In today’s digital landscape, having a strong online presence is crucial for individuals and businesses alike. An expired domain can be a valuable asset for reviving your online presence, but the process of registering one can seem daunting.
Registering an expired domain name doesn’t have to be complicated and is a similar process to registering a fresh domain though there are some extra considerations that must be made before registering and hosting.
Is the domain available?
This may sound like a silly question but if you have seen a domain in a directory or auction site it is possible that the domain is not yet expired and is still registered to someone else.
If a domain is not yet available you can find an approximate expiration date for your domain using a domain expiration checker.
If the domain is available you are good to go and can skip right to the “Register the expired domain” section of this article.
What are Expired Domains
An expired domain started out as any other domain, it was once registered to somebody, they may have had a website hosted on it but for some reason the domain was not renewed.
Despite most registrars allowing for automatic renewal, sometimes an idea doesn’t work out or it is simply forgotten that the domain needs renewing.
If a person or business does not pay the renewal fee for their domain the process of expiration will begin and after a certain process will eventually be dropped and become available to register by anyone. An expired domain is like an auction domain without any of the bidding, the only cost to acquire the domain is the registration fee for that domain.
The domain expiration process
As domains are only ever registered for a specific period of time, if the registrant does not renew the domain after that time is up it will become available for anyone to register. This is an oversimplification of the whole process so let’s look in more depth to get a better idea of what is happening when a domain expires.
If a registrant does not renew their domain before the end of the registration period it will enter the expiration period. The first section of this grace period will usually last up to 30 days, depending on the registrar.
During the grace period the domain is not available for general registration but the original registrant can still renew the domain. Not all registrars offer this grace period but most ICANN accredited domains will.
After this grace period there will be a redemption period whereby the original registrant can still regain access to their domain, usually for a fee.
If the domain is not renewed it will either drop or go to the registrars own auction site such as GoDaddy domain auctions, for example.
If no person buys the domain at auction it will then become available for general registering. At this point you can just use an appropriate domain registrar and snatch it up.
Domain Hunter Gatherer can search many auction sites and domaining websites looking for auction domains, this single product could help save many hours every week.
What Domain Registrar to use?
There are many registrars to choose from and it may not always be obvious who is suitable for your use.
Always be sure to check out our domain registrars section to find a really good price on domain registration costs. There are always a lot of options out there so rather than go to the first you think of make the right choice from the beginning.
Every registrar will only ever be able to register a selection of TLDs and prices will vary between them, the cheapest option for one TLD may be the most expensive for others.
Another option for registration is to go straight to a web host. Some web hosts include domain registration in the price for hosting so you may be able to save money on a bundle of the two. If you are building a website on the domain be sure to check out our budget web hosts list.
If you are building a PBN out of your expired domains be sure to spread them out across multiple domain registrars and web hosts to leave as few footprints that could link your websites together.
Registering your domain
Once you have chosen your domain registrar or web host then the registration process is exactly the same as it would be for a new fresh domain.
To register an expired domain just visit your chosen registrar, search for the domain and select to register it. Every registrar will then guide you through their check out process to make everything as simple as possible.
If your hosting is also your registrar then the setup of the domain ready for use likely won’t take many more steps than this, if you have a separate host and registrar you will need to enter your web host’s nameservers or DNS settings to get your domain online.
Now you have your domain registered and online, the fun can finally begin. Get to designing your website and filling it’s pages with some great content and get to ranking.
If you don’t know how to find expired domains we have guides on exactly how to do that, we also have the absolute best in expired domain software in Domain Hunter Gatherer Pro, if you are serious about your online business you won’t go far wrong with that.
