If I purchase a URL that was used by someone else before me, does everything get reset to zero by Google? I realize that if there are links out there pointing to the base URL, they'll still count toward PR, but SERP's take into account (as I understand it) a URL's longevity (how long has it been around?, is it registered for more than 1 year into the future?). Obviously, this could be a good thing or a bad thing (depending on the footprint left behind). So, does Google recognize new ownership and zero everything out?
ya, you can say that once google saw the link changes, it reset the stuff. There is no reason for them not to do it
In their latest patent they made direct mention about not counting previous links when a site changes drastically. If you keep all the pages in tact, they might not reset it.
vansterdam is correct. Many businesses are purchased complete with the website, e.g. a restaurant, and no ranking changes occur because the content is substantially the same. If you replace the content, as can happen with affiliate sites, you start almost from scratch.
Thanks for the comment, but the question is about registration. In your excellent example about the restaurant, the new owners might like to keep the content the same but they might also like to transfer registration into their own name so that they have control and ownership over the domain. The original question was, when the domain name ownership changes, does Google reset everything to zero?
ownership has no affect on seo of a website , the serps change due to different theories applied by the owners
Well if a domain "Drops" and after that you register it...Google will reset everything to ZERO. However if its a simple ownership transfer, it won't effect much (Unless you choose to modify all the content etc.)