Just bought an old domain.what should I do?

Forum Moderators: open

Message Too Old, No Replies

Just bought an old domain.what should I do?

hulahoop

6:39 pm on May 25, 2012 (gmt 0)

Hi,

I just bought an old domain for a brand new business I am starting. It is an old domain dating 2003. My new site won't be up until next year. What should I do with it so that I can start raking in the visitors and getting Google to notice me.

Will changes I make to it affect it immediately?

The current content isn't the same as my targeted industry. What should I do to change things so that Google indexes me where my customers may search for me?

Any help would be great.

Also do you think I should put content to get me ranked for my keywords now or should I create those splash pages that requests email for beta users etc. (eg launchrock pages)?

Thanks.

milosevic

2:17 am on May 26, 2012 (gmt 0)

How many visitors does the site get currently?

The best plan for me if you have to change the sites focus would be to replace the current content with informational content that's relevant to your project and keyphrases you will be targeting as soon as possible. Then bolt the commercial component on later.

Don't expect current backlinks to the site to count for much after you change it's purpose and topic though, and they could potentially hold the site back in establishing relevancy for something different.

hulahoop

1:25 pm on May 26, 2012 (gmt 0)

the domain I purchased has very low traffic and isn't even ranked on Alexa. I bought it for the name solely. I really don't know what it is relevancy. I am just wondering if my change in relevancy will hold it back from indexing in my targeted industry? Is google smart enough to make that change immediately? of is there a sandbox period ?

milosevic

6:13 am on May 27, 2012 (gmt 0)

There's no official sandbox period, but if your domain has heaps of links to it that say for example "lawnmower repair" it's likely to be considered relevant to lawnmower repair. If your domain has few backlinks you can consider it more like a newly registered domain.

I would still be wary about changing content completely overnight though and would either take down the current content some time in advance or ideally do that and put up some informational content related to what you are going to be targeting.

hulahoop

1:36 pm on May 27, 2012 (gmt 0)

Thanks! That was great help Milosevic