Private blog network
A set of websites, often built on expired domains, controlled by one party for the purpose of passing links to money sites; a clear link…
AlgorithmsDomain resurrection
Expired domain abuse
Buying an expired domain and repurposing it to host unrelated low-value content in order to inherit its accumulated ranking signals.
In full
Added to Google's spam policies in March 2024, the policy targets the practice of exploiting a domain's history rather than its current merit — for instance turning a defunct charity's domain into an affiliate site. Legitimate acquisitions with continuity of purpose are not the target. The policy also undercuts the economics of PBNs, which have relied on expired domain inventory.
Example
A closed medical clinic's domain is bought and relaunched as a casino affiliate site, retaining nothing but the backlinks.
Related terms
Google spam policies
Google's documented list of behaviours that can cause lower rankings or removal, covering cloaking, doorways, hacked content, keyword…
Spam updates
Announced improvements to Google's automated spam detection, distinct from core updates, targeting violations of the spam policies.
Site reputation abuse
Publishing third-party content on a host site to exploit that site's ranking signals; a Google spam policy violation regardless of…
Link spam
Google's spam policy category covering links intended to manipulate rankings: buying or selling links, excessive exchanges, automated link…
Where to read more
- Spam Policies for Google Web Search · Guideline · developers.google.com