In this article, I will show you how you can use old domains to optimize your websites for search engines and how to search for expired domains or old domains. I think you have heard of old domains or old domains before, but if you haven’t heard of them, I will explain to you what old domains are and how you can search for and reserve old domains or old domains for your websites.
Old and expired domains can be used under certain circumstances to improve websites’ Google rankings and optimize websites for search engines. However, this must be done correctly. Here is a summary of the contents of this article:
Follow this article with me and make sure to read it carefully until the end.
What is it Old Domains?
Expired Domains / Old Domains are domain names that were previously registered for websites that were present on the web and ended, stopped working on them for any reason. That is, they are the domains for old websites that were closed, expired , were not renewed by their owners, or stopped and disappeared from the web for any other reason.
From an SEO perspective , a legacy domain is a domain that has been indexed in search engines, particularly Google, in the past by a website that used to run on it.
To easily find out when a domain name was registered, you can use a whois service. Here are a few sites that offer whois services that I use:
2. Why are old domains considered?a task?
Because I’m certain that optimizing your site for search engines is extremely important to you, I’m sure you can identify some of the advantages of old domains. I’ll list some of them below:
Backlinks List
A backlink list is a crucial factor in ranking well in Google’s search engine. So, if you’re starting with a new domain, you’ll need to start building backlinks from day one, but if you’re using an older domain, you’ll start with a solid backlink list built over the years by the domain’s previous owner(s).
Backlinks and trademarks mentioned in publishing sites
The old domain, especially if it’s for a business, should have been mentioned and listed on government websites in your industry. So, if these domains are used by businesses, there’s a good chance the domain name and brand have been mentioned in digital magazines such as Monetize.info, Forbes, Business.com, and others.
high-band reputation
There are domains that already have a good reputation in their respective fields on the web. This in itself is a reward and a golden opportunity that you can capitalize on. Building a good reputation can take a lot of time and effort initially. So, if you have the opportunity to purchase an old domain that already has a strong reputation and also ranks high in search engines, you’re truly lucky.
Domain age is a ranking factor.
Domain age remains a powerful ranking factor, as Google prioritizes domain age in the index. Currently, it’s not as important compared to other factors such as click-through rate (CTR) and mobile-friendliness, but domain age still plays a special role if you’re in a highly competitive niche where every competitive advantage counts.
How can I use? Old domains?
Here are 4 ways you can leverage old domains to boost your website’s organic search traffic:
Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
Private blog networks (PBNs) are the most popular way to leverage old domains.
A private blog network (PBN) is a network of authoritative websites used to generate backlinks to a single website. It’s a list of unrelated sites that all link to a single central domain to pass link equity to them and improve their rankings.
How are private blog networks created?
- Private blogging networks start with someone purchasing a large number of old domains with high search engine authority. They then begin creating content on those sites that includes backlinks to their main website.
- In turn, this will provide the main site with many high-quality backlinks. This way, it will be able to boost its website’s ranking and rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which will then generate more traffic and visits to its main site from search engines.
The problem and danger lies in the fact that the use of private blogging networks is prohibited by Google and is actively and consistently targeted for removal from its search index.
But if you are willing to take the risk, you should use old domains that are relevant to your niche and have a strong backlink list.
After getting the domains, recreate the content from the extract. Archive.orgAnd of course.. put links on those domains to your main sites.
Notice:
It is important to do a thorough backlink check of each domain before purchasing it to ensure that it ranksDomain AuthorityFor example, the domain is not inflated with low quality backlinks.
Enhancing access opportunities
The great part about this method is that you don’t actually have to own the expired domain name. All you have to do is check your backlinks file and inform the websites that the link is broken, suggesting a relevant link from your website. Some of them will accept your suggestion and redirect the broken link to a valid, relevant link on your website.
Make sure the alternative links you suggest are better than those to expired domains. Using archive.org, you can check the old page of the broken link and create a better version.
Also, don’t expect everyone to respond and agree to modify the broken link with your own. If you get a 2/10 response rate—that is, two out of ten people you send a message to—that’s considered a good thing.
Create niche sites on the old domain
This is my favorite method. Once you discover a good domain, you should recreate the website that the domain was on and continue adding content in the same domain it was on. Also, create social media accounts under the domain name, guest post on other blogs, and start getting backlinks by guest posting on other blogs.
The difference between private blog networks and niche sites is that while private blog network sites are just parasitic sites created only to boost the ranking of the main site, a niche site is an independent website that grows and boosts its ranking on its own in a legitimate way.
Redirect the domain to your main domain
This is clearly the simplest way to improve your ranking. You purchase a domain name and then create a 301 redirect for visitors to the old domain you acquired to your main website. This way, the backlinks from the old domain will move to your main website.
Of course, if you want to benefit from this domain, it must be in the same domain as your main site, and it is preferable that the old domain has higher metrics (such as domain authority and backlinks file) than the metrics of your main site’s domain.
Revitalize old domain and website content
You can try to restore the site that was up and running on the old domain. After all, there must be a reason for the traffic to the site, right? You can use tools like the Wayback Machine and Google Cache to restore as much of the old site’s content as possible and republish it after acquiring the old site’s domain. You may not be able to retrieve all of the content, especially if it’s an old site with a lot of content, but you can certainly try and leverage the restored content to get a website with indexed content ready.
The problem with this method is that you may end up with copyright infringement issues. Even though the site no longer exists—assuming it hasn’t just moved—the content isn’t in the public domain. The original author of the content may still hold the copyright to it, so if you try to retract it and restore the site, you’ll need to get permission from the original owner to use the content. Otherwise, you’ll need to rewrite it all from scratch, at which point you can take advantage of the other methods above.
How to searchAbout old domains and expired domains
Now that I’ve shown you several ways on how you can profit from old or expired domains, I’m sure you’re curious to know how to find old domains with great metrics in terms of reputation, domain authority, and backlinks.
To do this, I suggest you use a tool like Domain Hunter Gatherer (DHG) – Expired Domain Finder to easily find old domains, whether in auctions or expired ones.
Here are some of the notable features of Domain Hunter Gatherer – Expired Domain Finder:
- Search for expired related niche domains by keyword(s)
- Search for expired domains with links from relevant authority/niche sites.
- Reverse Crawl Expired Domains, no third party accounts required for this purpose
- Find branded domains/keywords in seconds with Easy Expired Domains.
- Get Moz, Majestic, and Social stats without the need for third-party accounts.
- Ability to recover websites from Wayback Machine archives using DomRecovery.
- Ability to create huge lists of domains in just two minutes, ready for scanning.
With Domain Hunter Gatherer, you can find and analyze hundreds of expired domains in minutes. The tool comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you don’t intend to use the old domains for SEO, you can simply request a refund and get your money back.
Conclusion: Old Domains for SEO
Today’s article was about how to use old domains for SEO (the complete guide). I explained how you can leverage old domains for SEO, showed you some ways to find old domains, and then explained how to vet each potential old domain you find to ensure it’s strong before purchasing it.
