How to find expired domains

How to find expired domains worth buying: where to search, how to check backlinks and history in Ahrefs or Semrush, backorders, and the spam traps to avoid.

Expired domains are names their owners didn't renew. Some come with years of history and links from other sites, which can make them worth more than a fresh name. Here's how investors find them and check them before buying.

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Why buy an expired domain

• Better names: short and keyword names drop every day.
• Existing backlinks: links from real sites can help a new site get noticed.
• Age and history: buyers often value names that have been registered before.

When a name expires it goes through grace and redemption periods before it's released. See what happens when a domain expires for the timeline.

Where to find them

• ExpiredDomains.net: a free search engine for names that are dropping or about to drop, with filters for length, extension and backlinks.
• Drop-catch and auction sites: DropCatch, SnapNames, NameJet, GoDaddy Auctions and others. Compared in our domain auction sites guide.
• Ahrefs and Semrush: use them to check the backlinks of a name you find, or to find broken links pointing at expired sites in your niche.

Check backlinks and history

1. Backlinks: in Ahrefs or Semrush, look at the referring domains. You want a few links from real, relevant sites, not thousands from link farms.
2. Anchor text: lots of casino, pharma or adult anchors means spam.
3. History: check the Wayback Machine for what the site used to be.
4. Trademarks: avoid names that match a brand.
5. Age and ownership: our WHOIS lookup shows the current registration dates.

Ahrefs and Semrush are expensive for one person. Noxtools gives low-cost shared access to tools like these. Shared access works differently from buying the tool directly, so read its terms first. More in our SEO tools for domain investors guide.

How to catch one

• Backorder: place a backorder at one or more drop-catch services. If several people backorder the same name, it usually goes to auction.
• Hand-register: names nobody backordered can often be registered normally after they drop.
• Buy at auction: expiring names with bids are auctioned before or after they drop.

Traps to avoid

• "PageRank" claims: Google stopped showing PageRank publicly in 2016, so any "PR" number a seller quotes is meaningless.
• Spammy past use: a name used for spam can carry problems with it.
• Fake metrics: third-party scores (DA, DR, TF) can be inflated by link networks. Look at the actual links.
• Overpaying: compare with real sales in record domain sales and NameBio.

Questions

How do I find expired domains with backlinks?

Search ExpiredDomains.net or drop-catch sites for names that are dropping, then check each one's referring domains in Ahrefs or Semrush. Keep only names with a few links from real, relevant sites.

How do I find expired domains with Ahrefs?

Use Ahrefs' Site Explorer on candidate names to see their referring domains and anchor text, or look for broken outbound links on sites in your niche that point at domains that have expired.

Can I transfer an expired domain?

Usually not until it's renewed. During the grace period the old owner can renew it; after it drops, it's registered fresh by whoever catches it.

Do expired domains still have PageRank?

Google stopped showing PageRank publicly in 2016. Judge an expired domain by its real backlinks and history instead.