Domain age

[kanishka]

Hey people,

I wanted to know why the age of the domain play a vital role??

I mean why some people only prefer aged domains??

Also , people try not to buy new domains,even though the name is good...Why is it?

 

[InsanerDomainer]

Good question. The only reasons I can think of... with age it becomes more likely people will remember old websites on that name. Also it beomes more likely the name has hidden value- the normal pricing mechanism didn't work because it simply wasn't for sale, so buyers weren't even thinking about it.

 

[Premiere]

Assuming that an old domain has no traffic, no backlinks, no dmoz or yahoo directory entries, no pagerank, and no indexed pages, then at the present time there is no real difference. Google does have an algorithm to increase pagerank based on domain age but it is not implemented and might never be.

However, many see old domains as always having some residual properties not available in new domains, which could very well be somewhat true. There are also those that contend that an old domain simply looks better on WHOIS, and that buyers who actually know a little about domains discriminate to a degree against newer names, believing that the property can't be too hot if no one registered it before a certain date which is all relative to the buyer's perspective.

But Rick Schwartz regularly sells handregged domains for big sums of money. So you have a valid arguments on either side of the table. I tend to have old domains but I have definitely sold new ones for just as much.

 

[Archangel]

I was taught this (someone correct me if I'm wrong):

Google favors older websites, as they are more established. Newer sites go into the "sandbox" for awhile. Well, since Google can't really tell how old a SITE is, they look at a site's DOMAIN. Thus a 1996-regged domain (assuming it never dropped) would do better by default than a 2007-regged domain.

 

[Jaco]

I was taught this (someone correct me if I'm wrong):

Google favors older websites, as they are more established. Newer sites go into the "sandbox" for awhile. Well, since Google can't really tell how old a SITE is, they look at a site's DOMAIN. Thus a 1996-regged domain (assuming it never dropped) would do better by default than a 2007-regged domain.

Lulz. Just, lulz.

 

[Archangel]

I respect your lulz but could you justify them? I've been tinkering with web development & SEO since 2002 or so. This is what SEO experts have been saying for YEARS. Although Google might have changed its ways in the past year or 2, this at least at time was true. So please don;'t laugh at a fact. It makes you look stupid.

Lulz. Just, lulz.

 

[Jaco]

My favorite part was this...

Well, since Google can't really tell how old a SITE is, they look at a site's DOMAIN.

You think the G master algo doesn't give weight to the age of indexed pages? Or that the age of indexed pages are a "mystery" to G and that the domain are alone is the sole arbiter of serp weight/trustrank? If you've been doing this since 2002 and still haven't figured that out, I'd suggest getting tested for a learning disability. I'm not laughing "at a fact". I'm laughing at you.

 

[gladdy]

some people just like old domains, its just like collecting coins and stamps. age adds a value.

 

[Archangel]

It can't tell by more than the age of the splash page file ie index.php Let's assume your site's splash page was made in 1995 and then you replaced it with a page you made in 2005. Should Google now believe your site is a decade younger? No. Any seasoned SEO expert can tell you that aged domains play a vital role (although some have debated it, claiming the length of a domain's registration is more important. Eh, take a pick.)

My favorite part was this...

 

[InsanerDomainer]

So how much does age affect value? Is a domain worth twice as much after 5 years, or say, 10? What if it's old, but it was dropped and unused for a while?

 

[Jaco]

It can't tell by more than the age of the splash page file ie index.php Let's assume your site's splash page was made in 1995 and then you replaced it with a page you made in 2005. Should Google now believe your site is a decade younger? No. Any seasoned SEO expert can tell you that aged domains play a vital role (although some have debated it, claiming the length of a domain's registration is more important. Eh, take a pick.)

As best I can tell, registration contiguity might have a slight bump, but lets say we're working with a master formula that assigns weight based on an available pool of 500 points. "domain age" is probably worth 10; by itself, insignificant enough to totally disregard, considering there are several proactive, dynamic things that can be done in terms of development and content to totally negate whatever miniscule advantages it offers.

 

[malcarada]

Google keeps changing its algorythm I think it is impossible to know if they favour old age domains or not, if that is the case then it is secret as Google FAQ have never said such thing, and since it is secret likehood is that age domain is pure speculation.

 

[steveteva]

This was true in 2008 but since then they change their algorithm as new domains could be more intersting when real contents than old ones with no updates.

 

[DnEbook]

also some domains are new because the technology they relate to is new , is this a bad thing ?

 

[sashas]

I was taught this (someone correct me if I'm wrong):

Google favors older websites, as they are more established. Newer sites go into the "sandbox" for awhile. Well, since Google can't really tell how old a SITE is, they look at a site's DOMAIN. Thus a 1996-regged domain (assuming it never dropped) would do better by default than a 2007-regged domain.

Quite true, Sir. A website I own was hovering at no. 7 or 8 for its keyword for quite a while. After the domain aged about 6-7 months, it jumped up automatically to number 2.

 

[Jaco]

Quite true, Sir. A website I own was hovering at no. 7 or 8 for its keyword for quite a while. After the domain aged about 6-7 months, it jumped up automatically to number 2.

That's just the sandbox.
The idea that "a 1996 domain would do better by default than a 2007 name" is wrong and very, very misleading.

 

[sashas]

That's just the sandbox.
The idea that "a 1996 domain would do better by default than a 2007 name" is wrong and very, very misleading.

I wouldn't argue that because I honestly don't know a lot about this. The sandbox is true, the other thing about age is debatable.

So if you want to avoid the sandbox, get an old domain.

 

[Kate]

Skipping the sandbox is one reason for buying old domain names.
A second reason is to benefit from the history of the domain name (if it's been developed, acquired backlinks & traffic etc).
A third reason is credibility: some people like to use old domain names to establish 'history', it's the same principle as off the shelf corporations.

 

[TexasDomainer]

Hey people,

I wanted to know why the age of the domain play a vital role??

I mean why some people only prefer aged domains??

Also , people try not to buy new domains,even though the name is good...Why is it?

maybe cz some old domains have pr..

 

[metrisoft]

Staying out of the sandbox alone is enough to justify an increased value for domains that are aged at least 6 months. The sandbox really blows. Aged domains are also more likely to be indexed, which can help with re-indexing.