There are many benefits to buying an old domain, which is an ideal strategy if you’re building a new website. The immediate benefit comes from the reputation that may have been previously established where age is best.
The main reason for preference for an old domain is that the traffic and reputation have already been established. However, caution is required to determine if any effort has been made to develop the site, if it exists, or if it is simply a domain name.
Old domains are available at various prices, which are determined by intrinsic value. If you’re developing a new site, an old domain can put you ahead of the competition, where the need to build inbound links and site traffic is already complete, but the difficulty lies in determining how to make efficient use of reputation, but still More important, it is the determination of the value of the links.
There are several sites where you can buy established domains in your category, but before doing so, a link profile examination may be necessary. Determine if the inbound links are appropriate and capable of sending the right type of visitors, as quality becomes even more important than quantity.
If everything is in order, to take advantage of the traffic, the next objective would be to direct traffic from the old domain to your new domain. This should be done discreetly, as search engines really don’t like redirects and usually not much value is passed on to redirects.
Don’t expect your site to rank higher in search engines because of redirects, as there are several other factors that come into play. Don’t expect to receive credit for domains that have already expired.
Where you can make a real profit from an old domain is when you transfer a domain or if you buy or sell a website. If you intend to operate the site in the same way, despite the new registration, you will more than likely continue credit for the existing link profile.
Another option to make use of an old domain requires a little more effort, but can have a positive impact on site performance. The old domain can be set up as a subsite or microsite, which can then be linked to your main site. That way, much of the value with the established microsite can be passed to your main site, without affecting the site’s reputation, but the downside is that it now takes a bit more effort to maintain two websites.
The third option is to completely rebuild a site on the old domain, and this isn’t always as daunting as it sounds, but it does have the immediate benefit of making use of an already established reputation.