[TrackerFF]

I don't remember the exact name for this marketing strategy, but that's how some of the black- and grey hat marketers made millions upon millions the past decades.

One marketer I know made his fortune (as in tens of millions) buying up dead sites, often for dissolved companies / organizations / etc., kept the design somewhat relevant to said entities, but filled the site with ads and referral links to gambling sites / credit cards / etc.

And as seen with Groklaw, it still works. Whenever I see some old semi-popular website call it quits, it just takes a couple of months until it becomes a landing or referral page for something crypto.

[Anamon]

They don't just keep the design, but usually also the content. Prime currency with search engines and not something they could otherwise easily get their hands on.

It's what happened with Adventure Gamers, for example. Decades worth of adventure game reviews and interviews still available -- now with a slight thematic shift where new articles are all about "reviewing" online casinos.