I think this is the best you have done, now the time is to build some great Do-follow backlinks for your new domain, but regularly keep checking this new domain and old domain's content to avoid duplicacy if they (Another party) have done it intensely. Do some content marketing on some good sites, build forums links, definitely you'll boost up you search engine position rank.
All the best.

Did you try to contact the person who brought it and try to get it back?

ROTFLMAO!

Why are you taking clients?

Nobody can ever just LOSE their domain....you are warned..over and over...there is even a grace period.

Nobody can just snatch your expired domain up....unless...get ready for it.......it belonged to a complete idiot.

There is a grace period PLUS a redemption period of 30 days....for most people that's a total of 75 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where the frick have you people been?

Blog commenting? Guest posting? Social bookmarking? Tabulating keyword density? Tweaking your meta tags?

You people get what you deserve.

Paul

This is a tough one man; and the website was definitely offline for several days at least (During the grace period, after expiration.)

But we dont control our clients, do we?

It sounds like you have done all that can reasonably be expected. Your not going to "Get back" those old rankings - your going to have to go after new ones.

Sounds like you have changed all the backlinks over already, So the next step is to start the process over. More content, more links, and more time.

Regards,

-Jordan

Edit: You could try the change of address tool. Without control of the website it is unlikely you can use it (If you could setup a 301 everything would be great right?)

But perhaps you can still push throw a change of address through webmaster tools (Assuming the old domain is still in his control panel, and the new owner has not set it up.)

IE:https://support.google.com/webmaster...er/83106?hl=en

Hope thats some help.

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My real question is what else can we do to change the rankings?
What can we do to speed this process up?

At this point we are 7th on page 1 for the business name. That's all we really care about ranking for now.[/QUOTE]

You have to start adding content to the site, and make sure that it is optimized for the business name.

Here are some good on page optimization guidelines to follow:

• Home Title Tag: your main keyword should show up twice here, with a variation of that keyword
• H1, H2, & H3 Tags: these tags are very important(especially <H1>), and should always contain your keyword.
• Keyword Location Within Text: try to place each your keyword near the beginning of the first sentence of each paragraph (maintaining at least 100 words between paragraphs).
• Use Your Keywords as Anchor Text on your page: link to an internal page on your site, and then link to an authority site (eg: wikipedia) that is related to your keyword.
• Images: use the "alt tag" and rename your images to your chosen keywords.
• Decorate Your Keywords: bold, italicise, or underline your keyword at least one time.
• Google Loves Unique Content: your post should be between 850-1000 words and be well structured around your main keywords.

Once the site is properly optimized, build Do Follow backlinks on sites/pages that have high DA (Domain Authority) / PA (Page Authority). Get a variety of backlinks from different platforms, and vary your anchor text when building the links to prevent anchor text over optimization.

Social Media also plays an important role in site's rankings, so get shares, likes, and any other signals on social platforms.

However, I will add and highly suggest that you perform the following to keep safe:

enable security questions
frequently change passwords
make use of security pins
enable two-step and any other authorization/authentication services

Often domain registrars offer a paid service that allows individuals an opportunity to register and be notified when a lost domain or any domain becomes available for registration.

Backordering services are not cheap nor are they guaranteed to reclaim lost domain names.

The current registrant might renew the domain name, or domain registrars might be unsuccessful in their attempt to register and reclaim the lost domain name for you.

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