Overhauling expired domain names 'may be best option'

Website owners who acquire an expired domain name may see the most benefit from developing a new site for it and operating both websites in tandem, it has been suggested.

According to Rebecca Kelley of SEOmoz, other options include redirecting the domain to an existing one and creating a microsite for the newly acquired domain that links to the current site.

However, she noted that it is possible the first option may not result in link credit being passed on from the expired domain to the current one, while the second choice does not pass on any link juice that might have been transferred via a 301 redirect.

Ms Kelley said that, as a result, it is likely the third option of developing a new site for the domain is the best.

"It's like having a successful restaurant and buying another restaurant and operating them simultaneously. They're not the exact same restaurant, but both are popular in their own right and make you money," she explained.

Matt Cutts of Google recently told Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan that Google is unlikely to transfer link credit from an expired domain to an existing one.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry