Choice of aged domain URL

[Ideaswise]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy an existing domain name on someone's behalf (I was advised to do this for the SEO benefits) and have a shortlist of the following which I found on expireddomains.net. They've all been around for a while and I've checked that they weren't previously adult sites or similar. However, I'm not sure about other factors involved and whether they would help or hinder him as regards SEO.

Which, if any, of these would you recommend please:

Caliberservices.co.uk – been around since 2004 but small site and not done much to it.

Optimoservices.co.uk – originally part of Optimo Software (optimosoftware.co.uk) which is still going and seems a decent site. They kept it going for several years but obviously decided not to pursue it. Optimo are only a small business and not well-known, so I don't see it as a problem from that point of view.

Prima-services.co.uk - seems to fit the criteria, except it says ‘back order’ rather than register. Does that mean the original registrant may want to re-register it?


Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[makeusvisible]

Hi there.

How are you planning to glean an SEO benefit from the purchase?

A domain is only going to pass any benefit if;

1. There is an existing site there which has good equity with Google, which you are planning to retain/restructure and pass relevant links from, to your main site.

2. You are planning to launch your own site on the domain and use it as your main business site.

If you could advise what your plan is for the domain then perhaps we can better answer the question?

 

[fisicx]

Like he said, there is no real SEO benefit in just the domain name unless there is matching content that Google has indexed and ranked. But if your friend is now going to change the content all those SEO benefits will disappear.

So whoever suggested to buy an aged domain name is talking out their SEO bottom.

 

[makeusvisible]

The number of times I have been into one of our client accounts and seen them register multiple keyword rich domains, or asked about buying keyword rich domains.... well, it's a lot! I've seen clients with 20+ domains with keywords in. The truth is, that this brings absolutely ziltch benefit.

Of course if your buying a competitor's domain, and your going to retain it as a lead generation site...that is a totally different story. The word 'domain' is what clouds the water....a domain will never benefit anyone from an SEO perspective..... unless you do something with it, and even then, unless done properly you stand more chance of doing harm than good.

 

[Ideaswise]

It's going to be a new site in a business unrelated to what the original URL was for. I was told that buying any existing site at least two years old, with a good track record and no penalties would be the way to go, rather than simply registering a brand new URL. Is that not correct?

 

[makeusvisible]

The Google Algorithms contain literally thousands of measures to determine who should rank on Google, and why. What you have been advised is to try to gain an advantage in just one of those metrics by purchasing a domain which has some age with Google.

Domain age is a factor... but in the grand scheme of things an extremely small one in this scenario.

Id advise that you buy a domain name containing your brand name, and focus on that. It will improve brand awareness and buyer confidence, and will far outweigh the benefits of trying to circumvent just one of Google's ranking metrics.

 

[fisicx]

I was told that buying any existing site at least two years old, with a good track record and no penalties would be the way to go, rather than simply registering a brand new URL. Is that not correct?

No it's not correct. You have no idea if there are any penalites or what the track record is. I registered a new about a week ago, installed the site and it's already ranking well.

Who was this SEO charlatan?

 

[Miriam Terry]

The recent update Google just had is giving aged domains an edge over younger domains so from the update it would suggest that an aged domain has the upper hand.... But like the other guy said there are still other factors to consider, one being is that site banned from Google?

 

[fisicx]

It's not the domain - it's the content on the site that Google wants. What Google is looking for is sites that have been around for a while. An old domain name with brand new content won't gain any advantage. Even less so if the new content is for a different business.

 

[Ideaswise]

Fisicx, I'm not sure I should name her. But it's just as well I found out about all this now, so thanks to you and the other respondents. She did send me a list of completely unsuitable and irrelevant aged domain names and wanted me to register one immediately as she said they would likely go quickly, and then got upset when I told her none were suitable (despite a clear written brief). Over a week later, they're all still available (unsurprisingly as there are some truly ridiculous ones among them, like bay-watch.co.uk and will-smith.co.uk) and I still have no domain name.

But it looks like a brand new one is the way to go. And it looks like I might have dodged a bullet.

 

[fisicx]

There is nothing wrong with using an existing domain name if it's the right one for your business. But there is no ranking benefit unless these is a website to go with it and you aren't going to change anything.

People used to buy exact match domain name and redirect to their main site in the vain hope it would boost ranking (it didn't) or buy an existing domain with a gazillion inbound links because they thought this would help rank their new site (it didn't)

 

[Clinton]

@fisicx is right. The advice you got about aged domains did work ... many, many years ago. I bought hundreds of aged domains in my time and used them for various purposes (link networks, PR funneling etc) and played various SEO games with them. But that's all ancient history.

You're better off starting with a new domain.

 

[Ideaswise]

Thanks to all for your help. I'm amazed about the original advice I received from someone quite well known and, I had thought, well-regarded. Anyway, a brand new domain is clearly the way ahead.

 

[fisicx]

So stop using them for SEO advice maybe?

 

[Ideaswise]

Damn right I will. She had already got the hump when I told her the names she suggested were clearly unsuitable. I had thought she was simply in a hurry and had overlooked my brief (her list of unsuitable URLs seemed to be based on those which had only just become available) but now it appears that as well as being unprofessional, she simply didn't know what she was doing.

 

[Clinton]

There was a time, some years ago, when Google operated what people referred to as a sandbox. New domains were automatically put into this sandbox and didn't feature in SERPs. They had to earn the right to feature in the main index, and this took a long time. In that backdrop it made sense to pay a premium for established domains with a long history, particularly ones that had never dropped in WHOIS.

Today the story is different. It's possible to get a new domain ranking within minutes of registering it!

Anyway, you've learnt something useful today i.e. you need a new SEO