What are aged domains, and why should you care?
This article provides a concise introduction to aged domains, explaining their importance and how they can benefit both seasoned webmasters and newcomers to the online world.
Read on to find out how these domains work, where to buy them, and the risks associated with them.
Key Takeaways
- Aged domains are domains that have been registered and used for some time but have never been dropped or expired.
- Aged domains provide many SEO benefits, including: trust, history, backlinks, higher ranks, and higher metrics.
- You can buy an aged domain on platforms like SEO.Domains, Domain Coasters, GoDaddy, and Namecheap.
- When buying an aged domain, you should look for a backlink profile, indexing, domain name history, and similar domain sales prices.
- The risks involved with aged domains are: Google may have penalized the domain, bad backlink profile, previously been used for PBN, and lack of topical relevance.
What Are Aged Domains?
Aged domains are domains that have been registered and used for some time but have never been dropped or expired. They have built up trust, as opposed to new, “empty” domains. They aren’t been deleted or re-registered but instead just changed ownership.
Aged domains can provide a major advantage for entrepreneurs and startup businesses, as they have a history and reputation that can’t be found with new domains.
Aged domains are often put up on auction services before they’re deleted, offering buyers a chance to purchase and use them as their own.
What Are The SEO Benefits Of An Aged Domain?
Aged domains provide many SEO benefits.
Let’s explore the most important ones:
Age Domains Have Pre-existing Backlink Profile
With an aged domain, you get a pre-existing backlink profile that can offer numerous SEO benefits. These links are already established, so you don’t have to spend time and money building them. Plus, if they’re from high-quality root domains, just a few of these links are more valuable than many low-quality ones.
An aged domain with many links from sites with a rich backlink profile is considered very strong. If you build your new site on such a domain, your site will have a very strong start.
Aged domains can also help you stand out from competitors, especially if the links are from industry-specific websites.
Ultimately, an aged domain with a good backlink profile can help boost your website’s ranking and visibility.
Age Domains Have Never Dropped / Expired
Aged domains have never dropped and, therefore, have a greater chance of retaining their power compared to an expired domain that has been used multiple times and for different purposes.
Age Domains Are Great for 301 redirects
Aged domains are great for 301 redirects because they come with existing backlinks that can be used to boost growth and build up the domain authority of an existing site. A combination of age, strong links, and niche relevancy will give you the growth you need while doing a 301 redirect.
Check out our article to learn how to use 301 redirects.
Age Domains Help Your Site to Rank Higher
Based on our personal experience, we can say that aged domains guarantee a strong start for a new site. This is because, in addition to having strong links and history, Google already knows the domain, and will help it rank higher.
This will work mainly if the aged domain and your site are in the same niche.
Age Domains Already Have High Metrics
We advise you to use aged domains with high metrics if you create a site for selling links. You will sell more links at higher prices if your domain has high metrics.
Where To Buy Aged Domains?
If you’re looking to buy an aged domain, you can find some of the best ones on platforms like SEO.Domains, Domain Coasters, GoDaddy, and Namecheap.
- SEO.Domains is the world’s biggest supplier of expired domains, offering more than 100k domains for sale at “Buy Now” prices.
This is our favorite place for expired domains because of the large inventory and the experts who are always ready with helpful advice and support. And the “By now” prices save money and time because you don’t have to bid in auctions. We highly recommend SEO.Domains and guarantee for the quality of their services.
- Domain Coasters is a popular marketplace for expired domains with quality backlinks and guarantees spam-free domains that are transferred within 24 hours.
- GoDaddy is the largest platform for domain names, with 21+ million customers and 84+ million domains.
The disadvantage is that you cannot see the metrics directly in the platform but must use additional tools. After this research, you should decide whether you want a particular domain and only then bid for it in an auction. This can take a long time, but if you have one, you can find good hits at low prices.
- Namecheap is renowned for its cost-effective domain names and hosting solutions.
What to look at when buying aged domains
When buying aged domains, there are a few important factors to consider.
Look At The Backlink Profile
Based on the numerous tests that we have conducted, we can say that the backlink profile affects the performance and link juice from the aged domains the most.
That’s why, when evaluating an aged domain, you should first look at its backlink profile to determine its quality and value. Backlinks are an important SEO factor and aren’t easy to build.
Check If The Aged Domain Is Indexed In Search Engines
When I choose domains for myself, I always start by checking if it is still indexed.
You can do this by searching for the domain name in Google or any other search engine. If it appears in the search results, it’s likely already indexed.
Check The Domain Name’s History
The next important thing that I never miss to check is the domain name’s history. This helps me identify any potential issues that may arise in the future.
I advise looking at the domain’s usage history, the length of time it has been registered, and any previous or current owners. Additionally, it’s wise to check if the domain has been blacklisted or penalized by search engines in the past.
You can also research if the domain has been involved in any legal disputes or had any copyright issues.
Verify The Domain’s Clean Legal History
Another important step is verifying that the domain has not been involved in legal or copyright issues. I usually check this here: https://branddb.wipo.int/
Check Similar Domain Sales Prices
The next move I make is to research the actual sales prices of similar domains, which will give me a better understanding of the domain’s true value.
It’s also worth noting that the appraisal value isn’t necessarily accurate, so it’s important to consider the actual sales prices when making a purchase.
What Are The Risks With Aged Domains?
Before considering using an aged domain, it’s important to understand the risks involved.
- Google may have penalized the domain.
- Its backlink profile may be bad.
- It may have been used as a private blog network (find more about PBN).
- There may be a lack of topical relevance if you decide to build a website in a different niche compared to what the domain was used for.
To reduce risk, make sure the expired domain hasn’t been used for such purposes. Although Google may punish you for using one, there are many legitimate reasons for doing so, such as reviving an old site or transferring link juice when a company has rebranded.
Conclusion
Aged domains can be a great way to get a jump start in the search engine rankings and can be a cost-effective way to do so.
However, it’s important to do your homework and research before you buy an aged domain to make sure it doesn’t come with any hidden risks.
If you do your due diligence and research, an aged domain can be a great addition to your website.
