In its continual efforts to protect searchers from spam, Google’s recently acquired patent may take into account the length of time a website owner has committed to specific domain.
Though Google’s notorious secrecy about algorithmic developments bar anyone from knowing the weight of the factors considered, the April patent does allude that longer domain registrations are considered somewhat more legitimate.
An excerpt from the patent:
“Certain signals may be used to distinguish between illegitimate and legitimate domains. For example, domains can be renewed up to a period of 10 years. Valuable (legitimate) domains are often paid for several years in advance, while doorway (illegitimate) domains rarely are used for more than a year. Therefore, the date when a domain expires in the future can be used as a factor in predicting the legitimacy of a domain and, thus, the documents associated therewith.”
By the wording in the document, the words “legitimate” and “illegitimate” are powerful indicators of what Google is assessing when attempting weed out those whose goals are purely opportunistic site operators. “Valuable” is even more noticeable here, implying a 10-year registration is a sure sign of operator commitment.
Spammers are known for buying disposable domain names and registering them for the minimum year. This is an attempt to squeeze all quick profit from the domain and then abandon it once juices run out. Included in these domains are domains whose registrations expired from previous owners.
Also note this Computer Business Review Online article outing the recent trend in buying “throwaway” domain names purely to exploit the pay-per-click market.
The thought implied in patent’s wording is that a legitimate website is one with an operator who, through desire to establish a long-term business or website, would logically commit to a longer registration.
It stands to reason then, even if we cannot know how much weight this factor carries in the eyes of Google, it may be used as at least a deciding factor when figuring who gets top billing. It might be a good idea to check out your competitors’ registration commitment. After all, knowledge is power.
