long term domain = better SEO?

[cavemanlawyer15]

I was on the horn with Godaddy, and the guy told me that Google and other search engines have, built into their algorithm, a domain expiration check. He said that often times they will give a little extra juice to sites sitting on a domain that are reserved for a long time, i.e. expiring in 2017 beats expiration in 2008.

Is this true? Does anyone know how big a factor this is?

Thanks
PB

[Forrest]

Of course, the guy who told you this (1) had a vested interest in selling you a longer-term domain registration, and (2) probably has never worked for Google.

[scuba5794]

i have heard this before but i dont know if i believe it. The best thing to do probably is to test the theory and see if it works. Experience is often the best teacher when it comes to SEO, atleast that is what i have found.

[tobycoke]

My understanding is that age is related more to how long you have been in the Google index than how old the domain is. A 2 year old domain that has been indexed for 2 years in Google will do better than a 7 year old domain with no history. Age is a minor factor in the algorithm -focusing on backlinks and content will give better results. Buying an old domain is not a 'magic bullet' or short0cut to quick ranking success.

[bigbluesky2006]

No idea and i'm sure the only people who do know are Google themselves.

I'm pretty sure GoDaddy are just telling you this to sell you a longer registration.

It doesn't sound like it is something that Google would pay that much attention too. There are many many factors in their PageRank algorithm, so I'm not going to say it isn't in there but I'm sure it's not like some magic bullet that's going to get you ranked over other sites.

[TopDraw]

Age is not a factor...and here's the proof

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=make+money+online&btnG=Google+Search

from this thread

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=478249

Notice the number 2 listed is a blog from a 13 year old kid. :D

Out of 231,000,000 results ?

Nah, Google is toying with everyone now.

[RoyalSeo]

Well, its like there is say.

If you register a domain name for long time period. Google will get a trust factor that you wont be setting up MFA Kind of sites, which are there for short time gain.

Its also, that when you register for longer time period in advance. You will have better plans with the domain name.

But its always myth. A 2 month website can rank well, if done with proper link building.

[pipes]

It sounds like one of the many myths around google and the other search engines.