Hey, I like your website! Can I have it?

[Nat]

"Hey, I like your website! Can I have it?"
​

Yeah, I would probably say what the fuck is wrong with you if someone asked me this. But this is almost exactly what I could have said to someone the other day. Just because that's how we all think doesn't mean everyone else thinks that way. A few days ago I was doing a little bit of niche research. I hadn't found any good expired domain names and the domain brokers charge out the wazoo. So I decided to do a little research. I used some basic footprints in Google like this:

"2012" "Older Posts" "keyword"​

and found some websites. I opened a lot of the results in a new tab and then went to the home page of each site to check if there were any recent posts. I closed out all the sites that had recent posts. If the remaining websites didn't appear to be monetized (at least heavily) I filled out a contact form (or found an email) and shot out a quick message. This is a copy and paste of what I sent

Good morning!
I've been searching for domain names for a *********** blog/website that I want to start. I tried to register YourDomainName.com and saw that it was already taken. That's actually how I found your website. I really, really like this domain. Since it doesn't look like the blog has been in use for over a year, is there any chance I could purchase it from you? I'm looking to build a very similar type of website.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
​

I should probably go back and check, but I only sent out about 5 or 6 emails/contact forms. I got two replies back within 1-2 days. Both people said sure. Both were totally okay with just giving them away since they weren't using them anymore. One didn't work out because it hadn't been renewed 2 months ago, was snatched up by a company, but still pointed at the host. I transferred the other domain to my domain registrar for free -- I actually asked for a PayPal to send a gift to. The domain wasn't anything crazy, but it was niche specific, brandable, and has a few decent backlinks. Moz says it has a 19 DA and 32 PA, and its totally clean and about 5 years old.

Essentially I could have just said, "Hey, I like your website! Can I have it?"

Hopefully this helps someone out...

Now the only the only thing I gotta figure out is what to do about the content. The previous owner was not willing to let me keep the site's content. A few pages were ranked and getting traffic I'm thinking about 301'ing the old ranking links to slightly different links and re-writing the articles. Think that will work, or will G be pissed that a lot of the content was changed + a URL change? The only sucky thing about this situation is that the owner migrated all of the site content onto a fresh blogging subdomain.

Edit: Also, before @CCarter tells me to stop dicking around with emails, this only took like 1 hour and was only a few emails, promise.

 

[Potatoe]

Same with asking for backlinks (and...well...a lot of things in life haha.)

I've found that just being upfront works nice, as opposed to trying to be sneaky or tricky with them. People with powerful sites probabally know at least a thing or two about the seo game, so you aren't going to fool them, and it's a breath of fresh air.

"Hey, I really like your site, I have a site that covers similar topics. Have you done your good deed yet today? It would help me out a ton if you could include a link to my site in an upcoming article. On that same note, is there anything I can do to help you out?"

Mind you, I don't think that would work as well in big-boy niches. The niche I'm referring to is full of hobbyists and really friendly people.

 

[blackwar85]

Same with asking for backlinks (and...well...a lot of things in life haha.)

I've found that just being upfront works nice, as opposed to trying to be sneaky or tricky with them. People with powerful sites probabally know at least a thing or two about the seo game, so you aren't going to fool them, and it's a breath of fresh air.

"Hey, I really like your site, I have a site that covers similar topics. Have you done your good deed yet today? It would help me out a ton if you could include a link to my site in an upcoming article. On that same note, is there anything I can do to help you out?"

Mind you, I don't think that would work as well in big-boy niches. The niche I'm referring to is full of hobbyists and really friendly people.

I agree, honesty can go a long way. I remember once upon a time I was searching for outreach prospects and stumbled upon a interesting website which created so called online tournaments or competitions in various fields. It seemed like the owner had put quite a bit of effort into his website: he had great domain, all the rules/systems in place, great prizes etc. Only problem was that there was almost no participants.

So I sent a message to the owner saying flat-out that his site design sucks and sign-up procedure is way too complicated. He thanked me for honest feedback and we ended up chatting all about SEO and everything. It all ended up with me getting a nice link to my website.

 

[Ryuzaki]

That's great. I've found that most people are way too attached to their babies, even if they haven't updated in a decade. "But, But, But" Then they expect some extortion level price to buy it from them, or flat out aren't even willing.

 

[turtle]

That's great. I've found that most people are way too attached to their babies, even if they haven't updated in a decade. "But, But, But" Then they expect some extortion level price to buy it from them, or flat out aren't even willing.

Pretty much the same here. But honestly most of the time I'm happy to even get an answer. Even though I state that I'm ready to pay a fair price.

 

[Nat]

That's great. I've found that most people are way too attached to their babies, even if they haven't updated in a decade. "But, But, But" Then they expect some extortion level price to buy it from them, or flat out aren't even willing.

Pretty much the same here. But honestly most of the time I'm happy to even get an answer. Even though I state that I'm ready to pay a fair price.

Both of you guys are legit builders so you know this already, but for anyone who hasn't -- in most niches I doubt this would work nearly as well as these two have confirmed (I forgot to specify that clearly in the OP). I think this tactic works best for websites that are attached to an individual or group that has 'moved on' from a period of their life / era that was oriented towards the site. I bet it also helps if the website wasn't built with any type of intentional monetization in mind.
...and I'm also sure I got lucky.