7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Problem ranking an expired (and repurposed) domain

by ShadowLink
6 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hello
On February 2017 a bought a really strong domain. 250 RD on homepage (350 RD on root).
Majestic: 23 TF 30 CF,
Ahref: 45 UR 50 DR

This was a domain about politics, but I repurposed this domain to be for home niche (and earn through amazon affiliate). I published my first contents on mid April 2017.
I did this because I read actually a lot of pro seo guys ranks with repurposed expired domains.

Anyway, it seems I can't rank with this repurposed domain. The best position I achieved was position 11, but then it's always dacing on second page.
Serp's First page for my target keyword is full of inner pages from authority website, ANYWAY my website homepage is actually stronger than every domain that appear on first page. My website is not only stronger than all the inner page there, but it's stronger than all that websites homepage even if homepage actually do not rank for that keyword.

I have no idea what to do, I'm on second page from 4 months now. Any help please?

For "expired" I mean I bought it on auction... it wasn't drop
Also I'm 100% sure it's not spammed.
#domain #expired #problem #ranking #repurposed
  • Profile picture of the author Clint Butler
    This is pure speculation because I can't see the domain so any advice is purely a guess based on what you are saying.

    First I would look at the branding of the website. Since it is repurposed Google may still be associating that with the old topic of the domain. So build your brand, including creating brand profiles on social, creating citations (even national sites can create citations), set your schema and Google Brand page. All that stuff adds up to tell Google the new purpose of the site.

    Look at your anchor text for your fresh backlinks. You won't be able to just rank off the old backlinks, those anchors still matter and show relevance of the site. If it's a new money site for you then it naturally should be getting links related to the new market.

    Look at your interlinking and make sure Google is seeing only the page optimized for the keyword is the one they are showing in the serps. You don't want Google confused about which page is the most important page for your target term.
    Signature
    Check Out My On Page SEO Guide On Page SEO: The Essential Guide To On Page Optimization
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11168422].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ShadowLink
      Thank you very much, I will try to build citations, brand pages, social profiles...

      For anchors, honestly I already did some PBN backlinking on June... I dropped 10 PBN backlinks with partials keyword related to the new niche... Do you think should I disavow the old offtopic anchors?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11168925].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Clint Butler
        Doing a link audit would be a pretty good idea at this point.
        Signature
        Check Out My On Page SEO Guide On Page SEO: The Essential Guide To On Page Optimization
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11168932].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
        Originally Posted by ShadowLink View Post

        Do you think should I disavow the old offtopic anchors?
        That would be incredibly stupid. You buy old domains because of the links they have.

        You would have been better off trying to rank an internal page instead of the home page in my opinion.

        With an internal page, you would have relevant anchor text through your internal links.

        Basically, you would be taking the authority the home page has through all the old links it acquired over the years and repurposing it towards something relevant.

        The only way I would ever try to rank a home page of an old domain I bought would be if it previously was something related to what I was doing.

        What you have is a bunch of links about politics pointing to a page about something home related. It's amazing you are ranking #11.

        ANYWAY my website homepage is actually stronger than every domain that appear on first page. My website is not only stronger than all the inner page there, but it's stronger than all that websites homepage even if homepage actually do not rank for that keyword.
        Stronger based on what?

        Clearly, it is not stronger for what you are trying to rank for.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11168941].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author ShadowLink
          It's stronger based on the number of backlinks I see

          Anyway it's not just the homepage. On homepage I actually target the main keyword, but I also trying to rank for multiple keywords on inenr pages... And all inner pages are on page 2 too...
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11168964].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
            Originally Posted by ShadowLink View Post

            It's stronger based on the number of backlinks I see

            Anyway it's not just the homepage. On homepage I actually target the main keyword, but I also trying to rank for multiple keywords on inenr pages... And all inner pages are on page 2 too...
            The number of links doesn't matter. The quality of the links is much, much more important.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11168987].message }}

Trending Topics