A site’s external LinkSignal is a score out of 100 for its outbound (external) links, and for the link-related health of the site itself, right now. Most of it is about the sites you link to. A small part is about your own site, which is checked once per scan: this page covers the first of three parts, the registration of your own domain. The others are your certificate and HTTPS. The whole metric is described on the LinkSignal hub.
This part of LinkSignal is based only on this tool’s own findings. It is not linked to any search engine or third-party score, and it says nothing about PageRank. It records one fact, the date your domain registration runs out, and scores it by a rule that is published below.
What this part of your LinkSignal measures
Every scan looks up the registration of the domain the scanned site lives on and reads the date it expires. A domain that lapses takes the site down, takes email down with it, and leaves the name free for anyone else to register. That is the same takeover risk the scan looks for in the domains you link to, applied to your own.
How it is counted
The published rule is: 15 points if it has expired, 5 if it expires within 60 days. The warning window is 60 days. The most this part can take off is 15 points, and it is counted once per scan, however many pages the site has.
| Days left on the registration | Points lost |
|---|---|
| Already expired | 15 |
| Expires within 60 days | 5 |
| More than 60 days | 0 |
Expired costs more than close to expiry because the harm has already happened.
When the registry publishes no date
Some domain extensions publish no expiry date at all. When that happens nothing is scored, because nothing was found, and the report says the date was not recorded rather than guessing. A site on one of those extensions is not penalised or rewarded for it. It simply has no points riding on this part, so renewal still needs to be tracked at the registrar.
A worked example
A site whose domain expires in 20 days loses 5 points and scores 95, which is Strong, if nothing else was found. The same site with a domain that expired three days ago loses 15 points and scores 85, which is Good. With 200 days left it loses nothing and scores 100.
How it appears in your report
- Your site step in the report’s action plan: a Domain expires in figure, in a warning colour once it is inside the window. When it is, the suggested action is to renew the domain and switch on auto-renew, or to renew it now if it has expired.
- Your site panel in the Inventory: a Domain registration row giving the date it runs out and how many days are left, or Not published by the registry when there is no date.
- How this is worked out, in the LinkSignal card at the top: a row called Your own domain, showing the days left and the points lost, or not recorded for this scan on a check that did not read it.
How to get the points back
- Renew the domainSign in at the registrar where the domain was bought and renew it. If it has already expired, renew straight away: most registrars hold a name for a short time after expiry, but some release it quickly.
- Turn on auto-renewAuto-renew with a payment card that is not about to expire removes the usual cause of a lapse. Check that the renewal reminders go to an inbox someone reads.
- Consider a longer termRenewing for several years at once keeps the date well outside the warning window.
- RescanThe registration date is read again on every scan. Once the registry shows the new date, the points come back. Use rescan and compare to see the points come back.
What it does not mean
- It makes no claim about search rankings. LinkSignal records a date and applies a rule, nothing more.
- A clean result does not mean the domain is safe for good. It means the date was comfortably far off when the scan ran.
- It does not cover the domains you link to. Those are counted separately, under unregistered and expired links and linked domains about to expire.
Questions
Why is nothing shown for my domain?
The registry for some extensions publishes no expiry date. The report then says Not published by the registry and nothing is scored.
My domain is set to auto-renew. Why was it flagged?
The scan only sees the date. Inside the 60-day window it flags the date whether or not auto-renew is on. Once the renewal goes through the date moves and the flag clears on the next scan.
Is it checked on every page?
No. The site’s own domain is checked once per scan, however many pages were read.
Where can I read the full method?
Every rule, for the links and for your site, is on the methodology page.
Run a scan and the registration date is in the report, under Your site.
