Case Study: Earning $700+ Monthly by Expired Domain with AI Content

A case study is not just the story of the rise and fall of a website or web project. From a case study, you can get your desired tips and tricks that can change your Web project journey. I, myself have read many case studies and found some invaluable techniques that I have successfully applied to my sites and got some excellent results.

I have built several sites with the help of AI and today I will share the journey of one particular site with the help of AI. I have built it from scratch and am currently earning over $700+ monthly. 

In this case study, I will give step-by-step instructions on how a site could be built from start to finish successfully with AI automation. Due to privacy concerns, I won’t share the URL of the site since it is still live. 

Starting from niche selection to monetization, I will discuss this in detail in today’s case study. So let’s start the adventure. 

Site Details:

Here are the details of the sites:

Niche: 

This case study is not specifically intended for newcomers. Words like “niche” may be difficult for me to explain in detail in this short case study. If newcomers desire clarification on such terms, they can refer to my other articles or search on Google.

Nonetheless, let’s start with a discussion on niche. Regarding the niche, I work primarily with a broad niche because this AI site requires publishing a substantial amount of articles. For this, a considerable number of keywords are necessary, which are readily available in broad niches like Automotive, Outdoor, Entertainment, etc. 

I know, many of you may think about which niche you should start with. In reality, the niche is not as crucial for this type of project, because with good keywords, any niche can rank, and low-competition keywords are essential for this. I will discuss this in the keyword research section.

For this site, I selected the niche of Home Improvement. Not that I specifically chose it or researched and decided that it’s my final niche. Nothing like that I got this niche because it has some relevance to the expired domain. The projects are built around expired domains. I will elaborate on this in the Expired Domain section, making the topic easier to understand. 

Expired Domain Pick and buy 

The most important topic in this article is whether to start with a new domain or an expired domain. If you ask me what to do with this kind of project my first answer will be the expired domain.

I decided to start with an expired domain because I understand the concept of expired domains in terms of having a strong link profile, including links from top sites such as HuffPost, TechCrunch, BBC, Forbes, NY Times, etc. There are several reasons to work with expired domains: 

Time:

While working with new domains is possible, it takes time for search engines to pick them up. In the case of expired domains, their age and quality backlinks assist in quicker indexing, especially for AI sites. 

Link Profile:

A strong link profile makes it easier for the domain to dominate search engines. The presence of links from top sites not only helps in ranking but also allows buying backlinks for a new domain at a relatively lower price compared to manually building such links. 

Aged:

Since expired domains already have a good rating, search engines like Google find it easier to index them. The aged status helps in gaining recognition quickly. 

Relevancy:

Working with the link profile of expired domains makes it convenient for search engines to recognize and improve ranking. The relevancy and power of backlinks in expired domains contribute significantly to ranking benefits.

To choose a good expired domain, I prioritize looking at the link profile, checking for links from reputable sites and magazines, and assessing the value and context of backlinks. I emphasize link relevancy, as it is crucial for building a new domain’s link profile successfully. 

For a better understanding, it is evident that projects like these are fundamentally based on expired domains. To purchase a good expired domain you explore various auction markets.

If understanding these markets seems challenging, experts on our site have conducted due diligence and research to offer high-authority expired domains at an affordable price. Additionally, there is currently a 10% discount available for all domains using the promo code “ CD10 “. 

Setting up the website: 

After purchasing the expired domain, now it’s time to begin the process of site setup. Starting from buying hosting through Namecheap, WordPress was installed using the CPanel. Following that, a free theme related to home improvement was installed on the site. 

Several plugins were installed, with Yoast SEO being deemed crucial. Basic SEO for setup and configuring the site map. 

The installation of the Easy Table of Contents plugin for adding a table of contents section within the content. 

For content design in the Gutenberg editor, the Stackable plugin was added. 

Additionally, the Redirections plugin was installed to manage 301 redirects efficiently.

It should be noted that a completely free theme has been utilized from the beginning. No logo has been added to the site; only the textual name serves as the heading.

301 and another task 

Especially in the case of expired domains, this is a very important task. In this scenario, the first step is to identify which pages the backlinks are targeting. Most of the time, linking is done to the homepage, but there may be linking to other inner pages, such as site.com/new-post.

If it is directed to the homepage, there is no need for a 301 redirect. However, if it links to any other inner page or post, the first step is to assess how that page or post was, and if it seems to require restoration, it is retrieved from archive.org.

The URL is maintained as it was, or if the URL has changed, a 301 redirect is set up to the new URL. This is done to ensure that no link juice is lost to a 404 error. 

Restoring Important Pages 

For every expired domain, old important pages are restored, which were previously created for this site. This helps in easily gaining trust from Google.

By old pages, it is meant the initial pages created when the site was started, such as About Us, Contact Us, services, etc. The content, along with these pages, is restored. If there are copyright issues, it is considered editing the content on these pages can be done once traffic starts coming to the site. 

Keyword Research and Analysis 

I have utilized a very simple method to identify keywords for my site, where I easily obtained numerous keywords using SEMrush tools. I used

SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool by providing my seed keyword. After filtering keywords with KD (Keyword Difficulty) of 1-10 and selecting question-based terms, I checked each term individually, created a keyword list, and exported it. Using the tool, I removed duplicate keywords. 

AI Content Generation 

For AI content generation, I started with ChatGPT 4 and then switched to ChatGPT 3.5. I used the AIPRM for the ChatGPT extension, which contains various prompts that allow the generation of content with a single click. 

I mentioned in the keyword section that the majority of my content is question-based. So, most posts on the site are informative articles, approximately 95%. I used the prompt “Human Written |100% Unique |SEO Optimized Article” to generate content and publish it without any edits. I also added an FAQ section within the content. 

Content Design and Publish 

Since the content is mostly informative, minimal effort is put into content design. I generated content using ChatGPT and copied and pasted it into the WordPress post option without further edits. 

I arranged the content, set H2, and H3 headings, added an FAQ section using Yoast, and inserted two relevant images manually for each post. Images were sourced from free image sites such as pexels.com and unsplash.com. The content length is kept within 700-1500 words, with some exceptions for certain content. 

Initially, 1-2 posts were published on the site, gradually increasing to 5, then 10, and currently, 15 posts are published daily. 

Monetization

Content distribution began in June 2023, and Ezoic ads were added from August 2023 onwards. Earnings initially started slow, primarily coming from ads due to the majority of the content being informative articles. Only two pieces of content have Amazon affiliate links, generating 2-5 sales per month. Currently, the site earns $20-$30 per day from Ezoic. 

My near-future plan 

For the next target, I have planned several initiatives: 

• Test various automated AI tools for content generation, design, and auto-publishing on the site. 
• Publish 20-30 of content daily on the site. 
• Optimize 2-3 pages to rank on the first page of Google using a human touch. 
• Increase the site’s income by 1-3 times. 
• Apply for Mediavine if traffic to the site increases.