July 27 2009
Choosing between old domains and new
I see an increasing number of people turning to the purchase of old domains in the hope of benefitting from someone else’s work. There are times when this trick works and times when it fails. The difference between success and failure often comes down to what you yourself do, rather than what the other guy did.
When it comes to acquiring old or “aged” domains, you’re probably better off obtaining domains that are still functional rather than expired domains. An expired domain has lost its content and may have lost some of those links you feel are so important. A domain that is still up and running probably hasn’t lost anything. Some people routinely negotiate domain transfers without actually changing the domain registrant information. Sometimes it is as simple as changing the email addresses on the registrant account, but some operators remain behind the scenes.
Of course, if you’re going to hide the transfer of control you leave yourself vulnerable to dirty tricks by the original domain registrant. Lawyers and corporate asset managers are probably evolving something we could call Domain Sub-leasing, where the original registrant retains control over the domain name and the name is simply sub-leased for a period of time to the new user. There are no requirements for disclosure in these types of agreements at this time, so far as I am aware (note: this is not legal advice – confer with an attorney).
There are many dirty tricks people can play on you when you go looking for aged domains. For example, they can buy links to those domains and puff up their Toolbar PageRank and/or backlink profiles to fool you into thinking the domains have a lot of value. They can also burn the domains through spammy uses and, seeing penalties start to kick in, unload them on unsuspecting purchasers. And there are worse things domain sellers can do to you.
For most people I would say that the cost of acquiring an aged domain is prohibitive. You don’t really have the resources to vet it and you probably don’t have the resources to go after someone who burns you. If all you end up with is a domain that is under a spam penalty you can at least take down the old content, put up new content, and ask for reconsideration.
But why go to that trouble when you could just buy a new domain name?
Some people acquire old domains for their brand value but a lot of recycled names I have looked at had little to no brand value. If you cannot find mentions of the domain name on the Web (such as in news stories, blog articles, and Web directories — places people are likely to see the name) it has no brand value. Don’t pay a premium for that name.
Some people acquire old domains because they align with new marketing initiatives. For example, your company may want to rebrand itself using a different trademark. The old domain name might match that trademark. You can pay a pretty penny for that but what is the return on investment? How much trademark confusion will there be even if you pick up a failed company’s mark?
With a new, previously unused domain name you have a clean slate. You don’t have to worry about previous penalties, trademark confusion, Vanishing Link Syndrome, or other potential liabilities that come with aged domains. You do have to build value into the new domain, of course.
But sometimes building value in a new domain is the fastest, least expensive way to search success. If you can’t really show that buying an older domain makes good business sense (that is, if you cannot show you’re not exposed to any potential problems), you’re more likely better off starting with a new domain than with an old one.
Written by Michael Martinez
