Today I posted some information in
@RealDaddy's https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/whats-working-in-seo-2020.1223044/page-2#post-13107329 about how I use expired domains as part of my SEO strategy. This seemed to be new to a few members, so I thought I would expand on it a bit more + give a few more pointers.
If you missed any of my previous guides, you can follow the links below to catch up.
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/ahrefs-hacks-4-part-guide.1202274/
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/ahrefs-hacks-guide-part-2.1203512/
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/ahrefs-hacks-guide-part-3.1205843/
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/another-ahrefs-trick-you-didnt-know-about.1202027/
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/semrush-hacks-guide.1204498/
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/method-semrush-hacks-guide-part-2.1211806/
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/method-how-to-find-if-a-google-update-hit-your-site-free-no-costly-seo-tools-required.1207195/ (100% free - no tools required)
- https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/guide-making-the-most-of-internal-link-building.1212211/
How to use Expired Domains Effectively
Firstly, lets rattle through a few assumptions.
- The expired domain you are planning to use, is clean.
- Has authority backlinks to make this worthwhile.
If you have any questions on finding expired domains or checking if an expired domain is clean, please feel free to ask. Alternatively, checkout
@Nargil's service and buy something clean to start with!
So with that out of the way, how do I manage my expired domains to ensure that they end up being 95% successful as either money sites or PBN's?
Google's View
You need to try and think like Google. So ask yourself:
- How does Google view a domain that has previously expired?
- Does it credit it's previous backlinks and authority to the domain just because you register it again?
The answer to this is fairly simple.
How to Fool Google and Restore Authority (summary)
So the trick here is to fool Google into thinking that this newly registered domain is the old domain again, and thus crediting it with authority and its backlinks.
I do this by following the same process for EVERY expired domain that I register.
- Search for the domain in archive.org
- Restore content
- Submit the domain to Google Web Console
- Reindex the old backlinks
- Wait
How to Fool Google and Restore Authority (detail)
1. Search for the domain in archive.org
During your research to determine if the expired domain is actually worth buying, you will have checked archive.org to understand the domains past. i.e. has it been spammed to death, used as a PBN or generally misused. So, you will have found a time in the domains history which shows all of its content, especially the content which has the authority domains linking to it.
- Check to see if the content is still unique (copyscape). This is actually not essential but always nice to know for later.
2. Restore content
What I do next depends on how much time I have.
- Create a wordpress domain (or any other CMS) and recreate the old sites exact structure. So for example, I will create new pages with the same titles, and URL structure, and then copy and paste the content to these pages.
- If I do not have the time, or cannot be bothered, I will get a VA to do this for me.
- Or use a service like waybackmachinedownloader which will automatically create an HTML copy of the archive.org snapshot, stripping out all of the archive.org links and keeping the images, CSS etc.
I have used waybackmachinedownloader many times if the old site has too many pages to rebuild quickly, and at $15 per site, this is often cheaper than getting a VA to do the job.
3. Submit the domain to Google Web Console
Personally I like to use a fresh google mail account so I am not creating a footprint.
- Create or buy a new gmail account
- Add the domain to GWC for indexing (hopefully including sitemap)
4. Reindex the old backlinks
This step can be a little tricky and determines if your site will be one of the 95% successful future money sites/PBNs or if it will fall in to the 5% which you can always use for something to make money from!
- Personally I use a combination of Speed Links indexer and twitter or other social media to get Google to recrawl the authority sites pages which are linking to my expired domain.
This can take time, so be patient.
Tip: You will want to check that you do not have redirect loops stopping Google from attributing the links to your expired domain. Which is why rebuilding the exact site structure of the old site is crucial to success.
Bonus Tip: If you find redirect loops or have not been able to recreate the old site structure exactly as before. Use .htaccess to create the redirect. DO NOT use plugins. I have never had good success with plugins to manage this aspect of the process. Adding the below code to your .htaccess file works.
Code:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
Redirect 301 /oldpage /newpage
Redirect 301 /oldpage2 /newpage2
</IfModule>
5. Wait
This is probably the hardest part, as all you want to do is use your expired domain to make money. But it is the most critical part to having a 95% success rate. So be patient.
How do I know if my expired domain is ready to use?
I use two indicators.
- Have the juicy old authority links appeared in GWC?
- Is some of the content ranking (top 20) again in Google search?
As soon as these indicators are seen, I start to repurpose the domain for what I want.
What about all of the old junk content?
As part of my due dilligence, I have a list of pages which have authority links. I either repoint these to the homepage of the domain via .htaccess and get rid of all the rest of the old content, building the domain out with my new content.
Or, I keep the juicy pages and create links to my money pages, and bin the rest of the content.
It depends on what you want the old domain for. Is it going to be a new money site? Does it match the niche you are targeting? Is it a PBN? etc etc
Does the domains old niche matter?
Great question. The answer to this is yes and no. Ideally you would like to use an expired domain within the same niche that your money site is on. However, that is rarely possible these days, so changing niche to fit your money site is required and works fairly well, most of the time.
Tip: Try and find expired domains which cover lots of subjects, i.e. general content, as these are easier to fit to your money site niche.
Bonus Tip: I have been successful in keeping the authority and links of the old expired domain and completely changing the niche many times. What I do is
- Build the site out with the new content but NOT create any affiliate, CPA or other links.
- I then leave it to age for a few months and check to see how Google reacts.
- If all is good, and I start to see some of my new content beginning to rank, I then add a few new quality backlinks.
- If Google again responds positively I know I am good to go and add my affiliate/CPA/money links and continue to build quality backlinks to rank and bank.
Conclusion
All of the above is how I personally use expired domains as part of my SEO strategy. I am sure that I have missed a few things out, so feel free to ask questions, and I will do my best to answer them + other members will surely have some observations to help!
Remember - this process takes patience, but once you get going, you can create a conveyor belt of quality expired domains to have ready, whenever you need them. Or even to resell, should you be inclined
Let me know what you think and if this is something you want more of? If so, I will get to work on some more.
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