Importance of Domain Age in Search Results?
April 16, 2008 | Author: Rob | Filed under: SEO and Marketing
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There is endless debate over the importance of domain age in calculating a sites search engine results position. (SERP) Most of us really don’t know what information and to what extent the search engines use to value the age of a domain in determining results and trust.
I was visiting Seo By the Sea a few days ago and Bill posted a wonderful post on the age of a domain affecting search results. This isn’t new stuff but it was discussing a patent where age of domain was mentioned which is a good sign. A lengthly discussion ensued and one of the coolest things about this site is that this A-List SEO Blogger will actually reply to every legitimate question asked. I was almost floored when my first question was replied to in 1 day and my second follow up in an hour.
Popular theory is that it’s the time in the index that counts so in theory an old domain from 1998 that has never been registered is of little value over one that was registered yesterday and has no history in the index. The proper value from an aged domain would be to take a site that has been online for years on a topic and revitalize it while staying true it it’s original niche. Since it’s been in the index so long it has a level of trust built. That’s one theory.
Another theory which I particularly like and believe has some truth to it is that age is dependent on registration. Logically most domains used for SPAM have already been used. People register a tone of $0.99 .info’s and spam away. Or they buy domains on sale or just regular price but the domain is used; blacklisted and dumped. If a domain has been registered for years and never dropped if it were an intended spam domain chances are in most cases it would of been used already… Therefor if you have a domain from say 1998 it should have more trust of not being spam then one registered 8 minutes ago. Some would say if you transfer the domain it would loose it’s “weight”. Personally I don’t think so as over a decade it’s natural for a domain to change hands; companies are formed, closed, people pass on etc…
The reality is that no one actually knows exactly what the algorithms use. Both theories have their pros and cons. If you can learn anything from this it would be don’t just blindly trust what you hear or read on one site. Look around and realize that there are any number of possibilities. I’m also hoping the second theory holds some weight as I’ve been shopping for domains lately. For some reason I became obsessed with owning a domain from the 1990’s with a keyword in it. I just think that as time goes on these will be invaluable and for pure geek reasons are pretty cool.
What are your thoughts on the role the age of a domain plays in search engine results?
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6 people have left comments
I guess I’ll go for the combination of two (if any
). The older it’s been indexed and the domain’s age itself.
Being indexed could be an indication of regular updates for the period.
Its similar to a common offline business, where a company survives for decaded has “automatically” gain more trust, because they do actions regularly(get indexed) than one established last year and hasn’t been proven immune to crisis.
Well, just my 2c..
I still wonder why transferred domains get skinnier…
Thanks for the comment. I can see your train of thought regarding the trust being build through regular updates and being comparable to an off-line business that has been around for 10 years. I
I’m not 100% sure I understand what you mean about transfered domains getting skinnier?
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment,
Rob
another related issue is that spammers also uses search result reputation to evade anti-spam engines.
@ Rob:
I meant they would loose “weight”
I wonder how that could happen…
Great post! I was just wondering about this this morning, and stumbled upon your post. Thanks
Thanks for the kind words Heidi; it’s just my thoughts on the subject. No one really knows for sure except the patent holders of the respective SE algorithms