Web domains are like very fine wine. They improve as they grow older, they can get pretty expensive, and there’s every chance someone else has already owned it before you.
Many bloggers (like amateur wine drinkers) choose to head out and pick a brand new domain for their blog rather than opting for one that’s been around for a while. In the same way that new wines haven’t yet had time to mature and improve, new domains are unlikely to deliver the same results as the older or ‘aged’ domains do.
Aged domains are worthwhile investments, especially if you’re looking to accelerate site growth. So, if you’re an aspiring blogging connoisseur, consider taking an aged domain that’s been around for a while. Because, like opening a good wine, you’ll likely enjoy far greater rewards for doing so.
We look at what is an aged domain and what it can do to accelerate the growth of your blog or website. This article will help you to understand why the advantages of aged domains, why they’re so valuable and how they can speed up your website’s growth, boost their impact and help them rank better.
What is an Aged Domain?
Aged domains are web domains previously bought and registered and then used for a new blog or website. Most of these aged domains for blogging have been used for other websites, while some have sat idle as prospecting opportunities, increasing in value over time or waiting for someone to come along who needs (and is willing to pay for) it.
As soon as a domain is registered with ICANN, it begins to age. The internet keeps detailed records of a domain’s previous owners, what it was used for, and which other websites, platforms, and domains have interacted with it.
Domains with a history
Most aged domains have been around for some time – typically for a year or more. During a domain’s previous ‘life,’ it had a history. This includes accumulating backlinks, developing a reputation, and earning mentions. Aged domain histories can be spotty, clean, or incredibly valuable – it all depends on what the previous owners did with them.
Aged Domains vs. New Domains vs. Expired Domains
But why would someone want a ‘used’ domain instead of a brand-new one? Well, because domains aren’t like cars or clothes. They don’t suffer from wear and tear, and they don’t go out of fashion.
Web domains behave just like investment-worthy property. Like luxury wine, precious gems, and real estate, instead of devaluing over time, domains appreciate in value as they get older. This makes them a great investment opportunity too.
There are many reasons for this, which we’ll get into later, but for now, let’s look at how aged domains differ from new or expired domains:
- New domains – These are brand new domains that nobody has registered yet. They’re completely unique, and Google doesn’t know about them yet. Most are very cheap to acquire and register, and they have no history to speak of.
- Expired domains – This domain category includes domains that have been registered but have since not been renewed with the domain service. For whatever reason, the previous owners chose not to renew their domain, and after a pre-determined period, the domain becomes ‘expired,’ people can purchase it.
Aged domains are different from new or expired domains. They have either been registered for the purpose of aging, or the current owner has decided to sell it. Whatever the case, the advantages of aged domains make them almost always worth more that expired or new domains.
Why Aged Domains Are So Valuable
First and foremost, investing in an aged domain for your site fast-tracks everything. Making understanding what is an aged domain vital to harnessing early growth. Having a domain with some mileage behind it means the internet already knows about it, so everything happens more quickly.
While running with a new domain means starting with a clean slate, you’ll have to invest a lot of time and effort before seeing any movement on the SERP or rankings front. Aged domains, however, take care of these issues.
What you can do with an aged domain
Developing aged domains can be a profitable revenue opportunity. But aged domains are chiefly used for one thing in particular – to accelerate site growth. Here are some of the options available to aged domain owners.
- Invest to sell – Also known as ‘domain prospecting,’ some investors snap up expired domains to age them further. They then invest in developing the domain, building referring backlinks, and increasing its value to sell as an aged domain one day. Check out this article on how to find expired domains.
- Rebuilding the aged domain’s website – An aged domain with an existing website presents a great opportunity to rebuild the site, picking up from where the previous owner left off. In fact, many online entrepreneurs actively search for neglected websites in profitable niches, offer to buy them from the owner, and then redevelop them into thriving, lucrative online resources.
- Creating a new website on the aged domain – This is usually the most popular choice among website owners investing in aged domains. Many aged domains exist in name only, with very few or no active web pages. Others have limited content attached, creating a golden opportunity to build from the ground up.
Benefits of Using an Aged Domain
From quicker indexing to immediate traffic, automatic mentions, and more, aged domains can level up and boost your site far quicker than starting with a new domain with no history at all. Aged domains are ideal for people looking to get up and running and making money with their site quickly. And their ability to earn organic traffic from the outset makes aged domains for blogging the perfect blog or website kick-starters.
Here are some of the amazing advantages of aged domains and SEO benefits that they bring with them.
Skip the Sandbox phase
Google’s ‘Sandbox’ is a period that almost all newly registered domains must go through before they start ranking. During this time, a site will see little organic traffic until it’s been around for a while, and Google knows it can trust it.
Because aged domains have already gone through this up-to-8-month period, Google knows they’re legitimate, and you’ll start ranking immediately.
Better domain authority (DA)
Domain authority refers to how much Google trusts a domain. The higher its authority, the higher a domain will rank in SERPs. New domains have little to no authority, and building DA takes time and effort (here’s a great article on how to increase yours).
Aged domains already come with existing DA, which boosts any new content you publish, helping it to rank faster and better.
Existing backlink profile
Backlinks are worth their weight in digital gold, and building a solid backlink profile can get difficult and expensive. When other people include links to your domain in their content, you enjoy additional traffic, and, importantly, Google notices that others see your content as worthy enough to link to.
Aged domains already have those links in place. Just because a domain belongs to someone else, this doesn’t stop people from visiting via the links provided.
Niche alignment
If you can find an aged domain that lands slap-bang inside your chosen niche, you’ve hit the jackpot! Aside from the chance of being able to use or repurpose existing old content, you’re likely to snag a pretty decent chunk of the domain’s existing traffic.
Depending on how relevant to your niche the domain is, you can be up and running in little to no time – another of the advantages of aged domains you can count on.
Quicker indexing
Optimizing for better indexing can be a pain many bloggers despise. Building a new sitemap can be challenging, and if Google has no clue what your content is about, you’ll spend a lot of time waiting for things to get moving.
Aged domains are ideal for giving your site a head start over the competition in getting ranked better, faster, and more efficiently.
Aged domains come with myriad site growth benefits. They help get you onto SERPs faster, improve your rankings potential, and snag traffic from sources you didn’t have to invest in developing. These SEO boosters can be used as powerful advantages over the competition and eliminate many of the waiting game issues that can slow growing your website down.
How to Use an Aged Domain to Accelerate Site Growth
Finding and using an aged domain to grow a website is a tactic used by many bloggers, website owners, and online entrepreneurs. Backed by the benefits of getting a head start on your site, learning what is an aged domain makes them perfect for helping to accelerate site growth by reinforcing and boosting some important elements.
Attract new niche traffic with your aged domain
If your new aged domain brings with it existing traffic, you’ll soon see new visitors coming to your site that your content alone may not be able to attract. Use this to your advantage by examining the niche in which the aged domain once operated and then crafting content that suits it.
Tap into related sub-niches
A domain that already has an audience can be improved, diversified, and optimized to appeal to a wider market by focusing on a fresh micro- or sub-niche. This presents exciting site growth opportunities, especially if the niche’s popularity is trending positively.
Drive traffic to your other websites with 301 redirects
You may choose to use an aged domain for blogging to direct traffic to your existing websites by using 301 redirects. This means anyone visiting the domain will be redirected to your other websites instead.
This tactic used to be frowned upon by Google but has since been embraced as a positive rankings factor that can actually improve your original sites’ rankings – not to mention the extra traffic you’ll see.
Improve topical authority
Once your domain authority improves, you can use the added online reputation and credibility to increase your topical authority. Topical authority isn’t a direct rankings factor, but it does play an important role in SERP performance. For more on the power of topical authority, this guide will help.
Leverage backlinks & referring domains
Remember those backlinks? Leveraging an aged domain’s existing backlinks to ramp up SERP rankings and earn authority points in the eyes of Google is a huge bonus to your site growth. Explore the aged domain’s backlink profile and identify areas or potential partners to level up your link game.
Use the domain’s age to rank better
Domain age is a direct ranking factor used by Google. Domains that are older perform better, so think about taking advantage to rank higher up on SERPs. You can post content to your aged domain, wait for it to do well and then post it elsewhere across different channels and mediums.
Risks of Using an Aged Domain
Of course, aged domains aren’t completely risk-free and understanding what is an aged domain also means taking note of some of the issues you may face with them. Some do come with strings attached that you need to watch out for before committing.
Bad domain history
Reviewing the history of a domain will tell you what it has previously been employed for. From being used for illegal purposes to being backlisted by various ad networks, a domain’s history should be fully reviewed beforehand.
Google Updates
Everybody who has been affected by a Google algorithm update knows how much of an impact these changes made to the search engine’s algorithm can have on their websites. Be careful about how recent changes may impact an aged domain you’re considering procuring later.
This article on how to recover from a Google algorithm update will help you ensure you don’t get hit.
Badly aged domains
Some aged domains may look like an incredible opportunity to accelerate site growth, yet they may, in fact, have the opposite effect. Unfortunately, some aged domains have been deliberately manipulated to hide negative factors that you won’t spot immediately.
Some may contain hidden low-quality or spammy backlinks, while others may have been hit with a Google manual action in the past. Keep an eye out for these negative elements.
Copyright and trademark infringements
Always be careful to ensure that your domain does not too closely resemble another brand or company’s name or is the same but with a different TLD. This can cause major headaches on the copywriting and trademark fronts and can sometimes even lead to you being forced to abandon it altogether.
Always research and check that your domain name is clearly identifiable and unique enough not to encroach on someone else’s.
Niche conflict
A domain is more than just a name. It’s a signpost, an address, and a brand awareness driver all rolled into one. If you’re operating in a specific niche and looking to take on an aged domain, first check to ensure that it wasn’t a big player in another niche or a competing sector before.
This may confuse Google and any readers who remember the previous domain. This is especially relevant if your using aged domains for blogging.
Best Aged Domain Marketplaces
There are many places to find aged domains. Many of these marketplaces contain thousands of expired and aged domains that you can purchase by auction or by simply making an offer.
Here are some of the best places to get started:
Tools for finding aged domains:
- SpamZilla – Allows you to compare detailed metrics between domains.
- DomCop – Great for finding affordable aged domains.
- Domain Coasters – Provides a list of existing backlinks.
Marketplaces to buy them:
- GoDaddy Auctions – Lets you bid on domains.
- ODYS Global – A reseller marketplace recognized as one of the biggest.
- NameJet – Makes finding the right domains easy.
Conclusion
What is an aged domain? Aged domains are powerful tools for to accelerate site growth and the advantages of aged domains are hard to ignore. For new websites, they’re the ultimate fast tracker, kickstarting your growth and giving you a big advantage over the competition. For those looking to ramp up their existing site growth, aged domains are a worthy investment and a useful resource for boosting traffic and improving rankings.
While many people spend months struggling to get their new domains ranked in SERPs or indexed properly, website owners using quality aged domains for blogging and more enjoy fantastic performance improvements.