Find And Buy Expired Domains Step By Step
If you're looking to find and buy expired domains step by step, you've come to the right place. Finding and acquiring expired domains can be a lucrative endeavor if you follow the right strategies. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of finding and buying expired domains, step by step.
Thomas Mitchell
Nov 26, 2023
Having a website may help you expand your business, regardless of whether you are a self-employed graphic designer or manage a reputable brick-and-mortar establishment. A company website may create trust, provide leads, and turn interested parties into paying clients, but how can you give it the extra push it needs to succeed?
Purchasing an expired domain should be on your list of things to do if you want to launch a new website or drive traffic to an already existing one. Numerous benefits associated with a high-quality expired domain might raise your website's SEO.
It can have a lengthy domain history, a distinctive name, a large number of backlinks, or a sizable volume of daily visitors. In this article, we will be discussing how to find and buy expired domains step by step.
What Is An Expiring Domain?
A previously registered domain that has yet to be renewed by its owner is said to be expired or expiring. However, a domain name, or the online address of your website, is never truly yours. Instead, you rent it for a predetermined time.
Whether on purpose or accidentally, your domain name expires and is re-registered on several markets by the domain name registrar when you stop paying the rent.
A domain may expire for a variety of reasons, such as the owner moving on to another project or payment methods not being processed. Thousands of domains expire every day; we're talking about over 150,000+ each day. As a matter of fact, an astounding 70% of all domains are not renewed annually.
Thus, just 30% are renewed. Of the domains that were not renewed, 29% will be bought or registered by someone else who will take over the domain, and 41% will really expire.
What Can You Use Expired Domains For?
Expired domain names hold a world of possibilities, offering you a chance to enhance your online presence and boost your digital ventures.
Building Authority Sites
Suppose you're about to start on the exciting journey of creating a new authority site or a niche-specific website. Would you choose a fresh domain name? Well, here's a savvy tip – opt for an expired domain instead.
Why, you ask? New domain names require substantial investments of time and money to establish their page authority. This uphill SEO battle can be avoided by acquiring an expired domain boasting high domain authority and an established link profile.
With this head start, you can often secure a spot on the coveted first page of search rankings without breaking a sweat. The advantages of starting with an expired domain are evident, and they're the key to your online success.
Building A Private Blog Network
Imagine harnessing the power of expired domain names to construct a network of top-tier, authoritative websites in a specific niche.
Now, envision leveraging this network to propel your primary site to the top of search engine results. It's all possible, and it begins with your adept selection and acquisition of expired domains within your chosen niche.
The essential step is identifying expired domains with a clean link profile and an impeccable history, free from spam. Soon, we'll guide you on how to accomplish this, setting you on the path to building a private blog network that can catapult your online presence to new heights.
301 Redirects
Here's a simple yet effective technique - Take the expired domain you've acquired and implement a 301 redirect to your primary website. This strategic move instantly transfers a portion of the old domain's link authority and juice to your site. And if that expired domain comes with existing traffic, well, you've just hit the jackpot!
How To Find Expired Domains Fast?
Reverse Domains Hunt
Using this strategy entails typing a domain into the program to discover all backlinks pointing to it and then scanning the connections to identify high-quality expired domains. Purchasing domains that already include your keywords together with links from your rivals is a beautiful first step.
Domain Auction Hunt
Entering your keywords will allow you to look for an expired domain from the eight markets that are highlighted, with listings including analytics like Majestic and Moz data.
The most significant domains in your specialty may be obtained by using the domain auction hunter, which can automatically harvest listings from all of the major auction sites. The procedure just takes a few minutes, and you can do it as often as you like for free.
Looking Up Web2.0 Accounts
With Domain Hunter Gatherer, you can quickly and for free uncover domains that have a significant amount of backlinks and social media shares, which are familiar with Web 2.0 and blogging accounts.
Checking for backlinks can help you quickly identify high-quality Web 2.0 accounts and limit the amount of time you spend on domains you don't want to spend time on. However, these accounts are excellent for boosting the strength of PBNs and are consistently free of spam.
Hunt By Websites
This entails crawling particular websites to locate associated expired domains, which may be done by looking through the site's connections. For example, only providing the website URL will allow you to locate expired domains associated with Forbes.
Hunt By Keywords
As simple as it may seem, you might get expired domain names from websites that are presently ranking for the keywords by just entering a few phrases from your field into the program.
The Search For Brandable Domains
If you're not happy with your existing expired domain name, there's a method that can find just brand names, and it works really well. You may use it to find comparable names that have recently expired.
Additionally, you can find it much easier to choose a higher-quality domain by eliminating the ones that are blatantly inappropriate for your purposes.
Hunting In A Niche
Finding expired domains in any field is made simple with Domain Hunter Gatherer. Additionally, you can designate domains that are exclusive to a particular speciality. With the proper controls, you may locate an infinite number of premium domains in that niche that are available for a reasonable price.
Step-By-Step Guide To Buying An Expired Domain
Step 1 - Understand The Domain Expiration Timeline
You must first comprehend how a domain expires if you wish to purchase expired domains. Depending on the domain registrar, the expiration schedule varies; however, for the majority of domains, there is a grace period of the first thirty days following the expiration date. The website will be unavailable during this period, but it may usually be renewed at the regular fee or for a little more.
Those who have expressed interest in the domain name will often be encouraged to put a backorder before the ownership of the domain is typically relinquished after 30 days. The domain is subsequently put up for seven days of auction, with the highest bidder receiving the domain if there are no backorders.
A domain will go into the pending deletion phase for around five days if it is not sold during the auction process. It is expected to be re-entered into its original registry after this time, where it can be registered for the standard fee.
Step 2 - Determine Where Your Desired Domain Name Is Listed
Finding the listing for the domain name you want is the next step. If you have a specific domain in mind, use a WHOIS lookup to find out which registrar it is listed with first.
Finding the auction partner you need to contact to submit a bid will be made easier if you know which registrar it is listed with. The majority of registrars collaborate with a particular auction company. Several prominent domain auction houses consist of;
- GoDaddy
- FreshDrop
- Flippa
- Sedo
- SnapNames
You may locate domains through websites that feature recently dropped domain names as well if you need help determining which ones you want.
Step 3 - Place A Backorder Or Bid On The Domain Name
Once the ideal domain has been discovered, it's time to reserve it through an auction or place a backorder. With a backorder, you may reserve a domain name in advance and get it before everyone else when it expires. You must register with the auction company selling the domain you desire in order to make a backorder.
Backordering a domain name does not, however, ensure that you will be able to register it and can go up for auction. Depending on their domain extension, backorder guidelines, quality, and other considerations, certain domains are also not accessible for backorder.
What Is The Average Churn Rate For Domains?
The churn rate, which means how often domains are abandoned, is really high.CN domains. Almost 98.28% of them have yet to be renewed, and only 1.10% of them get registered by someone else—only 1.72% of them. The same person renews CN domains.
For some domain types, like.CN, .XYZ and . BIZ, lots of people let their domains expire, making them available for others. On the other hand, domains like.COM, .ORG and .NET have fewer people letting them expire.
Some domains, like .NET, .TOP and . BIZ are re-registered by new users quite often, while domains like.XYZ, .INFO and . CN are rarely re-registered.
The most commonly used domain type is.COM, but many of them are dropped and left unused—only 28.09% of.COM domains are renewed, and the rest are either re-registered by others or left to expire.
Drawbacks Of Using Expired Domains
It may be difficult to find quality expired domains, and there are several traps to watch out for. The following are some negatives to be aware of;
- Poor history- The domain name you are purchasing can be de-indexed or even banned if it has already been penalized for violating webmaster guidelines.
- Poor quality website - Websites with lots of duplicate material, security lapses, and spammy backlinks will perform poorly on search engine results pages.
- High price - Due to their backlink profile and age, expired domains are typically more expensive than newly registered ones. Since they're usually sold at auction, a bidding battle might drive up the price considerably.
- Trademark problems- Certain trademarked words are used in domain names by certain brands. Even if you buy a branded domain name, you might not be allowed to use it.
Advantages Of Buying Expired Domains
Buying expired domains can offer several advantages for individuals and businesses. Here are five benefits of purchasing expired domains;
- Established Audience to Target - Expired domains often come with an existing audience, allowing you to capitalize on the previous website's traffic and user base.
- SEO Benefits- Expired domains may inherit established SEO value, including backlinks, traffic, and authority, which can help boost the SEO of a new or existing website.
- Branding- Expired domains can provide a branding advantage by allowing your site to "borrow" credibility and branding from the previous history of the old site, thereby boosting your credibility.
- Existing Backlinks- Expired domains may have an established backlink profile, which can contribute to the new website's SEO and authority.
- Sell It For Profit- Some individuals purchase expired domains with the intention of selling them for profit, a practice known as domain flipping.
Why Buying Expired Domains Is Expensive?
Buying expired domains can indeed be an expensive endeavor for several reasons. First off, because of their possible SEO advantages and established brand, high-quality expired domains have become more in demand in recent years.
Prices at auction and on the market have increased as a result of the increased rivalry for older domains brought about by more companies and people realizing the worth of these names.
Second, the use of advanced tools and techniques by domain investors and experts to locate and purchase valuable expired domains raises the bar on both prices and competition.
Investors are able to identify sites with significant domain authority, traffic potential, and backlink profiles by using automated scripts, machine learning algorithms, and data analysis tools.
Thirdly, the price of expired domains is mainly determined by scarcity. The pool of attractive expired domains is getting smaller due to the daily registration of new domains, and the supply of old, high-quality domains is limited. Prices rise when buyers compete for the few attractive alternatives due to scarcity.
Additionally, the cost of purchasing expired domains is increased by the fees and commissions that domain markets sometimes impose on successful name sales. Several factors, including scarcity, advanced acquisition techniques, competition, growing demand, and related fees, influence the cost of purchasing expired domains.
Even while it can be an expensive investment, those with the resources and market insight to successfully navigate this competitive market may find it to be worth it in terms of SEO value, branding, and traffic.
How Do You Evaluate The Quality Of An Experienced Domain?
Even though a website has a lot of visitors, there are better choices for you. It's essential to check if the visitors are a good fit for your brand. Here's how to do it;
Look At Traffic Sources
- Examine where the website's visitors are coming from.
- Some visitors find the site through Google or by typing the web address directly. This traffic is more valuable because these people are genuinely interested.
- Use tools like Google Analytics, Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or Semrush to understand the traffic sources.
Check Backlinks And Domain Authority
- Look at the websites that link to the domain you want to buy.
- Not all links are equal; some are better than others.
- Quality backlinks make a domain more trustworthy and can improve its ranking on search engines.
- Tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz's Domain Authority Checker can help assess backlinks and domain authority.
Check Backlinks And Domain Authority
- Look at the websites that link to the domain you want to buy.
- Not all links are equal; some are better than others.
- Quality backlinks make a domain more trustworthy and can improve its ranking on search engines.
- Tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz's Domain Authority Checker can help assess backlinks and domain authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Purchasing Expired Domains Beneficial To Seo?
You may profit from an established online presence and inherit the domain's established SEO value by buying an expired domain.
After A Domain Expires, Can It Be Purchased?
It is possible to purchase a domain after it expires.
What Should I Be Cautious Of When Buying Expired Domains?
Watch out for scams, fraudulent sellers, and hidden domain issues. Always do thorough research and due diligence.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, when tackled with a well-structured plan, the process to find and buy expired domains step by step can be a profitable and satisfying effort. This blog article provides a step-by-step tutorial that will help you confidently navigate the complicated world of expired domains.
Remember to start by outlining your objectives and standards, carrying out an in-depth investigation, using reliable domain marketplace platforms, and taking into account any possible SEO advantages.
Additionally, always be on the lookout for fraud and make sure you research a product before buying it. If you are persistent and patient, you can find excellent expired domains to use as a starting point for your digital marketing campaigns or online businesses.