In the competitive world of SEO, finding high-quality expired domains is one of the fastest ways to boost your authority and gain an edge over the competition. But we’re not talking about just any expired domains—I’m talking about those with powerful backlinks from pages ranking for your specific keywords. That’s where Domain Hunter Gatherer (DHG) comes into play. With this tool, you can quickly hunt down expired domains with great SEO metrics like Moz’s Domain Authority (DA) and Majestic’s Trust Flow (TF), all while zeroing in on domains that already have niche-relevant backlinks.
Finding expired domains has become a valuable strategy for website owners, SEO professionals, and digital marketers looking to enhance their online presence. Expired domains are web addresses that were previously owned but are no longer maintained or renewed by the original owner. These domains often carry SEO benefits such as established backlinks, domain authority, and sometimes traffic, which can provide a strong foundation for new projects or boost the performance of existing ones. To effectively find expired domains, tools like ExpiredDomains.net, DomCop, and SpamZilla offer comprehensive databases and filters to help identify high-quality options. When searching to find expired domains, it’s important to check their history, backlink profile, and spam score to avoid potential penalties from search engines.
Ready for a walkthrough? Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Open Domain Hunter Gatherer
Once you’ve got DHG installed and ready to go, fire it up. This is where the magic happens. We’re going to dig into the Expired Domains feature—a goldmine for finding domains that not only have backlinks but are tied to pages ranking for the keywords you care about most.
Step 2: Open “Expired Domains” Tool
From the main dashboard, head straight to the Expired Domains section. This is your go-to tool for discovering those valuable domains that have been forgotten, but still hold the kind of backlinks that can supercharge your SEO.
Step 3: Fine-Tune the “Hunt From Keywords” Tool
Now, within the Expired Domains tool, you’ll want to access the Hunt From Keywords option. This is where we get specific. First, make sure you uncheck the box labeled “Include Easy Expired Domains.” Why? Because we’re not interested in scraping the bottom of the barrel. You want to filter out the junk and focus to find niche expired domains with backlinks of real value—domains that have meaningful backlinks from pages ranking for your target keywords.
Step 4: Set “Crawl Levels” to 1
Next, set the Crawl Levels to 1. What does this mean? Essentially, it tells DHG to only crawl one level deep when searching for links. This keeps things focused—DHG will hunt for domains linked directly from the pages that rank for your keywords. Think of it as a sniper approach rather than spraying and praying across the entire web.
Step 5: Enter Your Main Keywords
This is the critical part. You’ll need to enter a few high-priority keywords related to your niche. The key here is to keep it specific—focus on the main keywords that really matter to your business or project. For example, if you’re in the fitness niche, you might want to enter keywords like “fitness blogs,” “workout routines,” or “nutrition guides.” The more relevant your keywords, the better the domains DHG will return.
Step 6: Click “Search”
Once your keywords are in place, hit Search. Here’s what happens next: DHG will spend the next 30 minutes or so crawling the web to find pages that rank for those keywords. Then, it will visit each of these pages to find out which domains they link to. Finally, it checks whether those domains are available for registration. It’s like having a full-time SEO assistant working in the background, automating all the tedious work.
Automated Speed and Efficiency
One of the best things about DHG is how it optimizes the process. There are built-in automated tasks that prevent the tool from revisiting or re-checking the same domains, which makes it fast and efficient. DHG is built to avoid redundant crawling, so the time spent finding these expired domains is as short as possible. No wasted energy here—just pure results.
Step 7: Analyze Your Domains
After the tool finishes its search, you’ll have a list of expired domains that meet your criteria. Now it’s time to dig into the data. Head over to the “Analyse Domains” tab, where you can start filtering your results based on the metrics that matter most to you.
- Moz Metrics (DA): Domain Authority is one of the most important indicators of a domain’s strength. Focus on domains with a DA that matches your SEO goals—higher DA means more link equity to pass on to your site.
- Majestic Metrics (TF/CF): These metrics help you evaluate the quality of a domain’s backlink profile. Trust Flow (TF) is particularly valuable for ensuring you’re getting links from authoritative sources.
You can also filter based on Top-Level Domains (TLDs), focusing on .com, .net, or any specific TLDs you prefer to work with.
Why This Method Works
By using Domain Hunter Gatherer in this way, you’re not just finding expired domains—you’re finding domains with niche-relevant backlinks that were linked to by pages already ranking for your keywords. This gives you a head start, allowing you to capitalize on existing authority and relevance without having to start from scratch.
Whether you’re building out a private blog network (PBN), boosting the authority of your main site, or just flipping domains, this method ensures you’re working with the best of the best.
Conclusion
Finding expired domains with solid backlinks and reputable SEO metrics doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. With Domain Hunter Gatherer, you’ve got a powerful tool at your fingertips that makes the process faster, smarter, and more effective. By focusing on pages already ranking for your keywords and leveraging the right metrics, you can secure domains that deliver real SEO value.
Ready to get started? Power up DHG and start your search for domains that will give you the edge you need in your niche.
