’t enough to make an informed decision. For that, you will need to conduct a more thorough domain audit (which I will show you in a moment).

GoDaddy Auctions aren't the only marketplace where you can buy expired domains:

Others include:

• DropCatch
• NameJet
• Sedo 
• Expired Domains 
• Afternic

How easy do you think it is to get your hands on a good domain with strong links?

Not easy at all.

Businesses are well aware of their domain value, so they don't drop them so easily. This means you could wait for the right domains to appear for years.

And when they do appear, they get lots of interest and fetch high prices.

Purchase from domain marketplaces

Not all online marketplaces run auctions. Some of them, like SEO.Domains or Odys.Global, list the available domains with fixed prices.

As in GoDaddy Auctions, you can search and filter the domains using key metrics, like price, DA/DR, category, or country.

The main advantage of buying domains from marketplaces?

It gives you more control over the process and removes the uncertainty involved in auctions. If you're ready to pay the price, the domain is yours.

However, they tend to be considerably more expensive. The marketplaces snap up good domains on auctions and resell them with massive profit margins.

What Do You Need to Check Before Buying Expired Domains?

Let's finish with a checklist of factors to consider before you commit to a domain purchase.

1. Indexing

Does Google index the domain? That’s the first thing to check!

If the domain isn’t indexed, it won’t have any SEO benefits. No PageRank. No organic traffic.

The easiest way to check it? Run a search for site:domain.com. For example, site:ello.co.

If the search returns any results, the website is indexed. You will also see if it has any internal pages, and if there’s any spam on them.

2. Domain history and previous use

The first step is checking how the domain was used in the past.

The reason?

To make sure it was a legit business, blog, or brand. And to avoid domains linked to spam, gambling, adult content, drugs, or PBNs. It's not the crowd you want to hang out with.

Use the Wayback Machine for this.

1. Search for the domain.

This will give you a history of the website updates.

2. Choose a specific date in the past.

3. Investigate the website contents.

If you don't speak website language, use Google or chatGPT to translate the content for you. This particular one was used to sell a weight-loss product, Beauty Flora Jelly.

This could be a red flag. Unless that's your niche.

3. Niche relevance

Speaking of niches… Relevance is another factor to consider if you want to leverage its link profile to boost other sites.

That's because relevance is one of the key factors that Google considers when using backlinks to rank pages.

So, if you're running a website about SEO, look for domains related to marketing or content.

Otherwise, there is no easy way to integrate it into yours for a 301 redirect or incorporate it into your PBN.

4. Domain age & expiration date

Domain age matters because the older the domain, the more links it may have. I mean, it doesn't have to be like this, but it's more likely.

Another thing to check is the expiry date. If the domain expired a while back, it may have lost some authority and traffic.

Finally, how often it changed hands can be quite telling about its use in the past. If a domain was dropped again and again by multiple users, it may have been used for link-building schemes.

You can check the domain history using WHOIS services

Or look up it's sales history on NameBio.

5. Backlink profile analysis

Another important step is checking the domain's link profile using tools like Ahrefs or Semrush.

What should you look at?

• Domain authority (DA/DR)
• The number of referring domains
• Outbound/Inbound link ratio (an unnatural high ratio may mean the website used to sell links)
• Outgoing spammy links (a sign the website might have been a part of a link-building scheme)
• Sudden spikes in inbound links or other unnatural patterns.

6. Anchor text profile

Anchor texts are another thing to consider when assessing the backlink profile.

First, they must be niche relevant.

They can also clue you in on what kinds of tactics the website used to secure links.

The ello.co domain I showed you above looks more than legit when you first look at it. If you're paying $180k, you wouldn't expect anything else:

However, a closer look at the anchor texts reveals it isn't just NYT, BBC, or Bloomberg links.  There are also links from porn, drug, and gambling sites.

In this particular case, I wouldn't worry much because these are relatively few links, and lots of influential websites, like Ahrefs or Semrush, have similar ones in their profiles.

However, if the domain had links mostly with such anchor texts, I would be concerned.

7. Traffic & organic rankings

Examining past traffic and rankings can shed light on the domain's future potential. If a website did well, there's a chance it can perform for you as well.

Of course, you should expect a decline in organic search rankings and traffic since the domain expired.

However, sudden drops in the past may indicate that the website was hit with a manual penalty or built links that Google suddenly “canceled.”

When assessing traffic, look also at its origin.

Does it match your target audience?

8. Viruses

Before you acquire a domain, check if it’s ever been flagged for any suspicious activity. Like malware or phishing attacks.

We use VirusTotal.

The tool allows us to check if:

1) The Nameservers change date coincides with the appearance of links to malicious files (.js, .pdf, .exe, etc.).

2) The website is listed in antivirus software databases as spammy:

3) There are linked files with a high number of virus detections. Like 26/60, or more.

9. Trademarks

The final thing to consider is trademarked terms in the domain name because they can limit what you can do with it.

For example, branded domains are likely to be trademarked, and consequently, you won't be able to use them for your business. In fact, the original business can reclaim it from you.

So, as a rule of thumb, avoid them. Unless you plan to resell it, but that's a different business model.

Here are databases where you can check if the domain name contains a brand name or trademarked term:

• UK Gov Search for a trade mark
• United States Trademark and Patent Office
• European Union Intellectual Property Office
• World Intellectual Property Office

Final Words

Using expired high-authority domains to boost the performance of a new website can work, and many businesses, including well-known ones, do it.

However, getting the right domain has become increasingly more challenging. And more expensive. As a result, the ROI isn't as good as it used to be.

That, combined with the risk of penalties and reputation damage, means we don't use expired domains to build links for our clients.

It doesn't mean we can't help you. Get in touch with the Editorial.Link to discuss your goals!