The practice of buying expired domains involves acquiring domain names that were previously registered and used but have since lapsed and become available for purchase. These domains often come with a history of backlinks, traffic, and authority that were built up during their previous ownership. SEO professionals purchase such domains to leverage their existing “link equity” (the SEO value of their backlink profile) and gain an advantage in search engine rankings.
Once the domain is acquired, it can be “resurrected” in a few ways:
- Rebuilding the Original Website: Re-creating the site’s original content and structure to maintain its relevance and keep the existing backlinks functional.
- Redirecting to a New Website: Setting up 301 redirects to pass the domain’s link equity to a new or existing website, boosting its authority and rankings.
- Creating a Niche-Specific Site: Using the domain to build a new website in the same niche as its previous incarnation, maintaining topical relevance for SEO benefits.
The goal is to capitalise on the trust and authority the domain already holds in Google’s eyes, which can save months—or even years—of effort in building backlinks and credibility for a new domain. However, this strategy comes with risks. If the domain’s history includes spammy activity or penalties from Google, it could backfire and harm SEO efforts. Hence, careful due diligence is critical before purchasing and resurrecting an expired domain.
