How to Save Time and Money Buying Aged Domains

Whenever a new domain comes online, it starts out as a clean slate with Google. It could be the greatest blog to ever exist or it could be a spam site looking to fill the SERPs with garbage results. Google has no way of knowing.

SEO Tips for Buying Aged Domains

It takes a period of time, usually several months, for Google to start to trust a domain and give it any credit or any weight. However, during that time one is required to build their site, including posting new content, seeking out inbound links and trying to build traffic without much, if any, organic SEO.

This can be a tremendous waste of time and, considering it can take dozens or even hundreds of hours to get a new domain rolling, even if you only value your time at $5 per hour, it would be much cheaper in most cases to simply purchase an aged domain than to start anew.

Since aged domains generally have already been indexed in Google and have at least some trust, they provide a valuable head start that can save you months of work on building a new site, a difference that can literally make or break a new venture.

Best of all, you can get started for well under $100, all you have to know are the tools to find good aged domains.

Enter the Domain Samurai

Domain Samurai is a simple but powerful Adobe Air application, meaning it works on Windows, Mac and Linux, that not only helps you research relevant keywords, find new domains to purchase but also works with your Domainface account to find relevant aged domains for sale.

With a free Domainface account, you’ll see domains that are available. With a paid account, which is about $100 per year though lifetime memberships are available, you’ll see additional information including the domain’s PageRank, it’s age, which search engines have indexed it and what the current bidding price is.

The software makes it easy for newcomers to research good keywords and find auctions for relevant domain names and secure them at a great discount. Domains that might have cost thousands of dollars on a regular auction can be purchased for under a hundred after the domain has expired even though the domain doesn’t lose its trust until much later.

All in all, Domain Samurai is a powerful one-stop research tool that’s easy enough for novice domaineers and powerful enough for the experts.

Go GoDaddy Auctions

If you don’t wish to purchase a pro account but would still like to try your hand at buying aged domains, consider visiting Go Godaddy Auctions.

GoDaddy, as the world’s largest domain seller, also has a tremendous list of domains for auction including domains that have expired and domains that their customers wish to sell.

The site only provides basic information, including an estimation of the domain’s traffic, age and valuation, but it’s also free to use and doesn’t require any special software to access.

Considering the sheer number of domains available, it may be a good place to start for someone just wanting to dabble in domain auction or only needs one or two quick names to get started.

FreshDrop

At the other end of the spectrum is FreshDrop, a domain searching tool that is aimed entirely at the professional domain purchaser.

FreshDrop has an interface that presents a steep learning curve and isn’t the most attractive in the world. Also, the price for a pro account, about $100 per month, should be enough to scare away all but the most hardcore domaineers.

That being said, the sheer amount of information this site gives you is overwhelming and empowering. Dozens of different domain feeds and powerful filters let you keep an eye on the entire Web’s domain scene and find exactly the names you want.

Though certainly not for the novice, it is a great tool for those with more experience or who wish to get more serious about buying domains.

Bottom Line

All in all, buying aged domains is a simple and easy way to save time and money when building a new site. It gives you a head start with the search engines and helps you grow your presence more quickly.

However, whenever you buy a new domain, always perform due diligence and ensure that it’s a worthwhile purchase. Be especially wary of buying domains that previously hosted adult content, unless you intend to do the same.

If you combine the right tools with some patience and thought, you can easily find great domains at a low price and get your new site started off the right way.

This is a guest post by Lior who is a marketing consultant to iAdvize, one of the best live support tools out there and also runs the SEO for beginners site.