First, lets quickly discuss some of the terms we’ll use in this post. What’s the difference between expired and dropping domains?
Expired Domain: It was used in the past but is free now again. Could be free since years already.
Dropping Domain: It is in ‘Redemption Period’ and will become free to register soon.
What to look for in expireds/drops:
1️⃣ Google Indexed
2️⃣ History
3️⃣ Ahrefs Backlinks
4️⃣ Verify Backlinks (optional)
Following these simple steps and your next expired domain / drop should be less likely wasted money.
1: Google Indexed
Check if domain is still indexed. If not, it could mean two things: Google is not interested in that domain since quite a while, or worse, the domain is penalized (deindexed) and will never index again. So, stick with ones that are still indexed (found in Google through site:domain.tld)
2: History
This goes hand in hand with the 1st step. Check what’s still indexed. If it’s a parking page or even spam (Adult, Casino, Pills, Fake shoes, …), it’s most likely not of much value. If you want to go crazy on history: use archive.org. See if it was used in a PBN already.
3: Ahrefs Backlinks
Get a rough idea of the amount of backlinks and their quality through the free ahrefs backlink check. Check for at least several DR 40+ backlinks (dofollow). Depending on your use you might aim for higher DR backlinks.
3.1: Note on Ahrefs Backlinks
The better those backlinks look, the higher the probability that there’s something with the domain. Otherwise it might have been taken already. Maybe there’s something you don’t see.
4: Verify Backlinks (optional)
You should verify that the backlinks shown in ahrefs are still there. Quite often links get removed, but ahrefs didn’t recognize. There goes your Wikipedia link 😂
It also makes sense to quickly check if those DA/DR values you see are valid/make sense. With time you will see from the domainname alone if the DA/DR value holds any value.
Notes:
You should aim for dropping domains, not expireds. In the past it was a common method to scrape sites like Wikipedia for domains that became free again (so they already have a Wikipedia link). As you can imagine, everybody was doing that, so the stuff you found there was mostly crap.
It’s the same with expireddomains.net. People go there are search for the drops from last night. Some get up at 5am, some at 8am and some at 10am. What do you expect to find there when you check at noon? Correct, the leftovers.
And even the guy who set the alarm at 3am to be the first on expireddomains.net will only find leftovers.
Why?
Because the ‘big boys’ snap the domains the second they drop.
There are auction platforms for that. You bid on domains nobody owns at that point. Strange, right? 😂
People are selling old domains for crazy prices.
There’s money in this. That’s why people put effort in getting those domains. You getting up at 11am and checking expireddomains.net for last nights drops, that’s not enough effort 🤡
I’ll tell you more about drop catching domains in the future. But for now you should be golden with those 4 (5) steps when registering/buying any domain with a history.