Make Money from Expired Domains
So how can you make money from expired domain names?
I have tried this twice in the past, and both times I had reasonable success. In 2017 I noticed that a popular blog in the clothing niche had closed down because the owner couldn't be bothered to update the site anymore. So when I bought a domain name in a very similar niche I purposefully targeted his keywords and after a couple of months I started bringing in a lot of his former site visitors. Eventually I closed down the experiment to focus on other things. It definitely showed that it was possible to capture the traffic from a closed down blog though.
Another sneaky thing you can do is to replace a site that has closed down with a clone of the former site. This is kind of grey-hat, but it does work.
For example when I was running FindAForum I noticed a very popular forum was having server troubles, and I suspected the site might close down. So I basically bought a similar sounding domain name, set up phpBB on it and waited...
Over the course of a couple of years I managed to capture quite a bit of traffic, and in a very lucrative niche too. Sadly (for me at least) the forum in question seemed to iron out their server issues so the users went back to that forum instead of using mine.
I would say that this technique can work better with forums than with blogs. Forums are a hassle to maintain due to hackers, spammers, flame-wars, trolls, higher hosting costs than blogs and not to mention software like phpBB being a real hassle to update (compared to WordPress). So a lot of forum owners just throw in the towel and go do something else with their lives. Also peoples' hobbies come and go, and most of the people running forums do it because they are passionate about their niche, they're not necessarily in it for the money.
What Tools Can You Use?
Definitely go to one of my directory listings sites (FindABlog, FindAForum, FindAStore) because you'll find a wealth of useful information about the content of a site whose domain name may have expired.
A tool I use a lot is the Internet Archive which allows you to check out what a site used to look like in the past.
I also found that searching for the site's name and then reading through whatever I could online gave me a good understanding of the type of audience the site had and what sort of content they were looking for.
Check out my Niche Laboratory site too because there's a tonne of useful tools on there for researching niches and finding topics to write about. I use it myself sometimes if I want some fresh ideas in particular niches.
One further tool to use is Avatar Marketing. This has worked very successfully for me. You basically need to make a detailed profile of your core audience. What gender are they? How old are they? What country are they from? What is it about your niche that they are really passionate about? Write down everything you can. Maybe even give them a name and a backstory. A particular tip I have with the use of Avatar Marketing with expired domains is that you don't necessarily have to agree with your Avatar's views on life. You need to make the site for them, not for you! This is part of the reason why so many bloggers fail, because they have not closely aligned their site with their core audience.
Why do People Let Domain Names Expire?
A lot of newbies are often surprised when somebody stops working on an apparently successful online business venture. But success is often relative. For example the chart below shows my monthly page views when I had a go at self publishing fiction on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service:
You might think that I seemed to be doing quite well. In fact December 2020's income from KDP was just 1% of my total online income. So while my publishing career did show promise, I abandoned it for far more lucrative ventures.
This is very common online. I started blogging about the same time as Alex Becker. He soon moved on from blogging, whereas I've stayed basically a blogger.
Some niches do come and go too, and you'll often see a lot of domains in particular niches go to the wall. I have had many years' of success making affiliate income in the dating niche. However, the Covid-19 pandemic really battered this niche in 2020. After all, what's the point of spending $150 on a dating site subscription when you're not even allowed to leave your own home, much less travel to another city of country!
Don't worry though because it's generally a zero sum game - while some niches will wilt and die, others can take off at the same time. In 2020 a whole host of niches boomed, including BJD Smart Dolls and Dollfie Dreams. Here's the lovely Towa I ordered from Japan:
This is a high paying niche with dolls costing upwards of $500 and doll owners willing to spend more on a cute outfit than the equivalent full sized human outfit would cost!
Expired Blog Domains
The following blogs appear to have been hosted using domain names which have now expired. Click through to their listings on FindABlog.Net to find more about them including a larger screenshot and their social media accounts (if they have or had them in the past).

1.
Best & Top-Selling Survival Products - SurvivalStoreZ.Com
http://www.survivalstorez.com

2.
YourSurvivalistGuide.com – Your Guide to Crisis, Disaster and Emergency Events
http://yoursurvivalistguide.com

3.
Bioshocker Blog • Gaming & Technology Blog gaming news • game news • gaming pc • uk gaming • gaming blog
https://bioshockerblog.com

4.
Drop Shipping Blog - Choosing Supplier and Drop Shipping Service
http://dropshippingblog.site

5.
Untitled Blog
http://wapuym.info

6.
Solar Power Generator - Guide to Solar powered generators, solar panels, & options.
https://www.solargeneratorexpert.com

7.
Mama Bear - Map Unknown
http://mapunknown.org

8.
The Survivalist Writer – Writing and Homesteading in a Modern Lifestyle
http://thesurvivalistwriter.com

9.
Home - LM Revenues Consulting
http://www.lmrevenuesconsulting.com

10.
Donation Blog - Facts About Donation
https://donationblog.com

11.
-
https://homeplanner.altervista.org

12.
Solar Powered Zone – Solar Energy Equipment
http://solarpoweredzone.com

14.
Unknown Title
https://allentownyogaworks.com

15.
Survivalist Podcast - Living Life Better And More Prepared
http://survivalistpodcast.org

16.
Financial Freedom Press | Just another WordPress site
http://financialfreedom.press

17.
10 Best Whole House Generators / Home Generators Reviews (February 2019)
https://www.wholehousegenerator.reviews

18.
The STRIVE
The STRIVE is a global motivational media brand, pubishing success insights and encouraging stories on motivation, money, and mindset.
Wordpress blog containing 1,264 posts.
https://thestrive.co

19.
Health and Wellness Blog
Hello I Am The Health & Wellness Coach The #1 online source for free health, wellness, and fitness advice. Previous Next 15 Years Of Experience As A Personal Trainer And Nutritionist.
Wordpress blog containing 27,427 posts.
https://healthandwellnesscoach.blog

20.
C H E W I N G T H E F A T
Our Food and Travel Blog gathers recipes from Around the World and Around the Corner to bring you adventures in food that are easy to bring to your table.
Wordpress blog containing 7,240 posts.
https://www.chewingthefat.us.com

21.
Window Tinting Blackpool – , Car Window Tinting Blackpool, Tinting …
https://eclipsewindowtintingblackpool.com

22.
Food Photographers in Dubai I Best Food Photography
Professionally styled beautiful images for your restaurant menu or food brands. Services: Food Photography Dubai, Food Styling & The Best Food Imagery
https://dubaifoodshoot.com

23.
Home - Astrophotography Life
https://www.astrophotographylife.com

24.
Tax Accountant in Surrey - helping the self-employed
I'm James McBrearty and I specialise in helping the self-employed - offering a range of fixed-fee packages make it easy to get help with your tax.
Wordpress blog containing 852 posts.
https://taxhelp.uk.com

25.
Aloe Vera Forever Living Shop
Aloe Vera forever living shop selling health, fitness, beauty & weight loss products including aloe vera drinking gel, C9, FIT 1, FIT 2 & Flawless by Sonya
https://www.aloevera.uk.com

26.
Premier Print UK - Premier Print
https://www.premierprint.uk.com

27.
Period Fireplace Restorers | Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton
Are you looking for a Period Fireplace Restorers within 50 miles of Hastings? We offer a wide range of services including antique fireplace restoration, repairs and more.. With over 30 years'...
https://www.antiquefireplace.uk.com

28.
Hip Trainer World - The Perfect EMS Hip Trainer in The World
Hip Trainer World - The Perfect EMS Hip Trainer in The World
https://hiptrainerworld.myshopify.com

29.
Expert Investment Views: Invesco Blog – Market and Investment Topics
https://www.blog.invesco.us.com

30.
Deep Down Records -
https://deepdown.xyz

31.
Internet Marketing Experts | Professional IM And SEO Since 1999
https://internetmarketing.uk.com

32.
ATP Fitness - Norwich, Norfolk UK
Wordpress blog containing 158 posts.
https://www.healthandfitness.uk.com

33.
Small Business Digital Marketing - Website Design, Advertising, SEO | Pronto
https://d2oc0ihd6a5bt.cloudfront.net

34.
M+H Architects | St. Louis, MO Architecture and Planning
Wordpress blog containing 130 posts.
http://mha.us.com

35.
Online Casino UK | Mobile Casino | Up to 50 Spins or Up to ??$?‚¬200 Cashback
https://www.casino.uk.com

36.
Rockjumper Birding Tours | Worldwide Birding Adventures
Wordpress blog containing 429 posts.
https://d3n0rgqlxm83jq.cloudfront.net

37.
SHIZEN Yoga Blog – www.shizenyoga.com
https://shizenyoga.blog

38.
Logitech Series Drivers Download Software for Windows Mac
https://logitechseries.com
Remember to bookmark this page and check back from time to time as this list is regularly updated.
Blog listings supplied by our sister site FindABlog.Net.
Expired blog domains list last updated 11 August 2022.
Expired Forum Domains
The following discussion forums appear to have been hosted using domain names which have now expired. Click through to their listings on FindAForum.Net to find more about them including a larger screenshot and their social media accounts (if they have or had them in the past).

1.
The South African Travel:
http://www.satravelforum.com/forum/

2.
cureyourrsi.com
http://www.cureyourrsi.com/

3.
Herbal Health
http://www.herbalhealthforum.com/forum.php

4.
NZ Weather Forum
http://weatherforum.org.nz/phpBB3/

5.
Florida Keys Forums
http://www.floridakeysforum.com/

6.
Painting Contractors Forum, Pa
http://painting-forum.com/forum/

7.
Webmaster Forum, Web Hosting F
http://canadianwebmasters.com/

8.
THE CARS FORUM
http://thecarsforum.com/forum/

9.
The Small Business Forums
http://www.thesmallbusinessforums.co.uk/

10.
HTTP 404 Not Found
http://www.tech-solutions-uk.com/forum/

11.
Bird Lovers Online Community
http://www.birdloversonline.com/

12.
Can’t reach this page
http://www.reeffishforum.com/phpbb/

13.
Birding UK and Ireland
http://www.birding.uk.com/forum/

14.
Greyhound Racing
http://greyhoundracingforum.com/

15.
Profile Planes Zone Forums
http://www.profileplaneszone.com/forum.php
Remember to bookmark this page and check back from time to time as this list is regularly updated.
Forum listings supplied by our sister site FindAForum.Net.
Expired forum domains list last updated 11 August 2022.