How to Find Expired Domains with Traffic

This guide walks you through how to find and buy expired domains that still get real traffic — whether from direct visits, backlinks, or search rankings. You’ll learn how to spot promising domains using tools like SimilarWeb and Semrush, apply smart filters in Karma.Domains, evaluate domain quality with Karma Score, and decide whether to revive the site, build on it, or redirect its traffic to your main project.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Why Domains with Traffic Matter
• Why They’re Valuable
• How to Check for Traffic
• Types of Expired Domains
• Filter Settings in Karma.Domains
• Narrow Down by Topic with Keywords
• How to Weed Out the Junk
• Manual Domain Review
• What to Do Next
• FAQ: Buying Expired Domains with Traffic
  • Can traffic data from SimilarWeb or Semrush be trusted?
  • What’s better: auction domains or expired (available) domains?
  • Should I enable both SimilarWeb and Semrush filters at once?
  • What is a “good” Karma Score?
  • Can I find traffic domains without paid tools?
  • Should I restore the old content or just redirect the domain?
  • How often are new traffic domains added?

Why Domains with Traffic Matter

Expired domains are already a plus for SEO. But if a domain still gets real traffic, it means:

• it has a strong brand (direct traffic);
• or it’s getting referral traffic from other sites;
• or it used to rank well in search engines (traffic from SERPs).

These domains are rarely just available. Most of the time they go to auctions and cost upwards of $100. Why do they even become available? There are many reasons — businesses close, renewals get missed, or the brand changes.

Why They’re Valuable

If the traffic is direct, people are typing in the domain by hand — a sign of trust and recognition. If it’s referral, the domain has working backlinks. And if it’s search traffic, that means it ranked well on Google and might bounce back quickly.

All of this is a clear quality signal — both for users and search engines.

How to Check for Traffic

There’s no perfect way — only the site owner knows for sure. But you can get a rough estimate:

• SimilarWeb gives an overview of traffic types: search, direct, referral, social, etc.
• Semrush and Ahrefs only estimate organic search traffic.

Keep in mind: the numbers can be inflated or underestimated. But if you see any traffic estimates — that’s already a good sign.

These tools are paid, but Karma.Domains pulls in some basic data you can use even without a subscription.

Types of Expired Domains

• Auction domains — not fully deleted yet, but already for sale. You can grab them before they’re released again.
• Available domains — ready for immediate registration.

Auction domains are usually better — higher chance the traffic is still active. But good finds pop up among available ones too, especially if you check often.

Filter Settings in Karma.Domains

1. Go to the platform and choose a section: "Auctions" or "Expired".

2. Turn on the pre-made filter "Domains with Traffic" — it searches for domains flagged with traffic data from SimilarWeb.

3. You can also add a Semrush filter and set a minimum traffic number, like 10 or 100 monthly visitors.

But don’t enable both filters at once — it narrows down the results too much. Run them one at a time. All filters work on an AND logic — each new one reduces the number of results.

Narrow Down by Topic with Keywords

One of Karma.Domains’ unique features is filtering by Wayback Machine content. This is especially useful if niche relevance matters.

• Enter keywords related to your niche. For example: car or auto for automotive; skincare for beauty.
• Stick to 2–3 words max. If you go too narrow, you’ll miss good options.
• Use | (OR) or commas (AND) to set keywords in the filter.

You can also use:

• Semrush Backlink Anchor — to filter by anchor text;
• Semrush Organic Keywords — to filter by organic search queries.

I recommend making a few broad searches rather than one super specific one. Filters use AND logic — each condition narrows the results.

Save your filter if you plan to come back later.

How to Weed Out the Junk

The goal isn’t to find the perfect domain right away, but to filter out the obviously bad ones. The good stuff will be left after that.

• The main thing to check is the Karma Score — it factors in history, structure, errors, redirects, and more.

• Set a minimum of 70–80. If it’s below 50, there are likely issues.

• You can also filter out:

  • domains with non-Latin characters;
  • domains with redirects;
  • domains with access errors.

If there are too few results after filtering — ease up on the settings and review manually.

Manual Domain Review

Once you have a list, go through the domains one by one:

1. Wayback Machine history:

   • what kind of content was there;
   • was it a real site or just a placeholder;
   • did the language or niche change over time.

2. Flags in the report — a quick way to spot serious problems (or confirm it’s clean).

3. SimilarWeb, Semrush, Majestic:

   • traffic;
   • topics;
   • anchors;
   • languages;
   • backlinks.

If it matches your niche — that’s a solid candidate.

What to Do Next

If the domain is on auction — place a bid and win it. If it’s available — register it.

Then you’ve got a few paths:

• revive the old site and grow it;
• add fresh content;
• wait for it to get reindexed and use the traffic as-is;
• set up a 301 redirect to your main site.

If you want to preserve and use the existing traffic, your best bet is to restore the old content + add new stuff — and only then consider redirects.

FAQ: Buying Expired Domains with Traffic

Can traffic data from SimilarWeb or Semrush be trusted?

Not 100%. These tools provide estimates, not exact numbers. But if a domain shows any traffic in these platforms — that's already a strong signal it's worth a closer look.

What’s better: auction domains or expired (available) domains?

Auction domains usually have fresher traffic and higher quality — but they’re more competitive and expensive. Available domains can be hidden gems if you check often and filter well.

Should I enable both SimilarWeb and Semrush filters at once?

No — filters work on AND logic, so using both at once often gives you zero results. Use them separately to avoid narrowing the list too much.

What is a “good” Karma Score?

Aim for 70+. A score above 80 is great. If it’s below 50, there’s usually something wrong — like broken pages, spam history, or redirects.

Can I find traffic domains without paid tools?

Yes — Karma.Domains pulls in basic SimilarWeb data even on the free plan. It won’t show everything, but it's often enough to shortlist solid domains.

Should I restore the old content or just redirect the domain?

If you want to keep the existing traffic and rankings, it’s best to restore the old content (or recreate it with improvements). Redirects are useful too — but ideally after rebuilding some relevance first.

How often are new traffic domains added?

Daily. Karma.Domains updates its auction and expired listings every day — and you can set up alerts or RSS feeds to catch fresh domains as soon as they appear.