Purchasing Expired Domains for SEO Value?

[DavidGadarian]

While doing competitive research for a client I have stumbled on a "site developed by" footer link for a fairly established business that points to an expired domain.

I'm inclined to notify the business in question that the link is expired BUT I was curious to get some thoughts on if purchasing this domain and redirecting it to my site or another would be a good purely "SEO tactic" as it would seemingly pass "juice"???

Thanks,

Dave

[MickEdwards]

I would make sure you check the links in any case using something like Backlinkwatch.com, there might still be toxic links in there as well as the good link you mention.

[DavidGadarian]

Great questions to consider Alan - thanks.

1. there is one good domain pointing to it - that of the original business

2. no bad links that I know of - in fact there is probably only one link pointing to this site - that of the original business

3. I suspect the domain was abandoned simply due to human error - they simply forgot to renew the domain and more to the point perhaps at one point they were going to open up a business unit focused on web design/marketing and probably used their main site as a test case.

I've heard the same thing about how Google treats abandoned domains so I was just curious what the response was.  Basically for about $15 (the cost to register the domain name) I could get a link of some value.

I really have no idea what the answer is on the question - I've never done anything like this and I have no idea if I should be... The onsite stuff I feel pretty comfortable with as it meshes a little more with my own wheelhouse, but the offsite efforts are still pretty elusive in my own mind.

Thanks again for the good insights.

[dburdon]

I'm aware of at least one (admittedly notorious) SEO agency that used the acquisition of expired domains as a core part of the business model. I don't believe it would be particularly credible in a post-Penguin world.

[AlanMosley]

If there is good links pointing to the domain?

what if there is bad links pointing to the domain?

Why was the domain abandoned?

Google is also a domain register, so they know that a domain has changed ownership. it has been said that links from the old owner are discounted when it expires or changes ownership, I don't know if this is true, but it is something else to consider.