Google’s Take on Expired Domains and Ranking Issues

Recently, Google’s John Mueller answered a question about a website built on an expired domain that wasn’t ranking, not even for its own brand name. His response shed some light on how Google treats expired domains today.

The Story Behind Expired Domains

About 20 years ago, SEOs had a simple trick to boost rankings: they would buy expired domains with existing backlinks. Back then, Google showed a metric called PageRank that revealed a domain’s authority. Even if the domain’s topic was unrelated, redirecting it could transfer link power and improve rankings.

But things changed. Google later introduced what’s called an “expired domain reset.” This means that when a domain expires, its old backlinks and authority are basically wiped clean. The new owner starts from scratch, no PageRank, no history benefits.

The Reddit Question

A user on Reddit shared that they launched a new site on an old domain that once belonged to another company named Octigen GmbH. Everything was technically fine, indexed, no errors, clean sitemap, yet it wasn’t ranking even for its own name.

The user asked:

• Can a domain’s old history hurt its visibility?

• Is there any way to reset its reputation?

John Mueller’s Response

According to John Mueller, when a domain expires or stays parked for a long time, Google needs time to “shake off” its old state. In simple words, Google’s system must relearn that this is a new website with new ownership.

He also confirmed there’s no manual fix for this; you just have to keep building your site normally and let time do the work.

What You Should Do

Mueller suggested a few practical steps:

• Keep using the domain actively.

• Stay visible on social platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, or Reddit and link back to your site.

• Build brand awareness everywhere possible so people (and Google) can easily find you.

Final Thoughts

Expired domains can be tricky. When a domain expires, Google resets its authority, treating it as a brand-new website. So if you’re working with an expired domain, don’t expect instant rankings.

Be patient, focus on good SEO, and stay active across platforms. Over time, Google will recognize your domain as new and start ranking it naturally.