What's new in GoDaddy Auctions: Domain signals for smarter expired domain buying

Key takeaways

GoDaddy Auctions is investing in domain discovery tools to help buyers find opportunities.
We've added 10 new domain signals from EstiBot and Semrush to help buyers evaluate domains without leaving the platform.
Programmatic buyers can now access all domain signals through the Inventory Protocol to automate discovery and evaluation.

Buying expired domains has always required homework. You search, filter, cross-reference external tools, and make a judgment call. The more signals you care about, the more tabs you have open. We’ve all been there.

Over 50,000 expired domains are added to GoDaddy Auctions every day. With new tools, signals, and metrics launching this year, we’re focusing on helping buyers find the right names and giving them confidence to act.

*GoDaddy Auctions search results page with new domain signals as sortable columns.*

Discoverability and evaluation

The challenge isn't bidding or payment. It's what happens before.

Buyers need help in two ways. First, discovering domains they wouldn't have found on their own. Second, evaluating domains they've already identified to build confidence before bidding.

Today, many buyers browse listings, then leave to check external tools like EstiBot, Semrush, or Majestic. That context-switching slows down decisions and creates uncertainty.

Earlier this year, we released the Acquisition Agent to help buyers discover domains using natural language instead of complex filters. Now we're taking the next step: bringing professional-grade domain signals directly into the platform.

The buyer journey framework

We think about the expired domain buyer journey in four stages:

Stage	Discover	Evaluate	Bid/Buy	Pay
What buyers do	Find relevant domains	Assess value and resale potential	Compete effectively	Complete purchase
Core friction	Hard to find the right domains	Limited signals, external tools required	Late bidding, weak alerts	Payment friction post-win
Our focus	Great inventory, filter by signals	Use signals to compare	Better alerts and bidding tools	Streamline checkout

Discovery and Evaluation are where buyers need the most help, and that's where we're focused.

New domain signals

You may have noticed we recently added Majestic to Domain Insights and updated Column Management. We're now expanding with two more partners, EstiBot and Semrush, bringing 10 new domain signals directly into the platform. The goal: help you evaluate domains and make confident bidding decisions without leaving GoDaddy Auctions.

EstiBot

Keyword and TLD data from EstiBot helps buyers understand market demand for a domain's second-level domain (SLD). If you're looking at "rocket.com," these signals tell you how many other extensions use "rocket" and whether those sites are actually developed.

Domain signal	What it tells you
Keyword Registrations	The number of domain names registered that contain the SLD in the domain name
Developed TLDs	The number of TLD extensions where the domain name has an active, developed website
Exact Match TLDs	The number of TLD extensions that are already registered for the exact match SLD of the domain name

High numbers here signal market validation. If dozens of businesses have already registered variations of this keyword, there's proven commercial demand for the name. For investors, this is a resale signal.

A domain with 500+ keyword registrations and 50+ developed sites suggests buyers are out there. A unique-sounding name with only a handful of registrations might be creative, but it's unproven in the market.

Semrush

SEO and traffic intelligence provider Semrush brings industry-leading insights into search metrics. These new signals help buyers understand a domain’s existing authority, cost per click (CPC), and more.

Domain signal	What it tells you
Semrush Authority Score	Semrush's 0-100 domain authority metric
Semrush Referring Domains	Unique domains linking to this domain
Semrush Backlinks	Number of inbound links (complements existing Majestic data)
Semrush Indexed Pages	Number of pages indexed by search engines
Semrush Search Volume	Monthly search volume for the domain's primary keyword
Semrush CPC	Cost per click for the primary keyword in paid search
Semrush Top Referring Domains	Sample of the best sites linking to this domain

A domain with high authority, quality backlinks, and valuable keywords is worth more than one without. These aren't just vanity metrics.

Authority and backlinks take years to build. A domain with established link equity can rank faster than starting from scratch. For investors, that's value you can sell. High search volume and CPC signal keyword demand, whether you're planning to develop the site, park it, or flip it to someone in that niche.

How to access the new signals

The new signals are available wherever you work in GoDaddy Auctions. Here are some of the key product surfaces you can apply them to.

Advanced Search

Use Advanced Search to filter domains by the new signals. Set minimum Authority Score thresholds, filter by keyword registrations, or find domains with specific backlink profiles. Once you've dialed in your criteria, use Saved Searches to get notified by email when matching domains hit the marketplace.

Domain listings

Click any domain to see the full picture. The listing flyout now displays all EstiBot and Semrush signals alongside existing Majestic data, giving you everything you need to evaluate a domain before bidding. No more switching tabs to cross-reference external tools.

*Domain listing flyout now showing Estibot and Semrush signals.*

Inventory Protocol

For programmatic buyers and those building custom tools, all domain signals are available through the Inventory Protocol. Download daily bulk files in JSON, XML, or CSV format with full enrichment data included. Filter and evaluate inventory at scale, then connect to the Auctions API to automate bidding. You can build custom domain analysis pipelines,

AI agents, and large-scale domain discovery workflows using the same enriched dataset available in GoDaddy Auctions.

With AI coding assistants like Claude Code, Cursor, Lovable, or Replit, you can build custom workflows that pull bulk exports, filter by your criteria, and surface opportunities automatically.

*GoDaddy Auctions Inventory Protocol page with the updated file structure.*

Domain signal coverage matrix

The table below shows where the new domain signals are available. This is evolving, and we're working to make more signals available across more surfaces over time.