Domain Name Registration Periods and PR

I've read that G gives more weight to domains registered for longer periods of time.

Has anyone noticed any difference in their PR relative to the registry period of their domain names?

 

This is What i also came to know some where in this forum.

 

I seriously doubt that is true.

I think if the whois record shows your site has been around since 1995 and is still going, that may factor into Google's evaluation in a small way.

The way many forum posters are interpreting this, however, is that Google will value your site more highly is you go out and purchase a 10 year registration on your new or existing site. IMO, this is silly and simplistic - Google is not that naive.

In other ways, it may be retroactive but I highly doubt it's related at all to trying to predict the future.

 

Interpretation, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Longevity does seem to count for Google as it tends to add some level of "stickiness" and validity to a site.

In reviewing the plethora of interpretations of the infamous Google patent filing, there seems to be no doubt on the aforementioned. However, there also seems to be some speculation, that sites with longer registrations, tend to indicate a "commitment" to being online longer with that site, hence not as likely to be spammers that know they won't last.

I'm in no position to confirm or deny that speculation, but as far as I can figure for myself, if it's a site that I'm committed to, I will generally spend the extra dollars and give longer expirations dates anyway - IF that helps with Google, so be it, but I've honestly seen no proof of that; I have sites with expirations that go year-to-year, and they're ranking just fine.

 

That's what I can't understand-- most registrars that I've seen these days don't give significant discounts for multiple years, so what's a legitimate business person's motivation to register for more than 1 year at a time? I personally just renew a year at a time, though I did just renew one of my domains for 8 more years to test this theory. As of today, the keywords for the domain are recovering somewhat in Google, but so are my other sites that I did not renew, so I can't attribute it to this change...


--
Derek

 

The speculation is based on the notion that Google will assume a 10 year registration means the site owner is genuine as supposed to a fly-by-night spammer or scammer.

The logic of this completely escapes me. If I am a get-rich-quick scammer, given that domain registrations are going for as little as $5.95 a year, if I thi8nk that spending $59 or so will help me make a few hundred or a few thousand, would I not see that as a reasonable expense of doing business even if I know I'm going to dump the site in 6 months (cf. pixel sites)? And does anyone really believe Google hasn't thought of this?

 

I totally agree. I belive counting on age of the site is more sensible than the expiration date.

 

godaddy warns their customers before they purchase a domain that search engines take the registration length into consideration, whether this is true or not, i always buy mine for 2 years

 

I buy domains from Godaddy, most recently about a month ago. I've never seen any such warning.

Even if it IS there somewhere, bear in mind that the seller is not an unbiased bystander. When a car salesman is trying to sell you a hybrid car, does he tell you that the electrics don't even kick in until you are going under 50 kph so that most of the time you are traveling on gasoline anyway? Does he also tell you that if you so much as hit a deer your chances of survival are next to zero? Of course not - he tells you what he thinks is most likely to make the sale. And then when he's done that, he'll tell you whatever he thinks you need to hear to get you to cough up for the extended warranty...

 

I buy all of my domains from GoDaddy and have never received such a "warning" ... however, they do default their registration periods to 2 yrs and you have to manually change them ... looking out for your interest or their bottom line?

 

Yeah have read this at so many places. But godaddy also give you the choice of manually adding funds later if you want in already registered domain. Means if you regged a domain by listake for one year and would like to have it for two years after one or two moths just clcik on renew now button.

Thanks.

 

I've never gotten the warning either from godaddy when ordering online. If you call them to register they will tell you about the length of registration issue. I've had this happen several times.

 

Check out this pic
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/tylerjremington/godaddy.jpg

I was wrong in calling it a "warning" but they do point it out
I see your points minstrel, and if I would been as educated on it as I am now then I probobly woulndnt have gone for the 2 year duration.

 

That looks a little like scaremongering to me. Is there a link to that paragraph they claim is a quote from Google?

 

It's mentioned In a patent application from Google:
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...&s1=20050071741&OS=20050071741&RS=20050071741

 

Wow. Good post Muchacho. Can you point us to where it says this in the application? I don't think I speak leaglese well enough to find it .

 

Search for this text in that document:

 

Kind of an amazing read to me. I have ranked well for years and have never registered ANY of my 30+ domains for more than a year at a time. My thinking is that each year registration might come down a bit more. That thinking has paid off for me. Domains used to be a lot of money per year to register back in 1998 and I'm sure even more before then.

Back to my main domain, PhoenixHomes.com... it is registered annually and has enjoyed #1 and #2 positions in Google for years for most of the targeted KWP's until recently when I slipped to #3 for one of my big KWP's.

Still, I would believe Google takes into consideration length of time registered to date before they would consider length of time into the future a site is registered.

Anyone can register a domain for ten years, but not everyone has had one registered for the past ten years.

My $0.02

 

I couldn't agree more.

I don't think Google is taking into consideration the length of time a domain is registered in advance. I only purchase 1 year registration for all of my domains.

 

Back to GoDaddy... how could they get away with this?