Link Building Using Expired Domains

[pro_seo]

I will gladly hire an indian to do the searching for me. Any tips on where to find some quality people?

Post a project at getafreelancer.com or elance.com

[raz]

I don't buy domains for links... it isn't worth it to me, I buy the domain for the traffic and/or the name... I then either resell it for a profit or else I stick it up and do something with it myself... there are still a number of profitable domains to buy...
But you must be dedicated or you won't get them.

What sources do you use Visio? This has been the most frustrating thing for me.

raz

[Cataclysmic]

Post a project at getafreelancer.com or elance.com

Or scriptlance.com

[Cataclysmic]

Google does dump the backlinks if too much time passes between expiry and auction but having done this a couple hundred times now, if you host and add a sitemap for minimal pages – it will credit the link within a few days.

How do you know when Google has credited the links?

You can view them from your Google Webmaster Tools account........... Technically if you want to reap the benefits of the deeplinks that the domain has, then you have to create pages with the same file names to which the links are pointing. And IMO, if the domain does have deeplinks to it then it would be better to create pages with the old file names [to which the links are pointing] and then once the links show up in the Google WMT, deep-redirect the whole domain to your site.

If a domain has hundreds of links, what is the best way to find out what url the links are pointing to? Surely there must be a better way than checking each link individually.

Look at the webmaster tools!

Tybi if you’re looking at the WMT to find where the links are pointing to before you create the pages, then won’t they initially show up in WMT as 404 errors?

So if I understand this correctly, you first add your WMT metatag to the site to verify ownership. Then Google will display all the backlinks in WMT. Except for backlinks to the home page, I expect they’ll all show up as having 404 errors since you haven’t checked created all other the pages yet.

So then you take all the links to 404 errors and create actual pages at those locations. Then do you wait until they show up in WMT as non-404 errors? And then you redirect the whole thing to the site you’re trying to SEO?

Pro_SEO: You said "deep-redirect the whole domain to your site". When you say "deep-redirect" you mean direct it to a deep page of your website instead of your home page, right?

Thanks.

[fathom]

What sources do you use Visio? This has been the most frustrating thing for me.

raz

Take a stroll to a couple of domain auction forums and look for service providers.

Also visio:

I don't buy domains for links... it isn't worth it to me, I buy the domain for the traffic and/or the name... I then either resell it for a profit or else I stick it up and do something with it myself... there are still a number of profitable domains to buy...
But you must be dedicated or you won't get them.

Ya ok BUT:

1. you don't email the linking sites and advise them to kill the link eithers when you get them, and

2. I'm sure you can buy a PR5 domain name for $10 add a dumb template site and sell it for $1000+ at eBay (or other sources)... and the Links & PagRank will capture the interest of serious buyers (that know a little about links).

...that isn't profit?

My point here... don't snub your nose (actually don't advise other people to snub their noses) on value-added benefits for a buying/seeling a domain name worth $2-35 bucks... if the searching buyers are willing to pay a premium for a different value-added reasons than you're selling it for.

You're seriously can't be saying - "I ain't selling this domain to you because you want it for the wrong reason."

[tybi]

Tybi if you’re looking at the WMT to find where the links are pointing to before you create the pages, then won’t they initially show up in WMT as 404 errors?

So if I understand this correctly, you first add your WMT metatag to the site to verify ownership. Then Google will display all the backlinks in WMT. Except for backlinks to the home page, I expect they’ll all show up as having 404 errors since you haven’t checked created all other the pages yet.

So then you take all the links to 404 errors and create actual pages at those locations. Then do you wait until they show up in WMT as non-404 errors? And then you redirect the whole thing to the site you’re trying to SEO?

Everything is like you said untill the last move. When I see the 404's in webmaster tools there are two different things to do according to the particular situation.

1. If the domain is worth it (solid PR5 or something), create those pages, put content on them and develope the site.

2. If the domain is not worth it (PR3 or similar), redirect those 404 pages to your deep pages. Don't have to create the page before you redirect it.

[raz]

Tybi if you're looking at the WMT to find where the links are pointing to before you create the pages, then won't they initially show up in WMT as 404 errors?

So if I understand this correctly, you first add your WMT metatag to the site to verify ownership. Then Google will display all the backlinks in WMT. Except for backlinks to the home page, I expect they'll all show up as having 404 errors since you haven't checked created all other the pages yet.

So then you take all the links to 404 errors and create actual pages at those locations. Then do you wait until they show up in WMT as non-404 errors? And then you redirect the whole thing to the site you're trying to SEO?

fathom, am I right in assuming that for this type of linkbuilding you don't care about ownership issues? In other words your own sites are the ones that are being redirected to your site. What about hosting? Do you keep them on the same hosting account?

raz

[fathom]

So if I understand this correctly, you first add your WMT metatag to the site to verify ownership. Then Google will display all the backlinks in WMT. Except for backlinks to the home page, I expect they’ll all show up as having 404 errors since you haven’t checked created all other the pages yet.

So then you take all the links to 404 errors and create actual pages at those locations. Then do you wait until they show up in WMT as non-404 errors? And then you redirect the whole thing to the site you’re trying to SEO?

Pro_SEO: You said "deep-redirect the whole domain to your site". When you say "deep-redirect" you mean direct it to a deep page of your website instead of your home page, right?

Thanks.

No - a domain with a auction placeholder website is still a website so the links are not pointing to a 404 error page.

If you buy a domain that has sat "too long" it will take a while for Google to credit the links but if they are there when you verify ownership then they are good links.

As for "deep redirect"... YES... the best thing you can do if ranks are your desire is the redirect to the best match page below the homepage.

Even if the the domain is a perfect match to the homepage you will be better of burying it. The homepage will still get the secondary benefits but priamry benefits deep in a website is reversing the flow of credits.

[fathom]

fathom, am I right in assuming that for this type of linkbuilding you don't care about ownership issues? In other words your own sites are the ones that are being redirected to your site. What about hosting? Do you keep them on the same hosting account?

raz

IF REDIRECTING via .htaccess the requested url is the same as the served-up url so "IT'S THE SAME DOMAIN/SAME IP ANYWAY" from a search engine vantagepoint.

While I have 10 servers and 32 hosting packages it would make no difference if they were all on the same.

This isn't to say you can't get into trouble if you are do shady things and dumping this on top.

[raz]

IF REDIRECTING via .htaccess the requested url is the same as the served-up url so "IT'S THE SAME DOMAIN/SAME IP ANYWAY" from a search engine vantagepoint.

While I have 10 servers and 32 hosting packages it would make no difference if they were all on the same.

This isn't to say you can't get into trouble if you are do shady things and dumping this on top.

Thank you fathom,
Hehe, too straight to be doing shady things...

raz

[channel5]

Fathom, this is the most fascinating thread I have seen in a long time, thank you so very much for sharing with us all.

Now that I have picked up my PR1 domain with 3 .edu backlinks for $5 (well a test is a test after all!) is it as simple a matter as 301 redirecting the URL to the desired destination page on my target site?

[fathom]

Fathom, this is the most fascinating thread I have seen in a long time, thank you so very much for sharing with us all.

Now that I have picked up my PR1 domain with 3 .edu backlinks for $5 (well a test is a test after all!) is it as simple a matter as 301 redirecting the URL to the desired destination page on my target site?

If you haven't "you should"... setup a website with a few on-topic pages, and verify ownership with Google... check the backlinks immediately after you'd verified and if Google shows them - redirect away... if not:

You might coax them to show faster in the WmC by linking pages to the page that links to your new domain.

Unfortunately, it may take Google months to recredit older links - and while I haven't seen this myself (because I don't go after domains that have been expired for more than 60 days) it may never credit (remember the original reason it started to negate links from expired domains - the biggest offenders of this strategy type are porn sites.

Sidenote: When Canada3000 (an executive class ONLY airlines) went belly up here (it was a PR8 domain that almost every Canadian government website pointed to and when the domain expired (and gov webmasters are notoriously slowly on general maintenance) every patron of those thousands of website all got porn when they clicked (brings new meaning to the mile high club).

That said: if you have a problem getting them to appear - let me know - it's the one thing I've had had to deal with yet.

[channel5]

If you haven't "you should"... setup a website with a few on-topic pages, and verify ownership with Google...

If I don't create an on-topic website and just do a 301 redirect straight away what are the consequences?

[seomonkeymanocp]

Fathom, this is the most fascinating thread I have seen in a long time, thank you so very much for sharing with us all.

Now that I have picked up my PR1 domain with 3 .edu backlinks for $5 (well a test is a test after all!) is it as simple a matter as 301 redirecting the URL to the desired destination page on my target site?

May i ask if you are using a script to find appropriate domains or was it luck that you stumbled upon it?

[channel5]

May i ask if you are using a script to find appropriate domains or was it luck that you stumbled upon it?

Luck

found loads, including a PR5 with over 1000 links, i'll pay a lot more than $5 for that one though.