Hi, I just caught a valid PR6 domain and I would like to keep it's PR for some time. I would like to hear suggestions how not to lose this rank. Will any developed page do or it has to be something similar to previous site? And one more question: What is domain value based on its PR(6) only? Thank you
The general opinion, and the way Google tells it (see: ocaoimh.ie/2005/04/29/google-pagerank-resets-on-expired-domains/ ), is that once a domain drops, it's PR is reset. There have been claims from some webmasters that they've managed to retain the PR with no additional effort, but these claims are sparse at best. Are you looking to pick up the domain via Pool/Snapname/DomDat etc (i.e. has it fully dropped) or has it entered the 75 day deletion period? One good way to retain PR of expiring sites is to approach the owner before it drops, but that obviously means you're likely to pay more than just the reg fee.
I caught it through Pool.com, so the name has dropped and been re-registered. I'm not sure if PR has been reset, since there are still results at google for link:www.domain.com and site:www.domain.com. Also, many PR checkers show 6 as its current PR.
What PR checkers and toolbars report as the PR and what the PR actually is are two different things. For expired domains, it can take up to 4 months for the actual PR to start showing on checkers/toolbars. If it were me, I'd now treat it as a new domain. I know that's not what you want to hear, I remember buying my first dropped domain like this, thinking I'd snagged a PR7 site for pennies, but we live and learn. Don't let it get you down, if anything let it motivate you to learn more and propser more from domaining - it's a hell of a buzz when it pays off!
But, since it still has backlinks (many of them are high PR .edu links), what are the chances that PR will be set back to its previos rank?
I don't know exactly how Google works it (but then I guess only Google does) but I'd imagine than when the domain expires, the value of all links previously pointing to that domain are discounted, which in turn leads to the PageRank returning to 0. If you read the article above, you'll see that this reseting of PR is a measure taken by Google to stop people capitalizing from the link value of expired domains. It's a safe bet that if Google has gone out of their way to stop you doing this, it's not going to happen.
I've just done some reading and found more people who had positive experiences with this then those who completely lost their PR and backlinks. It is true that google resets all backlinks and PR for deleted names, but its not always the case. I guess I will have to wait few months to see if I am among those lucky ones...
I hope you are lucky with this and manage to somehow avoid Google's policies on expired domains. I would warn that many of those claiming to have retained PageRank may be under the toolbar illusion, something that looks good on-screen but not in the SERPs. Either way, best of luck to you!
Thanks. I still don't get one thing: What if I'm both previous and new owner of the domain name? Google would ignore all those previously gathered backlinks, although I don't deserve to be penalised.
since its backlinks are still there, especially from .edu site, most likely it would be able to gain back the PR value, maybe just suffer slight drop.
Many times the owner of a domain forgets or is unable to renew a domain (due to a problem with the reseller etc). A few expired domain owners have contacted me, wanting to buy back the expired domain, explaining the problem they faced in renewing the domains. If he re-registers the domain name and puts up the same site, why should he lose the PR? If the new website is on an unrelated subject then it will lose back links and PR.
Sadly that's how it has to work sometimes. Google can't be accountable for every single individual situation - they make decisions that will benefit the vast majority. The 75-day deletion period is ample opportunity for webmasters IMO - if your site's so valuable to you, why have you a) let it expire in the first place and b) not responded within the 75 days (first 60 days if you want to get technical). You've got think, Google is not the Internet. It's a private company providing a service to users of the Internet, and whilst so many of us rely on them for our business we need to continue to remember this. Google doesn't owe you anything if you've got a web site - it chooses to list you and rank you with its algorythm for its own benefit. When listing you is not beneficial, they will remove you. One great example of the Google love/hate relation is Google AdWords - a client of mine spends roughly $1,500 per day on Google AdWords, but recently his bill shot up to $66,300 for one day! Turns out that the competition had been utilizing click fraud to hammer my client's ads and max out his credit. Now, Google obviously puts a lot of effort into getting AdWords/AdSense business - what do they do when you have a problem? Very little! Sadly Google can be your best friend or the biggest bitch in the World.
To maintain the pagerank, you just have to maintain all the incomming links that you currently have for that domain.
also remember that PR and SERP are different things your domain dropped, so domain age has been reset to being a new domain if you maintain the links you might get good pr at next update, but the domain age is now new many good pr sites are not ranked very high in serp rankings, and I've seen alot of pr2 or pr3 sites ranking first page for competitive keywords don't get too into pr, as google is making the old style of pr and selling links go away
Hello, I have experience about it Google will NOT reset the PR if the domain KEEP the backlinks. Really I don't understand people that say Google reset the Page Rank. Again if the domain KEEP the backlinks the domain KEEP the PR. You need to have worry about backlinks, as you know Google NOT update everyday the backlinks, you need to check it by hand. Best, Jakomo
Hi, I think that to keep the PR or at least to gain it back quickly, you need to keep the same content as it was previously as if you change the site content the links the domain have will not be relevant. And at least you will have a lot of dead links as some of the incoming links are not targeting the domain but some inside pages. A.