Author: Artyom Frolov, Senior SEO Specialist, “Traffic+”
Hi there! Today I want to share a real-life story. Recently, a major info-business entrepreneur came to us at Traffic+ with a request: he wanted to launch a niche project. The task was pretty standard — find a couple of aged but high-quality domains to use for 301 redirects. Since the project was targeting a Russian-speaking audience, that added a few nuances.
Normally, we follow a clear pipeline: start with a wide funnel, filter by metrics, and then do manual checks. But this time, I decided to test the tools head-to-head under real project conditions. I picked the three most popular services we use and ran them simultaneously with the same queries.
The Task
I needed to find 15–20 “clean” domains that met these criteria:
- Niche: business, finance, personal development
- Age: at least 5 years
- Metrics: DR (Ahrefs) 25+, RD (Referring Domains) 100+
- History: no “dirty” periods (doorways, spam, casino)
- Language: Russian
I started with keyword searches like “business,” “finance,” “development” inside each tool’s filters.
Round 1: ExpiredDomains.net — the Free Starting Point
I love ExpiredDomains.net for its simplicity and accessibility. It’s like walking into a huge supermarket: everything is there, but good luck finding exactly what you need.
My experience: I quickly found tens of thousands of domains using filters for TLD (.ru, .com) and age. But then the problems started. The tool doesn’t show content history. I had to export the list and check everything manually — first in Ahrefs, then in the Wayback Machine. That alone took me over an hour, and I ended up with just 5–6 somewhat suitable domains. The catch? Half of them had spammed anchor profiles or a “shady” history.
Conclusion: ExpiredDomains.net is great if you don’t have a budget and are ready to spend a lot of time on manual checks. But for commercial projects — not the best choice.
Round 2: Spamzilla — Filters on Steroids
Next, I moved to Spamzilla. Its main advantage is the sheer number of filters across all major metrics.
My experience: I plugged in my criteria, and the tool quickly narrowed down thousands of domains. I could instantly see DR, RD, CF, TF. In about 15–20 minutes, I had a list of 50 domains. I got excited — until I started manual checks. That’s when the surprises came. Many domains that looked great in numbers had awful histories. One with DR 30 turned out to be a spam farm in 2019. Another had a 301 redirect to an adult site in 2020. I had to dive into Wayback Machine again to figure it out. In the end, out of 50 domains, I kept only 10 worth showing to the client.
Conclusion: Spamzilla is perfect for a quick numeric cleanup of obvious spam. But it doesn’t give the main thing: context. Its spam score is a bit of a “black box.”
Round 3: Karma.Domains — The Win in Just 20 Minutes
Finally, I tested Karma.Domains for expired domains. I’d heard about its advanced features, but this was my first time using it on a real project.
My experience: I entered my filters, and within minutes the system gave me 30 domains. But the real game-changer was that it immediately showed me their history. I could see language changes, keyword usage, and most importantly — the Karma Score with detailed explanations.
One domain had solid metrics, but Karma.Domains revealed that in 2018 it briefly hosted Ukrainian-language content before it disappeared. I didn’t have to manually uncover that — the tool flagged it. Another domain had a hidden 301 redirect to a third-party site, which I also saw right away. Out of the 30 domains, I selected 18 that were clean and matched all requirements. That’s what I sent to the client.
Conclusion: Karma.Domains really saves time. It gives not only numbers but also context — which is priceless. I got more high-quality domains in less time compared to the other two tools.
Final Takeaways
- ExpiredDomains.net — Free but time-consuming. Works if you have zero budget but plenty of time.
- Spamzilla — Fast but shallow. Great for the first filter, but not for the final decision.
- Karma.Domains — Fast and deep. Delivers the full picture and helps make decisions based on history, not just metrics.
In our line of work, time is money. And nothing is more valuable than finding the perfect domain quickly without risking a client’s reputation. For me, only Karma.Domains nailed that.
