Domains With Backlinks

Backlinks (links to your website, as opposed to outgoing links on your website) remain the core aspect of ranking a website in the SERPs (search engine results pages), alongside on-the-page optimisation.

Google no longer lets you see PageRank but it is still the one thing everything else revolves around, and the secret sauce that makes Google tick. And PageRank is combination of the number of backlinks, and the quality of the site with those links.

Backlinks are also the key measurement used by 3rd party tools like AHrefs (hence their name).

So, unless you have a site very link-worthy and links just magically happen, you can either make the links happen (outreach, buy them), or you can buy an expired domain name that already has links.

Popular expired domain services are:

Domains expire for many reasons, and not all expired domain names are the same. The key here is avoiding domains that have low quality / bad links. Google knows that 50,000 links from spammy sites is meaningless.

To do this properly, use a tool like AHrefs to inspect those backlinks and make an informed decision. And use archive.org to see if the old site was actually one that people would link to.

Recreating some/all of the old site is a good way of signalling to Google, and sites that link to it, that nothing has changed.

Obviously the more (quality) backlinks the better. But typically that domain will cost you more, or will be snapped up when it expires by more skilled operators. So consider a modestly price domain.

  • Look for a domain that is brand-able and generic. Don’t buy ClevelandMedicalClinic.com if you are not a medical clinic in Cleveland
  • Look at the best backlinks and ask yourself if they are likely to remove them one day
  • Numbers, hyphens and uncommon TLDs/extensions are warning signs

You can also buy an existing website that has backlinks, that is not an expired domain… At least you can see the traffic stats, rather than guessing how many visits an expired domain name will get you. Be wary of non-genuine traffic…

Also, consider using an expired domain to send a link to your actual website, rather than using that domain for your website. Ideally you will recreate the original site from what you find at archive.org

For some easy backlink wins, find high quality expensive domains with no website, and contact the sites that link to it… Tell then the link is to a dead site and suggest they link to your site instead.