I recently created a video on How To Find Expired Domains With PR For Free and uploaded it to Youtube, which I will share with you at the end of this post. The idea to create the video was sparked by a conversation I had in an entrepreneurial driven Google Hangout a few weeks ago when someone had asked me what tools I use to find expired domains. Another question that popped up during that conversation was what are the benefits of registering and developing expired domains so I thought I would create this post to outline the benefits I have experienced over the years.
A quick qualifier on this post. The benefits that I discuss are for new projects, not SEO purposes to promote your main money sites using link wheels or tiered linking strategies.
INSPIRATION
There have been many times that I’ve sat staring at a blank screen and asked myself “What’s next?” While it seems like I have a million ideas in my little coiled notebook, there are times where I am just not inspired by them and am looking for a transition project before digging into something major. When that occurs I start doing some research on expired domains using keyword phrases based around my interest..
There are a large number of domain names that have been registered and abandoned over the years and if you have the time and patience to do your research, you can dig up some gems. As I am writing this blog posts I did a quick search for deleted domains with the keyword “income” included and found close to 1,100 domains that are available to be registered. These hidden treasures can also spark your enthusiasm for your online projects, especially when you find a killer domain that you can’t believe is available.
If you find something that gets you excited, grab it and get started on the research and development process as soon as possible. In the past I’ve gone from domain registration to launch in just a few days because I was so excited about this “found” project. I don’t know about you but its so much more rewarding when you actually get to work on something you are passionate about.
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BACKLINKS, PR AND ALEXA RANKINGS
There are going to be times when you luck into an expired domain that already has a jump start over a freshly registered and discovered domain. Someone had already developed and promoted it and you are left with a site that has backlinks, valid pr ranking and sometimes even a boost at Alexa. These can truly be gems if that person who developed the previous version of your new site didn’t use shady SEO tactics.
If you do find a legitimately promoted website and develop it properly, you might be blessed with a boost in traffic and SERP results right off the hop. I once discovered a hockey related domain that I developed and had over 1,000 daily unique visitors within 10 days based on the work that the previous owners had done. As the traffic came in I was able to continue developing the site around what the visitors were after, eventually flipping it for a profit after only two months of work.
Not every expired domain with PR and backlinks will work out this way for you and the only way to know if you are going to receive a jump start from Google and from an audience perspective is to develop the site quickly, install Google Analytics and see what traction you’re able to get. If you notice a spike within the first few weeks, you may have a winner on your hands and it will be time to increase your efforts on the project to take advantage of traffic.
KEYWORD RICH DOMAIN NAMES
Have you ever had a great idea for a website only to find that the domain names you had in mind are snatched up? It happens to all of us and expired domains are a great way to alleviate the pain and rejection you felt when your domain registrar gave you that dreaded “already taken” page. Do some research using your favourite expired domain tool and there is bound to be something that you can use for your project. It may not be exactly what you were looking for but there have been times where I have found something better than what I had been originally thinking of registering.
Are all expired domains diamonds in the rough? The answer is absolutely not. There are reasons why many of them became expired and deleted in the first place. Sure, there are going to be instances where the original owner just didn’t get around to developing it. There also going to be other cases where a great deal of time and effort were spent creating a website only to have it ignored by Google and an overall audience.
If you have decided to try your luck at hunting and developing expired domains, here’s the video I mentioned at the beginning of the post. Also stay tuned as I go through the process of finding and developing an expired domain to show you my process. Hopefully the project will also be successful to show you that if you have an excellent process, there’s a lot of potential in registering a deleted domain.