Some people think Google is using expired domain info to track down so-called “Private Blog Networks”.
About ten years ago I made a mint from expired domains. These weren’t good expired domains. They were just domains that had been used before, had lots of incoming links and nice Google juice.
I’d slap up a site full of pretty crappy content and wait for the search engines to come slurp it up. The ad clicks tallied up to over $1,000 a day for a short while.
Then Google got smart. It became a domain name registrar to get more data and started devaluing the previous SEO value of an expired domain when it went through the deletion cycle. That meant you were effectively starting over, and that was the end of my easy money.
Later, expired domain companies started doing direct transfer deals with registrars for expired domains. The expired domain company would transfer the domain to the auction winner before it went to pending delete. In whois, the registration date stayed the same.
This thwarted Google’s efforts, as Vint Cerf noted at an ICANN conference in 2006.
I got out of search gaming long ago. I realized any benefits I received were short lived, and it’s part of the reason I’m skeptical whenever someone pitches a mass-buildout product to the domain industry.
I thought Google later figured out a way to detect the direct transfer of expired domains and used that for ranking, but perhaps this isn’t the case. A number of people who’ve been buying expired domains and allegedly reaping search benefits from them say the domains are now being scrutinized for content quality.
Maybe.
It’s all anecdotal, but Matt Bentley of CanIRank.com has a roundup.
Some people think Google is using recently expired domains that now have content as a clue to track down so-called Private Blog Networks and slapping a manual penalty on them.
It’s not clear if Google is devaluing previous backlinks to the domains or is just using them as a way to track down these networks. Chatter is mostly about the latter.
If nothing else, this explains why people are buying crappy domains at GoDaddy Auctions.
The same previous claims that aged domains aren’t worth more than new registrations, only with added conspiracy. Nobody knows exactly what Google does or doesn’t do. Obviously, since content matters, parking isn’t a solution for domains that used to have traffic as developed web sites prior to dropping.
This could be a very significant development. If Google removes some of the incentive for SEO-motivated buyers of backlink-laden expired domains, their spending will be diverted. Where?
Some people are suggesting that this purchasing power will shift toward purchases of non-expired domains. That would benefit domain owners.
Of course, this SEO spending may not be redirected to domains at all. GoDaddy Auctions and other expired market places could lose a major source of revenue.
Or, rather than expired domains, SEOs could start buying sites that are still live and just keep them live with the same content. I bet there would be a market for a marketplace that sold such domains and sites. For example, I’ve still got at least 100 sites (blogs) that are still up and running that have been that way for 10 years. I’m sure someone would want them.
Bill, I would bet you’re correct. The market for websites isn’t quite as liquid as expiring domain auctions, but as quality links become harder and harder to get, the extra hassle (and expense) of buying a website starts to look a lot more appealing.
Do you mean a market for websites that are no longer active or generating revenue but the webmaster wants to sell it? There is definitely a market for this, but there would be a lot of challenges.
Typically when people buy a website they want to see traffic and revenue. If you don’t have either most people aren’t interested.
Buying a full website with good content, even if it’s not generating money, is still a better deal than buying an “aged domain” with zero content.
At the end of the day it comes down to quality content people come back for. I don’t care if someone was using a domain in the past or not, if I buy it and build a quality product it always has good chance. If the domain is better keywords it might have better chances. If you build a business hoping for “residual traffic” you are not building a long term sustainable business. Sort of like you said with “mass build-out” products.
When building a new business I will always go with the best domain I can find. Does not matter if it comes from my portfolio. Or I bought it off an existing company. Or bought it on the drop. A good domain (ehm BRAND) is worth more than old backlinks everyday.
Google targeting expired domain! maybe true … SEO should buy sites that are live
The same previous claims that aged domains aren’t worth more than new registrations, only with added conspiracy. Nobody knows exactly what Google does or doesn’t do. Obviously, since content matters, parking isn’t a solution for domains that used to have traffic as developed web sites prior to dropping.
Hello,
The original post is dated 18 months ago and the query being posed was whether google is targeting expired domains to track down PBNs.
Well, if they are, they’re not doing a very good job. It hasn’t stopped many an SEO from blocking crawlers so their networks remain undetected and PBN blog links have helped another site of mine finally reach #6 on page 1 for a very competitive keyword phrase.
Take a look around a certain SEO forum concerning a type of ‘hat’ and you’ll find plenty of PBNs doing very well despite panda, penguin & hummingbird!
Hey, do you know why i now googled this? This is perfect prediction in 2014 & ha-pend in 2017, I slapped from google using this technique.