So you’ve decided to create a website. New website on the old domain: pros and cons. Buy a new domain name or buy a newly released one with a rating.
Let’s try to understand.
New domain
A few subtleties associated with the acquisition of a domain name:
- The domain should reflect the website’s theme as clearly as possible (stroymat.com, auto.com, etc.).
- You can search for a domain name with keywords. It is, of course, not an important ranking factor, but it takes into account.
- At the very least, search engines highlight keywords in a domain name that attracts users’ attention: accordingly, clickability in search results will be higher. And the more often they click, the higher the website is ranked.
- The domain name should be easy to remember, have an unambiguous spelling. Choose a shorter term, if possible, without unnecessary hyphens, underscores.
- Must have a domain zone, preferably a higher level.
- Do not choose a little-known domain zone, such as .glass, .bingo, etc.
Let’s return to the choice. Usually, the desire to buy an old domain arises for two reasons:
- The same convenient, short, ideal option you came up with is already busy but put up for sale.
- The old domain is trust by search engines, it has links, so it is easier to promote.
A new domain is a blank sheet of paper on which you have to write your story from scratch. But the new domain does not disappoint with various filters and sanctions of inherited search engines, and it can cost much cheaper than the old one. We have already written about the rules of choosing a domain name here.
Old domain
The main advantage of the old domain, as already mentioned, will be its popularity. Therefore, an already promoted domain and the correct transfer of a new website can simplify the promotion of the resource.
This requires the right approach:
- The subject of the website should be the same or very close to what it was before. For example, you should not buy a domain name that had a car sales website to host a beauty salon website, even if the domain has excellent performance. On the other hand, if you buy a domain of another subject and dramatically change the content of the website (not design, but content), then search engines will also nullify the credibility of your website and, most likely, the indicators too. In this case, the age of the domain will no longer have a positive effect.
- You should check the history of the domain for the presence of search filters (previously imposed, and even more so, not removed sanctions can seriously harm the promotion).
- If your website previously had a different domain name, you’ll need to set up redirects to the new addresses.
- A big plus will be a similar structure to the website located on the old domain before (for example, the URLs of individual pages may fully correspond to those previously on the website, on this domain).
- Link anchors should also fit the theme of your website.
- It is allowed to take some keys of the former website for promotion (but most often, the positions are still reset).
- It is best to use an old but active domain so that there are no downtimes, due to which the former website could completely fly out of the search (usually up to 1-3 months).
It is essential to pay attention to sanctions. You can use various Whois services to check the entire history of the domain.
What to choose, after all?
Search engines, of course, take into account the age of the website in the ranking. But it is necessary to understand that the age of the domain and the website’s age are different entities. So, for example, if the website issued an error for a long time or a stub on it, it will not be counted in the website’s age.
Therefore, do not run after domain names if the websites on them as such have not developed. Finding an old domain that will be perfect for your website is very, very difficult.
You should not focus on the age of the domain, especially if you do not have good experience in promoting websites. You are more likely to miss something important and get more negative moments from search engines than help promotes the website.
It is better to stop at choosing a new, clean domain and start promoting it from scratch if you are a beginner. In many cases, this is much easier than dealing with the old one.