: When seeking to acquire a legacy domain from a site owner, what should I look for in the domain history? What kinds of things should I look for when seeking to purchase a legacy domain (i.e.

@Turnbaugh106

Niche Check

Ideally you should never consider a domain that has been used for several years that has been used for a non-related niche to your own as this leaves a digital footprint which Google will associate that site. Now this isn't to say it can't be done but more time, more money is required to get Google to believe the site is now about Cars and now not about Cats...

I recommend checking wayback and other history services.

Backlink Check


Always check the quality of the backlinks.
Relevant links are good and non-relevant links could be seen as spam by Google.
Recommend using a reputable link profiling company like SEO Majestic.
If low-quality links are found see if it could be possible to remove any.


Citation Check


You should check if the domain has been used for a business registered address.
If Yes... then this is extremely hard and you have a lot of clean up too do. You're need to contact all directories and get them to update the telephone, address, website and other information.. Google takes more factors into consideration than ever.


Social Present

You should also consider about the social presence of the domain, if the domain has been used and is very popular on social media then it can make this process that much harder as it will be impossible to clear up this side. If people have been sharing content about pages that are relevant then this is a plus, however if its not its a huge negative as this you won't be able to fix.

Consider Domain Buying Coming to a END

Highly debatable but many people who I speak to claim that domain buying, using and selling is not what it used to be. Google have made it extremely harder because of the abuse. Google doesn't want companies buying up domains simply to boost and manipulate search results even through its still very possible now assuming you buy like for like on the niche department. Personally I would only ever considering buying a high traffic domain if the niche is 100% relevant, otherwise your feel the wrath of Google because of the past links and this will go against you.

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