Do dropped domains retain PageRank?

Looking for some thoughts on this topic...

Now, knowing that toolbar PageRank is only updated every few months, though PageRank is truly updated in real time by Google, it makes it hard for those of us buying dropped domains to tell if they are still carrying any juice.

If you take precautions, do dropped domains retain PageRank in the next update? What is your experience?


By precautions, I mean steps like:

• keeping the URL structure the same
• putting content related to what was previously on the domain
• not 301 redirecting the domain somewhere else

 

I have heard that it sometimes does -- at least temporarily.

 

A lot of people don't realize that the toolbar PageRank value is only updated every few months, so they buy a dropped domain and it shows the PR for the next 2 or 3 months, then loses it. Then they say that they kept it for a while, but it disappeared. In reality, in those cases, it probably disappeared right around the time they bought it.

I am really interested in the experience of people who have seen dropped domains retain their PageRank AFTER the next confirmed update.

 

That said... When is the next update?!

 

I can tell you the answer after the next PR update, because I happened to register a domain which turned out to have PR2.

Google can delete PR, but it can't delete links pointing to the domain. I highly doubt Google has a special sandbox for backlinks that were pointing to the domain.

 

I purchased a PR5 dropped domain. It went down to a PR2 after the newest update. The thing is though, is that I had one of the biggest and mosti mportant backlinks still going to it. I'm absolutely certain that thats what kept it afloat.

 

Never bought a dropped domain before, but the precautions you are taking seem good. I would go a step further and change the content pages gradually, rather than in one big step. That way it looks like the website is being updated naturally rather than replaced.

 

Interesting... Did you gain any new links between the time you bought the domain and the time the PR dropped?

 

I wouldnt get a dropped domain unless its previous user used it for the same exact reason you are planning on using it.

 

on my previouse experience purchase domain with site! PR2, after brought it for two months PR still the same without the previouse site, I installed Wordpress after have brought it.

So, PR2 remain the same .

 

me is doubted.. bcz droped domain loosing the rank within a week and retain is possible only if the BL remians the same

 

May be, if the BL are removed from the domain the PR would not be there in next updates.

 

I am talking about if all (or at least most of) the backlinks remain.

 

It's usually a good 1st step to check if the PR is valid - I use checkpagerank.net. If it is, do a little research into the backlinks (in Google & Yahoo), if they are all in order then I usually bite the bullet (depending on price).

In my experience, I have had site lose PR & then get it back again, not lose any PR and most often lose a little green, but not all. In my opinion, if it is has good backlinks then there is no reason that it shouldn't retain some PR (as long as you get decent content on and keep up the link building process).

In terms of precautions, in an ideal world, I would try to register & host it with the same company(s) that it was originally. I don't worry about url structure and content being the same.

Also, it's a good idea to seach Google's cached pages for that domain, as there are usually other sub-pages that have got some PR & if you set up 301s for them to your main subpages then you are getting several PR pages instead of just the homepage.

HTH

 

Good tips... one of my SEO clients buys dropped domains like crazy, and one of my most frequent tasks for him is finding deeplinks to these sites and 301 those inner pages to the homepage.

And I'm never surprised when I do a cache: on the domain for sale showing PR and see that it was just a 302 redirect to another domain.

 

Yes - definately one to watch out for! I use the following string in Google to check for that:

info:domain.com

If it is just a redirect to another domain, it will show the other domain in the results, instead of the one you are buying. NEVER buy one of those!

 

Absolutely not, Google resets the value of PR to 0 as soon as owner changes.
They know everything so buying dropped pr domain not a advisable thing.

 

It is not true that they reset PR once ownership changes. I sold a PR4 site several months ago that was ranking #1 for a popular keyword, it still ranks #1 and still has its PR.

Of course, it wasn't dropped... but the WHOIS information and the nameservers did change.

 

agree.
Google reset PR only if you reset page and made maybe linkfarm or non-origin-relevant content

 

There is a BIG chance it will lose its pagerank on the next update, if its a dropped domain. All the dropped domains I got in the last 3 years, lost pagerank after the update.