Managing a website means you have to keep track of a lot of moving pieces, including your domain name. This isn’t a one-time purchase, it requires a new investment every year that you intend to use it. The problem comes when it expires without being repurchased. So, what do you need to know about GoDaddy expired domains?
From ensuring you keep your domain registered to buying an expired GoDaddy domain, this guide gives you everything you need to know.
Let’s dive in.
Do You Have GoDaddy Expired Domains?
You don’t want to have to pay the costs of repurchasing your domain name if you let it lapse. That means you need to keep careful tabs on when it will become an expired domain without action from you. Here’s how to tell if your domain expires soon and how you can renew it quickly.
How to View Expiring Domains
Once you’re signed in to your GoDaddy domain portfolio here, locating an expired domain name is relatively simple. All you have to do is follow these steps to see what’s coming up for renewal:
- From your list of domains, scroll over until you see the column marked “Expiration.”
- Choose a filter option. Options include custom dates, expirations in the next 30 days, currently expired domains, and domains that expired more than 18 days ago.
- Click “Apply” and let GoDaddy do the work for you.
It should show you every expired domain name (and those set to expire relatively soon).
Updating Renewal Options on Your GoDaddy Account
With your domains filtered by their expiration dates, renewing them from the same screen is a breeze. It takes just four extra steps to get your domain registered to you for another year.
- Select the checkboxes to the left of the domain names you wish to update.
- Choose “Renew Now” under the Action menu. Alternatively, you may have to select the “More” menu to get this option to appear if you have a smaller screen size.
- Select your renewal settings (with the option for auto-renew being the most preferable).
- Finish the checkout process.
GoDaddy Redemption Fee for Some Expired Domains
If you are dealing with an expired GoDaddy domain that ran out more than 12 days ago, you may face more than just the renewal fee. GoDaddy (and many other domain registrars) charge a redemption fee once it passes this benchmark.
While the numbers may vary, it is likely to be around $80 plus the cost of the renewal itself. However, you can opt to renew during this grace period, and you won’t incur the extra cost. This is why it is essential to be clued in when each domain expires.
Expiration Timeline for GoDaddy Expired Domains
GoDaddy expired domains have a set schedule that they will move through to allow the current domain owner to save it. Upon expiration, they will try to renew it on day one (or you can follow the steps above to manually renew it). After this, it follows this pattern:
- 5 Days: It gets auto-renewed, or the domain enters a parked state.
- 12 Days: It gets auto-renewed, or you can manually renew it for the standard price.
- 19 Days: The domain goes on hold, and manual renewal requires a domain redemption fee.
- 26 Days: The domain goes through the auction process.
- 30 Days: If no bids take place on the auction, then it remains as an expired domain in your account. Once a bid comes in, it gets removed from your account. You will no longer be able to renew, even for a redemption fee.
- 36 Days: This is the final closeout auction process. If there is a pending purchase, you cannot renew any of these closeout domains.
- 41 Days: Final auction ends.
- 72 Days: The domain is removed from your account manager, even if it hasn’t been purchased in the closeout auction process.
How to Find Expired Domain Names on GoDaddy Auction Process
The best place to start looking at the expiring domains that are up for auction is directly through the GoDaddy auction market. This is the most straightforward way to buy a domain name that has the traffic and attention you want in a new URL, and it gets added to your GoDaddy account easily.
GoDaddy makes it easy to filter your search by domain age, traffic, and even estimated value. You can also scan which domains are getting ready to expire so that you can research them in advance of them hitting the auction site officially.
Of course, you can also sell your domain name on the GoDaddy auction willingly.
Beware of Bidding Wars & Set a Budget
The problem with buying an expired domain name through the auctions is that you might find some stiff competition for popular names. This is especially true of those that have good search traffic, high domain authority, backlinks, and more. You might easily get into a bidding war with other buyers, driving the price higher than you feel comfortable spending.
The best thing to do is set a budget before you get started. Once the domain name exceeds the value that you have researched, it’s time to cut your losses and let someone else overpay for the right to use that domain name.
Benefits of Buying Expired Domains
Some people build their entire business strategy around buying expired domains and adding to their digital empire. There are lots of benefits to buying a domain that has left its grace period with GoDaddy and has now been parked and ready for auction.
Backlinks and Domain Authority
One of the ranking factors on the SERPs is the number of backlinks a website has on the great World Wide Web. But it’s more than just a great signal to Google that your new site deserves a little attention from their algorithms. Backlinks also lend credibility and drive traffic to your site.
Similarly, an expired domain also gives you some domain authority. Domain authority is the search engine ranking score that determines how likely you are to rank in organic traffic. If you buy expired domains that already have lots of domain authority, you could rank faster.
Check domain authority score with Ahrefs before you start bidding.
More Established History (Good for SERPs)
A website that has been around a while has a more established history, which leads to better outcomes on the SERPs. Whether it has been around for one or several years, this is something that matters and should be weighed before you bid. They have been indexed for far longer than a new site, which gives them good juice on SERPs.
Google is more likely to rank an older, more established site than one that has no proven history or success rate.
Increased Traffic to Your Site
Last but not least, the importance of bidding on expired domains is that it can result in more traffic to your site. You could purchase similar domains that are competitors to your actual domain names and then redirect them to your site.
Alternatively, you could start an entirely new branch of your site. If the domain you purchase is popular, it likely comes with a steady stream of traffic already. Savvy shoppers can capitalize on this traffic and create a niche site that caters to the same audience, taking advantage of what someone else has built.
Final Thoughts: Preventing Expiration & Buying New Domains
Will GoDaddy hold expired domains? For a brief period, the answer is yes, but they won’t hold them forever. You’ll need to keep tabs on your domain registry to ensure that you have everything up to date and set to automatically renew whenever possible.
Some people may want to explore the GoDaddy expired domain auctions for opportunities to grow a brand and increase traffic. No matter what your interest in GoDaddy expired domain names, there is an opportunity for you here!
Learn more about how to choose a domain name for your website!
