He Owns 200,000 Domains (And Knows How to Rank Anything)

E1065: Kalin Karakehayov owns more than 200,000 domains and operates a portfolio of roughly 30,000 websites. In this episode, Kalin explains how the domain industry actually works, why expired domains can be worth millions to the right buyer, and what most SEO professionals misunderstand about backlinks, authority, and ranking websites. We discuss how domains are acquired, how aged domains are evaluated, the economics behind large domain portfolios, and why some businesses are built entirely around acquiring and monetizing internet real estate. Kalin also shares stories from nearly two decades in SEO, including a domain purchased for $30 that generated $150,000, a domain acquired for $10,000 and sold for $140,000, and examples of buyers generating millions of dollars in value from domains purchased for only a few hundred dollars. Later in the conversation, we explore the relationship between chess, decision making, performance, and business. Kalin was an International Master in chess before entering the domain industry, and he explains why many of the skills that make someone successful in chess don't necessarily transfer to entrepreneurship. Topics discussed: - Owning and managing more than 200,000 domains - How expired domains are discovered and acquired - Why aged domains can outperform new domains - What makes a domain valuable - How backlinks influence rankings today - Whether backlinks matter less in the AI era - Private Blog Networks (PBNs) and how they've changed - Common mistakes people make when buying domains - How SEO has evolved over the last 20 years - The economics of link building - Why some domains sell for six figures - The role of brand searches and authority signals - Local SEO vs SaaS SEO - Ranking websites in highly competitive industries - Domain auctions and domain investing - How large domain portfolios are built - Google indexing and ranking behavior - Why some websites rank while others don't - Chess, performance, and decision making - Building an eight-figure asset portfolio About Kalin Karakehayov: Kalin Karakehayov is the founder of a large domain portfolio company that owns more than 200,000 domains. His company specializes in expired domains, domain acquisition, domain valuation, and serving businesses that rely on organic search traffic. Before entering the domain industry, Kalin earned the title of International Master in chess. Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, investors, and unconventional thinkers building businesses on the internet. ⭐️ Kalin Karakehayov on 𝕏 - https://x.com/Karakehayov ⭐️ Kalin Karakehayov on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karakehayov ⭐️ Kalin Karakehayov on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kalin.karakehayov/ ⭐️ Kalin Karakehayov on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/karakehayov ⭐️ SEO.Domains (domains and backlinks) - https://seo.domains ⭐️ GigaLinks (AI SEO and citations) - https://gigalinks.com ⭐️ SEO.BO (SEO agency) - https://seo.bo ⭐️ I Grow Younger - https://i.gy ⭐️ I Grow Younger on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@growyounger 💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 200K Domains Shock 01:02 SEO as Plunder 03:02 AI Website Factory 04:42 $500 Domain to $1M Lead 09:33 Restoring Aged Domains Safely 12:45 Churn and Burn iGaming Tactics 15:44 Aged vs New Domains 23:16 How Domain Catching Works 25:51 Buying Checklist and Indexing 29:21 Google Randomness and Sandbox 34:11 Best Deals and Crazy ROI 41:18 What Makes Domains Undervalued 45:01 Chess Lessons for Business 47:45 Chess as Athletic Performance 48:29 Mindset Hacks and Mantras 51:04 Why Chess Skills Mislead 55:13 Backlinks in Modern SEO 58:23 Gray Hat Economics Explained 01:03:36 PBN Evolution and Costs 01:07:00 PBN Mistakes to Avoid 01:10:35 Mundane SEO Pitfalls 01:18:40 Negative SEO Reality Check 01:25:08 AI Search and SEO Future 01:31:33 Rapid Fire Questions and Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: <a href= "https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward