The ultimate guide to buying expired domains for your casino

Getting on the radar of potential clients and converting them to players is a top priority for online casinos. One way to ensure that is by purchasing and repurposing expired domains. It's the perfect solution to reaching out to an established audience related to your niche and leading them to your site for higher leads. In this guide, you'll learn about buying expired domains with QWERTYLABS and why promoting an online casino brand is essential.

What are expired domains? 

As the name suggests, expired domains are online websites that have not been renewed or maintained for a particular time. These sites could be classified as expired when their owners fail to renew the domain. They can also be a product of a specific company or store going out of business. Failure to maintain the site will then be classified as expired or dropped. These websites will be available for others to purchase online. 

Their new owners can take advantage of their established audience and existing backlink profile when purchased. They can either use these sites to attract new customers and redirect them to their main websites or interlink articles with the main site for a stronger backlink profile that builds authority. It can then lead to higher ranks in Google, which is especially helpful for online casinos since it helps people learn more about a particular website and drive potential players to the main platform.

Why expired domains are important for your casino brand 

When done right, purchasing and building these expired sites can improve your casino's search engine optimisation (SEO) and drive high-quality traffic. It's especially true when you buy an expired domain with high authority and a good backlink profile since this means Google and many readers trust this brand. So if you post anything here, you have better chances of ranking and getting high click-through rates (CTR).

Purchasing expired domains can help you promote your brand through other related channels and attract clients. Here are other reasons why expired domains are helpful for your casino:

1. Redirects high-quality traffic

When buying expired domains for casino sites, you can take advantage of their authority by adding 301 redirect links that bring users to your main site. Instead of interlinking articles on the site, you can backlink to your main site and redirect all visitors there. 

For example, you can publish blog articles on your expired domain that discuss similar topics to online casinos, sports betting and more. You can then interlink related content that will take your viewers directly to the casino's main interface. These can come in organic keywords inserted in the content or as call-to-action sentences at the end of your blog posts. 

With this, you bring in filtered traffic that has a higher chance of converting and making a first-time deposit (FTD). Not only will you reach out to clients through other channels, but you'll also learn how to convert casino web traffic into leads and sales. The cost of purchasing an expired domain will be worth it if it can help improve your online casino brand in the long run. This is just one of the many benefits you can get from buying expired domains with QWERTYLABS. 

2. Improves your backlink profile

When done right, authoritative expired sites can also help you rank higher in search engines and get the attention of more clients. You can gain higher CTR, which can turn into conversion rates and FTDs. That's because a site with high authority backlinks to your site also gains authority since a reliable site trusts it, and your backlink profile improves. This means you can appear on the first page of Google and get on the radar of more people. 

However, ensure you post related topics such as casino gaming content like game descriptions and blogs when backlinking. This is so Google won't flag your action as unusual and disregard your backlink profile. When buying an expired domain to improve your SEO, you must look for contextually relevant sites related to your niche. That way, the site redirect won't be jarring and suspicious to users.

How to buy expired domains 

Using expired domains is paramount to building and optimising your site. However, you must first consider the purchasing process. This may seem a bit complicated at first, but the process is necessary to ensure the purchase of a quality site. To learn more about how to buy expired domains, take a look at the step-by-step guide below: 

Step 1. Filter the expired domain parameters 

The first step to purchasing expired domains is filtering the necessary parameters. You can do this on platforms such as ExpiredDomains.net or DomCop, where you can look for domains depending on certain parameters you have set for yourself. 

Some essential elements you can look out for include: 

• Trust flow or quality and trustworthiness of a site
• Citation or link quality
• Domain rating.

All these can give you a better idea of how strong the domain is and if it's worth anything you can use to rebuild a new site or drive traffic to an existing one. 

Step 2. Undergo Quick Batch Analysis on Ahrefs 

After the parameters have been filtered, the next step is to complete the Quick Batch Analysis in a top SEO tool your business needs, like Ahrefs. This is where you can look at data regarding backlinks and a domain's overall quality. Once you input the domain link, Ahrefs' Quick Batch Analysis will give you basic data about the site, such as all the currently linked domains, the number of backlinks on the site and its overall domain rating. 

Step 3. Consider the traffic quality on Semrush 

Once you have finished completing the analysis on Ahrefs, the data acquired will be exported and transferred to Semrush, a company known for its speciality in keyword research, ranking data and more SEO services. This is where further details of the site will be checked, including its performance. It's best to check the site's quality for a minimum of 6 months or more if you wish to dig deeper into its history. 

At least three months of consistent traffic are considered good traffic quality. This will ensure that the site still has some regular visitors and will potentially be an active domain once you purchase it. 

Step 4. Take a look at the site via Wayback Machine 

The next step is heading to the Wayback Machine, where you can look at expired domains and see what they look like before and now. Here, you'll see how active and consistent the site was when it was still live. 

You will first see the different snapshots of the site through a calendar interface and see certain dates where snapshots are available. Through these snapshots, you can determine the site's consistency and activity since it was first created.

Before purchasing an expired domain, look for gaps in its activity. If the gap is within three years or less, it should still be worth something.

After checking the site's data on the Wayback Machine, you can work on relating or assigning it to the brands you're promoting. For example, if you are trying to promote your online casino, you may try and relate an expired domain about slot games or esports like DOTA 2. 

Step 5. Purchase the domain on GoDaddy 

Next up, check the domain's status and bid for it on GoDaddy, a registry where domains go up for auction. Here's where site owners can put their sites up for auction, and the highest bidder will win the rights to the domain. 

Typically, better-quality domains are more expensive, with bids spanning around $800 and above. On the other hand, smaller and less established domains can go for as low as a few dollars. 

Step 6. Building the site on WordPress 

The final step is building the site on WordPress and turning it into whatever you want. Once the domain has been purchased, you're its owner, and you can immediately publish your content. 

You can also redesign the site and add other elements that make it a more organic and high-quality platform. Include backlinks, affiliate content, and many more to help redirect viewers to your main platform. 

What to remember before buying expired domains 

Learning about buying expired domains is essential, but so are some tips that will greatly help you in the purchasing process. Look at the reminders below and keep them in mind to ensure you purchase a worthwhile site to promote your online casino brand. 

1. Look at the age of the domain 

Relevance and timeliness are two things that must be considered when buying expired domains. This is why the age and activity of a particular domain should be monitored before purchase. If the site is older and has been inactive for quite some time, then it might not be the best option. Instead, something timely and well-maintained would be the better choice. 

2. Consider the quality of existing backlinks 

As previously mentioned, you can use platforms like Ahrefs and Semrush to see the site's data. This will include the quality of the current backlinks and how well the site generates traffic. Remember, the better the site's reputation, the more authority it has, and the more valuable its current site traffic is. 

3. Don’t forget to check search engine bans 

While filtering the expired domains online and checking their stats, remember to look out for search engine bans. Sites that are banned from certain search engines don't have much to offer and will only make the website building and promotion process difficult, if not harmful to your brand. Find expired domains that are clear of any bans before purchasing. 

4. Filter the different genres available 

When you filter the site and learn more about its trust flow and domain rankings, you must also filter the genres you think will be a good fit for your brand. For example, always avoid purchasing sites with difficult or compromising content. This includes domains with foreign characters, pornography and medical institutions, to name a few. Instead, general and simple sites will do, especially if you want to relate them to your brand. 

5. Take note of the ccTLDs (country code top-level domain) 

Lastly, don't forget to look at the country codes or the ccTLDs of the site you are buying. These are the latter portions of the domain, such as '.jp' for Japan and '.kr' for Korea. You should purchase a domain with a relevant ccTLD that can cater to your target audience. So, if you have plenty of viewers or target players from Japan, you should try to source a Japan-based ccTLD.

Gain high-quality, organic traffic for your brand with QWERTYLABS today! 

Buying expired domains offer potential growth for your online casino brands. When you work with QWERTYLABS, you can expect top-notch search engine optimisation services such as link building across websites, designing a casino website and promoting your brand. 

Let QWERTYLABS provide you with your needs in purchasing expired domains, building a good website and creating engaging content that will capture the attention of your target audience. Contact us today, and let's start working on the future of your business!