Backlinks and SEO: why an expired domain can boost your rankings

Backlinks — those links from another site to yours — remain in 2026 one of the three historical pillars of SEO, alongside content and user experience. Google has acknowledged it in its Search Central documentation: the quality and relevance of incoming links are major signals to evaluate a site's authority and trustworthiness. But obtaining quality backlinks has become, year after year, more expensive and more risky.

This article reviews today's backlink ecosystem: why they still matter, what a quality link costs in 2025-2026, why Private Blog Networks are a false good idea, and why recovering an expired domain has become an increasingly favored legitimate path.

Why backlinks are the pillar of SEO in 2026

Google's algorithm was born from a simple intuition, formalized in the PageRank patent: a link from site A to site B is a vote of confidence from A for B. The more votes a site receives — and the more these votes come from sites that are themselves authoritative — the more it will be considered legitimate on its topic.

Nearly three decades later, the algorithm has evolved (RankBrain, BERT, MUM, Helpful Content Update, Core Updates in 2024-2025), but this intuition remains central. In its Search Central, Google specifies that external links are one of the signals taken into account, provided they are "obtained naturally".

Concretely, a good backlink profile brings three things:

• • Direct visibility: users click on the links and arrive on your site.
• • Authority in Google's eyes: your domain becomes a reference on its topic.
• • Semantic coherence: anchors (clickable text) inform Google about the keywords on which you are relevant.

Natural vs built backlinks

Two main families are distinguished, with porous boundaries in practice:

Natural backlinks

Links obtained without commercial action: a journalist cites your study, a blogger recommends your product, a peer shares your article. These are Google's preferred links, because they are sincere. They are also the most difficult to obtain: they reward content that deserves to be cited.

Built backlinks (link building)

Links obtained through active outreach: guest posts, editorial partnerships, link purchases, exchanges. This approach can be legitimate (PR, long-term partnerships, transparent sponsorings) or problematic depending on the method used.

Google does not forbid link building. It forbids, in its Spam Policies, manipulative link schemes: massive link purchases, systematic reciprocal exchanges, networks of sites created solely to generate backlinks. The boundary is not always simple, but it exists.

The cost of acquiring a quality backlink in 2025-2026

Building a clean link profile is expensive. A few orders of magnitude observed on the French-speaking market (sources: public SEO agencies, link-building platforms, public 2025-2026 feedback):

Type of backlink	Indicative cost	Risk
Guest post on DR 30 blog	EUR 100 to 300	Low if natural
Sponsored article on DR 50+ media	EUR 500 to 1,500	Low if disclosed
Sponsored article on DR 70+ media	EUR 1,500 to 5,000	Low if disclosed
Free editorial link (PR)	Agency cost: EUR 1,000 to 5,000 / month	Low
Link from low-cost PBN	EUR 20 to 80 / link	High (Google penalty)

To build a profile capable of ranking a site on a competitive query (insurance, real estate, finance, travel), a budget of several tens of thousands of euros over 12 to 18 months is not uncommon. It is precisely this cost that pushes some players towards dangerous shortcuts.

The risk of PBNs (Private Blog Networks)

A PBN, or Private Blog Network, is a network of self-owned sites whose only function is to send backlinks to a "money" site one is trying to push. Often, these sites are built from cheap expired domains, fed with fabricated content (formerly spinned, today AI-generated), and hosted on varied IPs to blur detection.

Why Google distrusts them

Google considers PBNs as a form of pure manipulation of the algorithm and classifies them in its Spam Policies under the label "link schemes". When a PBN is detected:

• • Links are devalued (they stop transmitting authority).
• • The target site may suffer an algorithmic penalty (sudden traffic drop).
• • In serious cases, a manual action is applied (notification in Search Console, partial or total deindexing).

Why PBNs are detected

Algorithms have grown more sophisticated. Google now cross-references signals that make PBNs hard to hide: content patterns, link schemes between sites, hosting, domain history, content quality, publication frequency. With the Core Updates of 2024 and 2025, several large waves of penalties hit PBNs, including in France.

For a serious site aiming long-term, the ROI of a PBN has become negative: too high a risk for a temporary and uncertain gain.

The legitimate path: recovering an expired domain with intact backlinks

There is, however, an approach that consists of leveraging an existing link profile — without falling into manipulation. It is the purchase of an expired domain with legitimate use.

The principle

An expired domain is a domain name whose previous owner has not renewed registration. For .fr, after a redemption period of about 30 days then a pending delete phase, the domain is released by AFNIC and becomes available again for registration. The backlinks accumulated over the years remain functional: they continue to point to the URL, which will now be controlled by the new owner.

Fundamental difference with a PBN

The legitimate use of an expired domain consists of developing it — publishing real content there, in line with the historical theme, or merging its authority with an existing site via thematically coherent 301 redirection. Conversely, a PBN consists of creating a fake facade whose sole purpose is to transmit SEO juice to an external site.

The nuance is legal and algorithmic: Google sanctions schemes and manipulation intent, not the simple takeover of a domain name.

How to evaluate the quality of an expired domain's backlinks

Not all expirations are equal. Before investing in a recovered domain, here is the standard checklist used by professional SEOs:

1. Volume and growth of referring domains

A healthy domain shows regular growth in referring domains over the years. A brutal staircase graph — massive peak over 2 months, then silence — is suspect: a sign of an artificial boost.

2. Anchor text distribution

On Ahrefs or Majestic, examine anchor text distribution. A natural profile mixes:

• • The brand name (40-60%).
• • The bare URL (15-25%).
• • Generic anchors ("click here", "learn more", 10-20%).
• • Exact match anchors on keywords (5-15%).

Overrepresentation of exact anchors ("cheap car insurance" at 60%) is a strong indicator of past manipulation.

3. Trust Flow / Citation Flow

As explained in our article on domain authority, the Trust Flow / Citation Flow ratio should ideally be greater than 0.5. Below 0.3, the profile is dominated by spam.

4. Quality of the Top 50 backlinks

Manually examine the 50 most powerful backlinks. Are they on relevant, active, thematically coherent sites? Or are they outdated directories, blog comments, archive footers? A single link from Le Monde or a university is worth more than 1,000 links from directory listings.

5. Topical Trust Flow

The main theme of the domain must correspond to your project. Recovering a domain whose Topical Trust Flow is on "Health" to make a cryptocurrency site there is incoherent, and Google will detect it.

6. Wayback Machine history

On archive.org, check what the site published. A clean, professional history, in line with your future project, is gold. A history of spam, adult content, massive external links, is prohibitive.

Pitfalls to avoid

Toxic backlinks (Penguin)

Some domains have been artificially boosted by their previous owners: massive purchases on link farms, automatic comments on thousands of blogs, aggressive redirections. Google deployed in 2012 the Penguin algorithm, now integrated into the core algorithm, to identify these signals. If the profile is too polluted, the authority is in fact negative: recovering the domain exposes you to an inherited penalty.

Inherited penalties

A Google penalty does not magically disappear with the change of owner. If the previous editor received a manual action, it remains attached to the domain. Deindexing can persist for several months, or not be lifted, despite a reconsideration request.

Abusive 301 redirects

Some buyers recover an expired domain with the sole purpose of performing a 301 redirect to their main site, hoping to transfer authority. This is a tolerated practice if it is thematically coherent; it becomes a link scheme under Google rules if the recovered domain has no relation with the target site. Several recent Core Updates have hardened detection of this type of manipulation.

Trademark disputes

Verify that the domain name does not reuse a trademark registered by a third party. A SYRELI procedure (with AFNIC) or UDRP (international) may be initiated against you, making you lose the domain without recourse.

.fr drop-catching: the clean path to an expired domain

For .fr, the ecosystem has professionalized in recent years. Rather than attempting manual capture at the moment of the AFNIC drop — which requires a technical infrastructure inaccessible to non-specialists — the simplest path consists of going through a public auction platform.

The principle: an operator with an AFNIC-accredited registrar technically secures the domain at the moment of its release, then offers it in public auction. The highest bidder wins the domain, which is transferred to them within 48 hours after payment. This formula offers three advantages over individual drop-catching:

• • No infrastructure to manage: the technical side is handled by the operator.
• • Transparency: everyone sees the same auction, the price forms at market value.
• • Legal security: the transfer follows standard AFNIC rules.

Several platforms exist in France. Milodomain is one of them, specialized 100% in .fr and operating fully publicly. Before bidding, take time to audit the link profile of the domain according to the checklist above, and consult our complete guide on the lifecycle of an expired .fr domain or the precise definitions in our glossary.

Conclusion

Backlinks remain the cornerstone of SEO in 2026, but their acquisition has become both expensive and delicate. Between rigorous link building (slow, expensive, but healthy), PBNs (fast, but risky) and the recovery of expired domains (interesting balance but requiring analysis), each approach has its constraints.

The most profitable path long-term remains the combination of quality content + PR + selective recovery of expired domains coherent with your project. No magic shortcut, but a disciplined methodology that withstands Core Updates.

FAQ

Are backlinks still important for SEO in 2026?

Yes. Despite the constant evolution of the Google algorithm and the arrival of AI engines (AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, Perplexity), external links remain a major signal of authority. Google confirms it in its Search Central documentation. Sites that stop investing in link building generally see their visibility erode against more active competitors.

What is the average cost of a quality backlink in France?

For a sponsored article on DR 50+ media, count between EUR 500 and 1,500 per link. An editorial link obtained via PR rather costs EUR 1,000 to 5,000 per month in agency fees. Very low-cost links (less than EUR 50) generally come from PBNs to avoid.

Why does Google penalize PBNs?

Because they fall under link schemes as defined by Spam Policies: a PBN's sole purpose is to manipulate the algorithm by transmitting SEO juice to an external site through fake sites. Google detects these networks by cross-referencing signals (content patterns, hosting, domain history, link schemes) and applies either an algorithmic devaluation or a manual action.

Is recovering an expired domain legal?

Yes, provided AFNIC rules for .fr are respected (registrant eligibility, no trademark infringement). The domain becomes legally available after the pending delete phase. The main risk is not legal but SEO: inherited penalties if the domain has been spammed, or trademark disputes if the name evokes an existing company.

How many backlinks do you need to rank on Google?

There is no absolute number. It all depends on the competition on the targeted keyword. On low-competition queries, 10 to 30 quality backlinks may suffice. On a query like "car insurance", you generally need several hundred, even thousands, from high-DR domains. Quality always trumps quantity — a single link from Le Monde is worth 100 directory links.

Going further

• • Domain authority in SEO: DA, DR, TF, CF explained — the methodology for evaluating authority indicators.
• • Expired .fr domains, drop-catching and backorder: the complete 2026 guide — understanding the complete lifecycle.
• • SEO and domain name glossary — precise definitions of technical terms.