April 30, 2014

Buying a new domain can be a challenging task for anyone who is looking to have credible presence in the virtual world through a website. As there is no way of determining whether the domain was previously in the bad books of search engine giant Google, many people are wary when it comes to buying domains. Many of the domain names are such that they have already been destroyed by spammers.

In this context, Google’s head of web spam, Matt Cutts has offered some tips that will make the task of buying a new domain simpler. Read on to know more.

  • The first step Cutts recommends is doing a site-colon search with the domain name that you are looking to buy. It would look something like this- site: domain_name. In case no results show up for that domain, it is an indicator that you should avoid buying it. Even if that domain has content, it is still advisable to avoid buying it.
  • An added step to the site-colon search would be applying the same on Bing. If results show up there and not on Google, it is a very obvious sign that the domain name in question is a bad one. So it is in your best interest to avoid a domain name that shows up in Bing but not on Google.
  • A simple search with the domain name, sans dot com or any other extension can also be pretty helpful. This will help the prospective buyer of that domain name to have a fair idea about the site’s reputation.
  • Another resource that could be pretty useful to those who are looking to buy domain names is Archive.org, wherein previous versions for a particular domain can be seen. Going through these versions will show whether the domain contained spammy or auto-generated content before. This again will help in making a decision whether to buy the domain or not.
  • Next recommendation offered by Matt is for those looking to buy a domain name from a current website owner. In such a situation, going through the site’s traffic analytics can provide useful insights into unusual trends, if any. In case something different or out of context is observed, you can forego that domain name and look for another one.

Buying domain names that are clean can be tricky. ‘Buyer’s beware’ is the watchword here. Trying some of the methods recommended by Matt Cutts as mentioned above, could simplify your task; you will be aware of what you are up against.

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