Today, we're diving into a little-known SEO trick that involves buying expired domains to boost your off-page SEO, gain backlinks for free (or almost) and build authority to climb the Google rankings. It’s technical, but devilishly effective.
What is an Expired Domain? 🤔
💡 An expired domain is simply the address of a website, like "awesomesite.com," that was active in the past but is now expired because the business folded, the owner no longer needed it, or they just stupidly forgot to renew it.
In this case, the domain (the website address) becomes available for purchase, and anyone can buy it.
Why are Expired Domains Valuable for SEO?
Forget about the interest in grabbing a domain for its keywords (your brand, business name, etc.). The real value of expired domains lies in their impact on Google SEO.
Let me explain. If a domain has been used for 20 years by a company, it has naturally accumulated incoming links (backlinks) from directories, media sites, partner sites, etc. In Google's eyes, this web address has therefore gained a certain "authority" which can be measured with concrete metrics like Trust Flow or Domain Authority.
By purchasing a quality expired domain (often sold at auction), you take on the authority and history of that site, including all the links it had (the link juice), and potentially the Google rankings it had maintained (though this last case is quite rare).
👉 Looking to improve your Google rankings or acquire an expired domain? Contact us. At SEObragger.com, we have a 100% satisfaction rate with our clients. We've bought hundreds of expired domains for our clients 😎.
💡 A Concrete Example
Let's take a very concrete example of a project handled by SEO Bragger for one of our clients. This client runs a video production company. To quickly enhance his site's authority and SEO, we decided to acquire a premium, high-quality expired domain in the same field (video production).
Thanks to this operation, our client’s site now benefits from thematic links from major international media sites (like the New York Times, Wikipedia, CNN, etc.).
This site is now favored by Google and currently ranks on the first page for its keyword, partly thanks to this expired domain (and also due to the internal optimizations we performed for maximum power).
But beware, you need a bit of luck to find a domain in your niche that's available and powerful. It’s not always feasible. You need to spend time regularly searching for the right domain and pray you stumble upon the rare gem!
Where to Buy Expired Domains?
👉 There are numerous platforms where you can find expired domains for sale like Sedo, Name.com, Dropl.io , Domcop.com and a plethora of competitors you can find with a simple Google search (even dummies can do it).
⚠️ The challenge isn’t really knowing WHERE to buy these expiring domains but rather knowing if an expired domain will boost your site's SEO or PENALIZE it 🚫! You need to audit each domain to check its link profile, verify its current indexing, and avoid "junk/spam" sites. This requires a certain level of expertise.
The "Spam Score" of expired domains for sale is often too high. These addresses have sometimes been grabbed by unscrupulous foreign companies (Chinese, Russian) to link to online casinos and junk stuff like that. In Google's eyes, a domain treated this way is unusable. So be very careful because with this method, you're playing with fire!
On Expireddomains.net you can find a complete list of expiring and expired domains for free, both paid (sold via dedicated platforms) and "free" (available at cost price on registrars like GoDaddy, Ionos). You can enter keywords to find a thematic domain.
How Much Does an Expired Domain Cost? 💶
An expired domain can cost anywhere from $10 (the normal price of a domain) to $1,000 (or much more). It depends on whether it has been scooped up by a greedy domaining platform specializing in resale, and in most cases, the sale is done via auction to the highest bidder.
If you're lucky (but it's rare), the expired domain is simply available on standard registrars like GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc. But if that’s the case, it means the domain wasn't powerful enough to attract the resale professionals (but it might be powerful enough for your little niche / keyword).
If you’re not somewhat experienced in SEO, the best solution is to get help from an SEO freelance consultant to avoid risking penalties to your site with clumsy operations (some expired domains, even if they’re paid, can harm your SEO if they’re too "spammy." Moz’s Spam Score can partially help check this).
Need an expert’s touch? SEO Bragger has got you covered. For more advanced SEO advice, head over to the Best SEO Blog !
