I've just spotted a website that is for sale that is related to mine - infact it used to sell the exact same thing - and it is DMOZ listed in an appropriate category whereas I am not. Other than the DMOZ listing it has virtually no backlinks and the pr is only a 2. Do you think it is worth scooping this site up and using a 301 to effectively gain a DMOZ link? Thoughts?
I'm very interested in buying it but i couldn't use it instead of mine. The name is rubbish and we're working on a strong brand identity. Also we're at a pr3 already with the live prediction tools putting us at 5 (before they were made useless). I know why you're saying that though and if it was before we'd put in so much development we might of done. Can you see any potential bad points about redirecting an old site to this new one?
Thanks for the advice honey but we just can't do it but i do understand the benefits and reasons why we should. This set me off on a little mission - i took a look through the revelant category in DMOZ for which there are 550+ listed sites. Going through the first few i have already found a few domains that are no parked and obviously the site for sale as mentioned above. Why WOULDN'T you buy all the now parked domains from the owners and redirect them?
Old DMOZ listed domains are pretty valuable so buy them if they are a good price. I have never had the opportunity to do this so can't really say whether it will help you or not.
So... i'vr just gone through half of my dmoz category and i've found 6 domains that have expired/sites no longer exist. Is it a good idea to get ALL of these domains and redirect or just one? 6+ dmoz listings does sound a little suss!
Redirecting any dmoz listed domain will be temporary at best. Redirects are automatically flagged and reviewed. Redirecting as you intend to do will only get the listing deleted. Expired domains are automatically flagged and reviewed. Don't waste your time with an expired domain if all you're after is the dmoz listing. Try and grab it before it expires.
Creed - I'm not sure I fully understand or agree. Whilst finding these domains i also came across many that have already been redirected to new domains yet the listing is still active. Do you mean 'flagged' by DMOZ or do you mean by SE's?
Flagged by dmoz. But feel free to try it. All I ask is that when the listing does get deleted, please let me know (check your PM).
What if that website had been penalized by Google. If you did a 301 redirect wouldnt it hurt the site he was directing to? Also if you have an older domain that you want to point to a newer domain is that wise? Does it have any benefits to do a redirect to a newer domain.
Its really hard to define an exact rule on this as there are so many external factors to consider. A site banned in google could be banned for a number of reasons. If the ban was due to onsite tactics or outgoing links then you would expect the ban to be lifted once the site was 301'ed to a new location. Whether the new site would be penalized is impossible to say. If the ban was due to incoming links and you 301'ed the site then the incoming links would point at the new domain instead and we can assume the ban would be transferred as well. Anyone considering a redirect should check every single incoming link before doing a 301.
Mad in your opinion would the older site being 301 to the neweer site have any positive effects on the newer site being sandboxed?
There is speculation that the sandbox is the result of a filter to discount the weight of new backlinks and its this that holds sites back rather than a penalty on the site itself. If this is the case then its fair to assume that the older site will have older backlinks and they will not be subject to any 'new link' filter. Whether this will apply after a 301 redirect is hard to say. My thoughts are that it shouldn't but it might.
Buy it, and make it an affiliate of your main site that send the visitors across for buying, you can then have two sites ranking.
If you are concerned about having too many domain names pointing to your existing website, there is no need for concern. You can have as many as you want pointing to one site and not incur any penalty. Its only when you create duplicate sites that you are at risk.