The Claim: Domain History Is A Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n
Domains can potentially have many different and varying uses throughout their lifetime.<\/p>\n
A domain name used by a legitimate business today may have previously been used by a payday loan website, a piracy site, or any other type of website that Google frowns upon.<\/p>\n
Despite the website itself being new, domain history is said to be a factor for Google\u2019s search results in the present day.<\/p>\n
That means a new website could be held back in Google searches before it even has a chance to rank.<\/p>\n
Is this a genuine concern? Or is it all theoretical?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what the evidence says.<\/p>\n
The Evidence: Domain History As A Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n
On several occasions, Google has addressed the topic of domain history and its impact on rankings.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s consistently stated that how a domain was used in the past can be a factor in how Google treats it today.<\/p>\n
The impact can range from moderate to severe. The most severe issue a site owner could run into is acquiring a domain with a history of unresolved manual actions.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s manual actions don\u2019t go away on their own, even after the previous owner sells the domain or lets the registration lapse.<\/p>\n
If the penalties aren\u2019t dealt with, the domain\u2019s next owner may find their website demoted or deindexed right out of the gate.<\/p>\n
This issue is discussed in a video with former Googler Matt Cutts<\/a>, who recommended researching a domain before purchasing it.<\/p>\n A site owner can immediately determine if their domain has a manual action against it by checking the manual action report<\/a> in Google Search Console.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the worst-case scenario. But it\u2019s only a temporary setback, as all manual actions can be resolved.<\/p>\n In other cases, a domain may not have a penalty associated with it but might still have a negative history with Google.<\/p>\n In those cases, the site may still be impacted in search results. Google\u2019s John Mueller says that the issue will resolve itself over time<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Mueller, a domain with a brief history of bad activity is not a cause for concern. If the negative history dates back 10 years or more, that may be more difficult to recover from.<\/p>\n The history of any domain can be looked up at Archive.org.<\/p>\n
![\"Ranking](\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/rf-confirmed30-61557d41e01f8-sej.png\")
<\/p>\n