Your chances of securing these new links may be higher since those sites have already linked to you in the past.
Here’s what we look for when purchasing a domain because it has backlinks:
Are the links from relevant content and relevant pages within the site?
Do the links and content from the sites match what we want to publish on the domain now, or was the content giving those links about a different topic?
Do the sites giving the links also link to non-relevant sites or sites that historically have been in bad link neighborhoods like pills, porn, payday, poker, etc.?
When were the last links given, and why did the link acquisition stop?
There is more you can and should consider, but these are our top four.
It’s easy to find domains with backlinks.
Do a search for “best XYZ blogs in Insert Year” or “best websites for ABC in Insert Year.”
You now have a list of targets.
Put the domains into a spreadsheet and then match up which are mentioned the most.
Check to see what their current status is, and you’ll quickly find ones with backlinks that are expired and cheap to buy.
Consider periods following SEO changes, such as the “mommy blogger” bubble or the current niche site bubble.
Each time Google shifts its algorithms – as with the 2023-2024 helpful content updates – it disrupts entire industries. These upheavals are disheartening, often dismantling years of work, but they are cyclical and bound to happen again.
Still, many sites survive and even thrive despite these shifts. Rather than reacting publicly or lamenting changes, they concentrate on building a sustainable business and brand.
Traffic by page
When you’ve found a domain that aligns with your niche, has quality backlinks, and contains relevant content, the next step is to analyze its traffic by page.
If you’re launching a new resource, promoting a product or developing a content hub, identify if the domain ranks for the keywords you aim to target.
Use traffic analysis tools to locate these keywords and the specific pages that rank for them. Prioritize building similar pages with your original content (never copy from the previous owner) and use the same URLs to preserve their SEO value.
If the previous site didn’t use a structured URL format, replicate the original URL and 301-redirect it to your updated URL structure. This will temporarily pass authority to the new page, particularly if the link is recent.
During this time, consider reaching out to the backlinking site owner to request an update to your new URL.
Finally, monitor your new URL’s performance to see if it begins to rank and capture previous positions. This can help you leverage existing SEO value and drive targeted traffic to your site.
Past SEO issues or penalties
Find a list of SEO algorithm updates and match them to the domain you’re looking to buy.
If the site was penalized and never recovered or got penalized and recovered, but the previous owner abused it again, you may want to avoid buying it.
Penalty cleanups are a pain to deal with, but they are not deal breakers. If you don’t mind spending more money on cleanup, it could still be a purchase. You just have to start worse off than a new domain with no negative history.
You may be able to use this as a bargaining chip to get the price lowered if the domain has been on the market for a long time.
Did it ever get hacked?
Many websites, especially those on open-source platforms like WordPress with outdated plugins, are vulnerable to hacks.
I’ve experienced this firsthand with several niche sites, and even once with my marketing site. The attack destroyed my email list, and I lost the motivation to rebuild it.
To identify if a site has been compromised, plug the domain into a tool like Majestic SEO or another backlink checker.
Look closely at its backlinks: if you see links to content related to pills, porn, payday loans, poker or similar topics, it’s a strong sign the site was hacked or selling backlinks.
Cleaning up these harmful backlinks is essential to restoring the site’s integrity and SEO health.
Previous PR issues
When acquiring a domain, research the previous owners and the individuals featured on the About page using tools like the Wayback Machine.
Conduct searches with specific modifiers to uncover any past PR issues associated with the domain. These may have created negative stigmas among the previous user base, which could now overlap with your target audience.
Use phrases such as “scam,” “lawsuit” and “assault” to dig up potential problems that may have been buried by an ORM SEO firm or simply faded over time.
Reviewing court records can provide insights into any lawsuits, but keep in mind that many individuals share the same name, so verify the context to ensure it pertains to the company in question.
Exploring communities like Reddit can also reveal whether the PR issues you uncovered are linked to the previous owners. If the community has a negative opinion of them, you will need to address and overcome this sentiment to build trust.
This is particularly relevant to SEO. If the community has a poor perception of the brand, niche or the company itself, national media may be reluctant to cover or link to you.
This negative sentiment can hinder potential customers from searching for or engaging with your business, making it an uphill battle for your online presence.
Keep it stand-alone or merge it?
One critical decision to make is whether to keep the acquired domain as a stand-alone entity or merge it with your existing brand – and when to do so.
If the domain has a dedicated following that values the old brand, preserving that audience is essential. Their loyalty can translate into sales, higher CPM ads and more.
Begin by engaging with the existing audience to understand what they loved about the old brand.
Communicate your plans to merge and assure them that their concerns will be addressed. This helps retain the user base and allows you to grow your business while reaping potential SEO benefits.
Once you feel the time is right, you can initiate a traditional domain migration and merger process. However, there are situations where it may be more beneficial to maintain the domain as its own brand and scale both sites independently.
Having two sites that you own can be advantageous, as they may target different audiences and appear for the same search phrases, enhancing your overall visibility in the market.
One audience can be men buying men’s shirts, for example, and the other site could be for men and their significant others buying shirts.
The site for men specifically will cater to the direct shopper’s needs, while the wording and experience on the new domain you purchase talk to that person but also share how to size, measure and find a shirt that he’ll likely wear and enjoy.
Although both sites cater to similar customers, they fulfill different needs based on the searcher’s intent.
Evaluating domain names for SEO
These considerations are critical when evaluating domains for SEO.
Success is not solely about optimizing for search engines. It’s also about building a strong brand and a viable business model that can lead to long-term success.
By prioritizing your business objectives over SEO alone, you’ll find that SEO becomes more manageable.
A well-loved brand with a compelling business offering naturally attracts engagement, making it easier to achieve higher rankings.
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