When buying an expired domain does Google count old links to it?

[Jack Torrance]

Just checking, after a domain expires does Google stop counting links to it after a certain amount of time? Or do old links continue to pass power?

I found some good domains for what I need with a lot of links, but they've been expired for quite some years.

 

[AngelSeo]

Yep, thats the whole point of people looking for expired domains.
Well if the domain sits say for 10 years? Who knows...

 

[Jack Torrance]

Well if the domain sits say for 10 years? Who knows...

That's what I'm thinking.

 

[AngelSeo]

That's what I'm thinking.

Well, the reality is that if this domain sits for that much non-registered this means that there is something wrong (except if is country level domain) or simply is not that good.

 

[MikeyMikey13]

Well, the reality is that if this domain sits for that much non-registered this means that there is something wrong (except if is country level domain) or simply is not that good.

OR the site was just not used by the old owners and kept registered.

OP they work fine. Links can be from 1994 and they'll still pass juice.

 

[AngelSeo]

OR the site was just not used by the old owners and kept registered.

Well this is quite different than domain being non-registered for years...

OP they work fine. Links can be from 1994 and they'll still pass juice.

Good to know.

 

[fizakhan1]

Yes that's what they put the domain @high cost.

 

[MikeyMikey13]

Well this is quite different than domain being non-registered for years...

No it isn't.

If it isn't indexed, Google doesn't spend any processing power on it. Regardless if it is registered or not.

Surely you aren't implying google monitors idle registered domains, even if they have no activity for 10 years?

 

[AngelSeo]

No it isn't.

If it isn't indexed, Google doesn't spend any processing power on it. Regardless if it is registered or not.

Surely you aren't implying google monitors idle registered domains, even if they have no activity for 10 years?

Of course. Dont believe me? Register an expired domain, add the old nameservers and no website - watch how the domain pop up in the index with its old pages. As long as the domain is registered and there are nameservers, Google is watching.

 

[MikeyMikey13]

Of course. Dont believe me? Register an expired domain, add the old nameservers and no website - watch how the domain pop up in the index with its old pages. As long as the domain is registered and there are nameservers, Google is watching.

Ermm well that is completely different. If I add content to either domain they'll pop in the serps.

We are talking about sites with no NS/unregistered. G will very very occasionally request data from these domains, and be denied as it doesn't exist.

The sites that I had, which I remove the content from in G but leave the NS are deleted out of the serps usually within a few months. Just because the NS are there doesn't mean Google magically puts up all the old pages. (magic of course, as the pages no longer exist)

 

[AngelSeo]

Ermm well that is completely different. If I add content to either domain they'll pop in the serps.

We are talking about sites with no NS/unregistered. G will very very occasionally request data from these domains, and be denied as it doesn't exist.

The sites that I had, which I remove the content from in G but leave the NS are deleted out of the serps usually within a few months. Just because the NS are there doesn't mean Google magically puts up all the old pages. (magic of course, as the pages no longer exist)

The fact is that the domain can stay years, if not forever in the index, if the domain is registered with nameservers, despite the lack of website. Thats why unregistered domains for 10 years are quite different that registered, which is my point.

 

[MikeyMikey13]

The fact is that the domain can stay years, if not forever in the index, if the domain is registered with nameservers, despite the lack of website. Thats why unregistered domains for 10 years is quite different that registered, which is my point.

My point was you are wrong (from my research and ownership of over 500 PBNs), but that is okay. We might both be right.

Your initial point regarding them being different was what I picked up on being incorrect, and you've acknowledged this by now saying a site registered with nameservers, which isn't actually what I said.

 

[AngelSeo]

My point was you are wrong (from my research and ownership of over 500 PBNs), but that is okay. We might both be right.

Your initial point regarding them being different was what I picked up on being incorrect, and you've acknowledged this by now saying a site registered with nameservers, which isn't actually what I said.

Yeah without nameservers Google drop the domain out of index despite being registered. In a sense Google is doing availability check by DNS ping it seems.

 

[GregFromMoonsy]

Just checking, after a domain expires does Google stop counting links to it after a certain amount of time? Or do old links continue to pass power? ...

Do you have in mind expiring or expired (and deleted) domains ?

 

[swords12]

I think the expired domain enigma is really subjective - some say that it works, some say the link juice will not be retained and it will be reset.
Actually imo, the whole thing about the link juice is really how and what those comprise of. If the expired domain is 10 years old, god knows whether some of these links are still present, and within that 10 years, the link structure and metrics would change so much, thus, although being reported like so by the metrics and tool, the 10year time frame may paint a different picture altogether. For instance, some of these links could have been disavowed by someone - this creates a silent flagging on the search engine, which you will never know about.
It will be based purely on trial and error basis - I did give it a try and a mixture of results - some expired domain works, some not (flagged), some behaves just like a new domain.

 

[GregFromMoonsy]

I think the expired domain enigma is really subjective - some say that it works, some say the link juice will not be retained and it will be reset.
Actually imo, the whole thing about the link juice is really how and what those comprise of. If the expired domain is 10 years old, god knows whether some of these links are still present, and within that 10 years, the link structure and metrics would change so much, thus, although being reported like so by the metrics and tool, the 10year time frame may paint a different picture altogether. For instance, some of these links could have been disavowed by someone - this creates a silent flagging on the search engine, which you will never know about.
It will be based purely on trial and error basis - I did give it a try and a mixture of results - some expired domain works, some not (flagged), some behaves just like a new domain.

There is simple way to check it, if domain was in Semrush.
Then you can bring back previous site and compare ranking.
If it's same (or close to same) - links working.
If far away from previous results - links juice was canceled by Google and for this reason it's big difference in ranking.

In second case the value of any metrics and power of domain is null, same as fresh registered.

 

[AngelSeo]

There is simple way to check it, if domain was in Semrush.
Then you can bring back previous site and compare ranking.
If it's same (or close to same) - links working.
If far away from previous results - links juice was canceled by Google and for this reason it's big difference in ranking.

In second case the value of any metrics and power of domain is null, same as fresh registered.

This doesn't work like this. For 10 years the competition in this niche would be entirely different. For example your domain may rank well for VR glasses 15 years ago when there was total of 3 websites having such content, but now when they are millions you cannot expect to have similar rankings..

 

[doepjohn]

I thought they only count them if you rebuild them as they originally were? As in the same/almost the same content?

 

[GregFromMoonsy]

This doesn't work like this. For 10 years the competition in this niche would be entirely different. For example your domain may rank well for VR glasses 15 years ago when there was total of 3 websites having such content, but now when they are millions you cannot expect to have similar rankings..

In part you're right.

But in this case is nothing to compare, because all power of links was canceled.
I did many tests for it and also you can find some tests which did others.

I never buying domains which I can't check in this way, because it's waste of time with build worthless assets.

When you'll analyze organic traffic over time in Semrush,
if any of domain lost own ranking, it clear, that have penalty.

This is an example:

Another example:

When I see something like this, no matter any other things, such metrics.
This charts are created from Semrush API, by my software, created for valuate SEO power of expired domains.

Domain can have thousands of links, but if don't have any ranking - it's also clear that there is something wrong.

But not experienced people, buying just metrics, not assets.
Buying links, not ranks.
As the results, received what they pay for.

 

[AngelSeo]

Sorry, but this is plain stupid. The historic rankings and traffic, especially in Semrush have exactly ZERO correlation with how powerful the link from such domains will be. If you cannot understand why then you are in the wrong business.