{"id":777,"date":"2025-11-24T20:37:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/domainhuntergatherer.com\/guides\/?p=777"},"modified":"2025-11-24T20:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:37:49","slug":"domain-vetting-masterclass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/domainhuntergatherer.com\/guides\/domain-vetting-masterclass\/","title":{"rendered":"Domain Vetting Masterclass"},"content":{"rendered":"

Video:<\/em> Watch Episode 3 on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Episode 2 of our PBN Guide Series<\/a> showed that finding thousands of expired domains is not really a hard task. The first truly important step is to make sure that the domain you are thinking of buying is really worth your time and investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this episode of our PBN<\/a> Guide Series we are covering every aspect of vetting expired domains to ensure that you are finding the best domains in your niche but also that you aren’t wasting too much time looking over terrible domains that you’d never be interested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What “good” looks like (fast tells)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quality isn’t a single metric – it’s a pattern. When glancing over a list of domains I like to sort by the most important metrics to me, using filters<\/a> only for removing the most undesirable domains. Sorting allows me to see the domains in a hierarchy, making it easier to spot the good ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than focus on just one metric, I will sort by something like Majestic<\/a> TF<\/a>, then look from the top of the list to find domains with an equally acceptable Moz<\/a> DA<\/a>, with the Majestic<\/a> Topical Trust Flow<\/a> being related to the niche I am looking in. This is a test that allows me to quickly scan the best domains in the list and pick out the few that would be great purchases (providing everything else stacks up well).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With my list I was quickly able to sort by TF<\/a> and find around 8 domains that have great stats, look to be relevant and may be worth purchasing. Don’t forget, these domains are available for just the cost of registration!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at domain sellers, I would put the value in these domains somewhere in the region of $200+, yet we can get them for about $12.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Find<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Spot red flags from a distance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When doing the high level viewing of the lists you will start to spot some trends. What you want is for strong Majestic<\/a> TF<\/a> and Moz<\/a> DA<\/a>, along with 20-100+ Referring Domains<\/a> and a matching set of Topical Trust Flows that relate to your niche, strength without relevancy is undesirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Good sign: Majestic<\/a> TF<\/a> and DA<\/a> are comparable and Topical Trust Flows match niche of domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>

If you see that a domain has a very high Moz<\/a> DA<\/a> but very low (sub 5) Majestic<\/a> TF<\/a> then the domain likely has been spammed to improve it’s DA<\/a> at the cost of usability of the domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bad sign: High DA<\/a> but very low TF<\/a> and mismatched Topical Trust Flows<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Similarly, having a domain name<\/a> related to one topic but with Topical Trust Flow<\/a> categories that are completely unrelated is a sign that the domain has had it’s content drastically changed up in the past as<\/a> will usually be a good indicator the domain has been burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are some of the considerations when looking at domains in a list but there are far more detailed checks that a domain must pass before purchasing, we cover these below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content History Check with Wayback Machine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you have your shortlist of potentially high-value domains, the first step is to check the content history. As<\/a> these domains are expired and have good stats they will definitely have content from years ago, often this will give a good indication on whether the domain has been abused in the past or whether it is one you want in your arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To check this content history you will want to load up the domain in the Wayback Machine<\/a>. The easiest way to do this is directly within Domain Hunter Gatherer<\/a>, simply follow the steps below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right click on the domain to bring up the right click menu and then choose “More Stats” and then click “Wayback Machine”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Expired domain<\/a> list right click menu<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This will open the Wayback Machine in your default web browser, looking like the example below:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Wayback machine results for an expired domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

From here, you will want to open a snapshot, or two, across each year that the domain has been online. Because they can take some time to load each snapshot, it is advised that you open all snapshots before checking over them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pro Tip: Middle Click, or hold CTRL key while clicking, each snapshot to open them in a new tab to have them all load at the same time<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Once you have your snapshots open you will want to look over them, one by one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good signs to look for:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

✅ Relevant content
✅ Fairly consistent content topics
✅ Genuine look and feel of a unique webpage
✅ Deep content
✅ Useful tools or services being promoted<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warnings signs to be aware of:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

❌ Drastic changes to content type
❌ Language Changes
❌ Obvious spam content
❌ Previous PBN<\/a> usage
❌ Thin content
❌ Automated \/ template web design<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to spotting issues with a website’s content history, the red flags will usually jump out at you as<\/a> you browse through the pages over the years. If things don’t look right or if things change drastically such that the site changes niche entirely, it has probably been mishandled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain Backlink Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have gotten this far, then you are likely getting excited that you have found a winner. While this may be the case, a clean content history doesn’t necessarily mean it has useful backlinks<\/a> or that it hasn’t been spammed in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Find<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

This is why checking the backlinks<\/a> profile for any domain you are interested in is incredibly important and should be done before purchasing any domain, even one with a low price<\/a> tag. You don’t want to waste time on a domain that has likely been spammed in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, we can perform some backlink analysis on domains directly with Domain Hunter Gatherer Pro, without any outside services required at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To load up a domain’s backlink profile<\/a> right click on the domain and then choose “Analyse Backlinks<\/a>”.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

From here you can see more detailed backlink data<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is the amount of backlinks<\/a> and it’s distribution of nofollow and dofollow. Preferably there will be a decent amount of backlinks<\/a> to look through, with a majority being dofollow links<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DHG Built in Backlink Analyser for expired domains<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Anchor Text Distribution Checks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Anchor text<\/a> profile will say a lot, at a glance. Here you can see a list of natural looking anchor texts alongside a bad anchor text<\/a> profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

✅ Good Profile<\/td>❌ Bad Profile<\/td><\/tr>
\"\"<\/td>\"\"<\/td><\/tr>
Lots of generic anchors
Lots of brand anchors
A few keyword anchors
All relevant anchors<\/td>		Mostly keyword anchors
Very few generic anchors
No relevancy in anchors<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

The good list has a good mix of generic \/ brand anchor texts, url and some select keyword based anchors, all are relevant and don’t look out of place for a site dedicated to developer resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, the bad list shows a majority of keyword related anchors and relatively few generic and brand anchors. The keyword anchors that are there have little relevance to a domain called SEO Address. Clearly from glancing at the anchors, I would say that this domain has been repurposed to sell clothing, and been spammed in this process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dofollow \/ Nofollow Ratio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don’t think there is a right or wrong ratio of dofollow and nofollow links<\/a> but if a backlink profile<\/a> looks to be entirely nofollow, it could be as<\/a> a result of spamming of easy backlink sources (blog comment sections, guestbooks and the like). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t be put off by a lot of nofollows but do check the links<\/a> individually to check that the majority are not coming from spam sources as<\/a> that could hurt the domain in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Find<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Thorough Backlinks Source Audit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To be sure of whether the backlinks<\/a> are going to provide a benefit you will want to open up a large selection of, or preferably all, backlinks<\/a> to see if the pages linking to the domain are coming from genuine websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all links<\/a> have to be coming from high authority domains but they should be, overall, hard to replicate and on real websites. When finding domains linked from authority sites, as<\/a> we have in this guide series, you know you have at least 1 good backlink, but more is always better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loading the links<\/a> up you should see a good range of different designs and content styles. Each page should have minimal out linking and most links<\/a> should be in content and relevant. Relevancy is really key here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Flags to Be Aware of<\/h3>\n\n\n\n