[Guide] How to use Expired Domains effectively

fasttrak said:

If I feel I am not going to have an issue, I will leave the old content up, if I feel that it could cause issues, I will bin it, either rewrite the pages with the juice, or leave them as the old content. The create links from those pages to the domain root, or the article with the link to my money site.

HTH.

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Instead of rewriting page and creating links from those pages to root domain, why not just 301 redirect those pages to homepage?

hatworld3388 said:

Hi

I just recover the site from Wayback downloader

But there is one thing want to confirm with you that：

1. expired domain using WWW and HTTP

2. After recovering, I use without www, and install the SSL to HTTPS

Hence, is any problems with this？ Becasue previously backlink pointed to the site with WWW and starting with HTTP

except for these two changes on the URL, the rest for the folder and words which are 100% SAME as before.

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primeCS said:

Great guide man!! Very beneficial thread!

Would like to know this too.

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I always try to recreate the domain exactly as it was, until Google credits its previous authority. Once I things are looking good, I then add SSL etc.

However, if you have gone to HTTPS and changed the URL, i.e. removed the www, you will need to write .htaccess rules to redirect the links accordingly. Otherwise you are losing the juice.

hreyhrey said:

So you use internal linking to push all the non homepage juice back to the homepage?

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Correct.

primeCS said:

Instead of rewriting page and creating links from those pages to root domain, why not just 301 redirect those pages to homepage?

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If find 301'ing pages with quality links to the homepage devalues the incoming links hugely. Plus, if any of the sites check the links in the future and see it just going to a homepage which is not about the subject, they will remove the backlink.

Much safer and far better value to use internal links to redistribute the authority to where you want it.

HTH

fasttrak said:

Correct.



If find 301'ing pages with quality links to the homepage devalues the incoming links hugely. Plus, if any of the sites check the links in the future and see it just going to a homepage which is not about the subject, they will remove the backlink.

Much safer and far better value to use internal links to redistribute the authority to where you want it.

HTH

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Makes sense! Now what's the best method for internal linking to pass the max amount of juice? Any guides you recommend?

hreyhrey said:

Makes sense! Now what's the best method for internal linking to pass the max amount of juice? Any guides you recommend?

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If we are still talking about a PBN and not money site, I would simply use a generic click here, or more info, in the body of the article.

fasttrak said:

If we are still talking about a PBN and not money site, I would simply use a generic click here, or more info, in the body of the article.

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Nope, talking moneysite.

hreyhrey said:

Nope, talking moneysite.

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In which case I would use either an exact match or partial match, in the main body of the article, depending on your current link KW ratios.

First of all thank you for the great guide.

I'm trying to rebuild an expired domain, I think I made some mistakes while doing that, but still try to do the redirects.
When I tried to do them as you've written in the guide, unfortunately I got an internal 500 Error.
Do I have to insert the redirects at a certain location in the file? I have another part that starts with <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>, do I have to insert the redirects there? It starts with <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>, followed by RewriteEngine On, do I have to write a RewriteEngine Off at the end (just like the slash when coding)? Do you have an idea what the problem could have been?

Hey, I know this is an off topic question but I dont know where to ask.

I am buying an expired domain but when I checked in archive.org, it has been 301 redirected for 6 months before it expired. I am wondering if the authority is still there or has the link juice been transferred?

XspekulaX said:

So basically, If I buy an expired domains with quality back links and high DA from someone, I have to get it through this steps to have the backlinks and DA effective ?

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It is the best way I have found to regain the authority and juice from the expired domain. I have tried many different short cuts, but this gives me the biggest boost. Obviously, it is up to you to use your expired domain how you like, but hopefully my tips help.

suportxd said:

Hi, very nice guide! Im starting with expired domains, and facing situation :

I recreate all pages that had links pointing to them and are in archive.org. But there is few links ( not very quality ones, but when i bought that domain, i want take maximum from that ). Some are pointing to images, and some are not in archive.org, so i cant recreate them by old content. So these links just end on 404. Is the best way just redirect all 404 to homepage by 301?

Thanks

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Image links are really not very good, unfortunately. You can use any image and simply call the same as the missing one, if you want to, that way you retain the link. The problem with image links is that it is very hard to redirect the link juice to your money pages.

If a domain I was looking at had mainly image links, or even PDF links, and not a lot else, I would skip it and keep on looking. I am not suggesting that yours is in this bucket, just that these domains give little back in terms of value vs effort.

jhanot1 said:

thanks you

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You are welcome.

Manuela Gottli said:

Wonderful guide. ++1

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Thank you.

Stas Va said:

By far the best guide about working with Expired domains I seen.

A little is missing, about how to buy drop domains and find then. But even so. Amazing guide.

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I am currently writing a guide on that, I did want to release it this week, but have been slammed with orders, but it is nearly complete, so stay tuned

Reti said:

First of all thank you for the great guide.

I'm trying to rebuild an expired domain, I think I made some mistakes while doing that, but still try to do the redirects.
When I tried to do them as you've written in the guide, unfortunately I got an internal 500 Error.
Do I have to insert the redirects at a certain location in the file? I have another part that starts with <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>, do I have to insert the redirects there? It starts with <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>, followed by RewriteEngine On, do I have to write a RewriteEngine Off at the end (just like the slash when coding)? Do you have an idea what the problem could have been?

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Don't worry, we have all been there and done that. Simply add the code at the end of the .htaccess file until you get the hang of it.

bulba13 said:

Hey, I know this is an off topic question but I dont know where to ask.

I am buying an expired domain but when I checked in archive.org, it has been 301 redirected for 6 months before it expired. I am wondering if the authority is still there or has the link juice been transferred?

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I have picked up a number of great domains that were redirected before expiring. Sometimes the organisation changed names and redirected to the new domain, then did not renew when it expired. I have a beauty which was an old travel .org site which changed with UK gov policy and redirected to .gov.uk. They did not renew and I snapped it up within minutes of it being released for registration.

So it depends on if there are still good links pointing at it, and what it was redirecting to. If it was redirected to a PBN and then dropped, you would have to ask yourself why, and have a good look at it.

However, if that is the case, it is not necessarily the end of the world. Many PBN builders do not know how to get the most out of their domains and there is still some real juice to be extracted, if built out correctly.

HTH

@fasttrak

I have a question related to using an Expired Domain, you might find it funny. It is my first time I am attempting to build an affiliate website with an expired domain so I lack knowledge in the setup & retaining link juice part.

Q: My Domain is registered with NameBright but my hosting provider is SiteGround, now, in order to retain link juice by redirecting all old URLs to the homepage by htaccess, from where do I make all these redirects ? From you domain registrar (NameBright) account or from my Hosting account (SiteGround) ?

yasin.wazza10 said:

@fasttrak

I have a question related to using an Expired Domain, you might find it funny. It is my first time I am attempting to build an affiliate website with an expired domain so I lack knowledge in the setup & retaining link juice part.

Q: My Domain is registered with NameBright but my hosting provider is SiteGround, now, in order to retain link juice by redirecting all old URLs to the homepage by htaccess, from where do I make all these redirects ? From you domain registrar (NameBright) account or from my Hosting account (SiteGround) ?

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I had the same question, when I first started doing 301's, so you are in good company

You create the redirects in the .htaccess file on your host. So, in your case, you would amend the .htaccess file for your new expired domain on SiteGround. Add the 301 redirects and you are good to go.

HTH

fasttrak said:

I had the same question, when I first started doing 301's, so you are in good company

You create the redirects in the .htaccess file on your host. So, in your case, you would amend the .htaccess file for your new expired domain on SiteGround. Add the 301 redirects and you are good to go.

HTH

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Thanks mate ! Appreciate it

Hi @fasttrak , appreciate your guidance so far.
Would like to seek your advice regarding an expired domain that i recently picked up and wish to re-purpose it into a family/parenting topic.

The history: This .com domain was previously owned by a famous erotic author (example, RonaldTrump.com).
But in 2016 when the author moved to RonaldTrump.co.uk, he kept and redirected the whole domain from RonaldTrump.com to RonaldTrump.co.uk.

Now in 2020: The .com has dropped and I snapped it.
However, the .co.uk is still in use by the Author, which means I cannot rebuild .com domain using original content because of 1) duplicated content with .co.uk 2) Authors usually mind about copyright infringement I don't want to get a lawsuit.

Backlink profile:
200+ RD with 800 backlinks

Anchor text are clean, (mostly url and brand)

Backlinks are clean and legit from websites that recommend books (like Goodreads, Skoob, and some sites that talk about erotic books)

Backlinks are all 100% pointing to homepage.


Do you see any issue re-purposing this domain into a family/parenting topic?
Would be great if you can have a look! =)

Hey @fasttrak, do you build quality backlinks for the previous content or the repurposed content during waiting time? I am afraid that if I use anchors for my repurposed content, it will alert google.

Love this guide. thanks mate

Great info! I have a question, why somebody would use an expired domain and what for ?

Should i recreate all pages from expired domain or just ones with backlinks?

looks promising, bookmarked for future use.

fasttrak said:

If we are still talking about a PBN and not money site, I would simply use a generic click here, or more info, in the body of the article.

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Fasttrak-thanks for the effort you put into helping us morons, it's appreciated. Question: before I submit my rebuilt website to google, should i do anything else? or simply rebuild (which I used wayback to do for like $15) and submit to Google Console? is there a point in using things that hasten the process; paid programs?

Amazing Guide.
I don't know why I found this so late