Using Expired Domains and Domain Redirects to Increase Traffic & Rankings

PALM BEACH, FL – While I see domain name redirects in play – almost every day, rarely do I see them tied to an obvious tracking campaign as one I stumbled onto this morning. Most know, that it’s no secret using expired domain names as strategic acquisitions can be good for business.

Just as in real estate, purchasing a good piece of commercial property will yield existing foot-traffic, likewise, purchasing an existing or expired domain name delivers its virtual equivalent [When done correctly they can also increase your search rankings].

This morning I received a friendly email regarding a broken link on searchen.com – pretty typical as there are over 182,000 sites listed, so I receive them very often – from those who hope that I will replace a listing with something they’re suggesting. These notifications serve only as a helpful nudge to replace the listing with something better.

Upon visiting the link, I was redirected to an online store which is using the domain name along with a tracking campaign to measure its results. Again, I see redirects in play all the time, but rarely do I see them being effectively tracked with a UTM campaign on them.

Here is the listing I was notified of:

Visiting the link brings you to another site where you can purchase mattresses and bedding – how fantastically convenient. The link in the browser reveals that not only is a redirect in play, but a tracking campaign which will let its owners know how effective it is as far as volume of traffic coming in.

HowtoBuyaMattress.com, a site previously existing as a how-to-guide for buyers for purchasing a mattress, will now bring visitors directly to a place to get it done. Simple and effective [They happen to be using a 302 type redirect and should be using a 301].

Coincidentally, SEDO this morning released a newsletter highlighting their Expiring Domains auction; there are over 15,000 auctions running according to the newsletter. They also highlight their ability to sort these domains by inbound links according to Majestic.com, a subscription based site which lets you check how many back-links a domain has and what its domain authority is (topical trust flow and citation flow).

Important to note, when purchasing domains specifically for backlink benefits, you want to be careful not to measure links by quantity alone – quality is of significant importance. Links should be authoritative, on-theme with its target site, such as this example above, and not contain any characteristics of past spamming activities or those characteristics could carry over to your site labeling your site as potential spam or existing in a bad-neighborhood, damaging and/or weakening your own back-link profile.

It is very common that a site will be abandoned or discontinued for its past spammy activity, so when purchasing an old or expired URL specifically for its back-link profile, its worthwhile to use any available tools to review the domains back-links and their individual quality. Do not focus on quantity alone, use quantity only to identify potential candidates for acquisition, then do the necessary research.

John Colascione

About The Author: John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, authored a ‘how to’ book called ”Mastering Your Website‘, and is a key player in several Internet related businesses through his search engine strategy brand Searchen Networks®