Pre-Owned Domain Names

... and difficulty getting into the SERPs.

[Pedent]

I recently bought a domain name, and I'm having trouble getting my new site to rank. I'm in the index (a site: search returns results); I'm just not ranking as well as I'd expect (I have incoming links, optimised content, etc).

The domain was previously one of several domains pointing at a single website (not a 301, the domain name in the address bar remained whatever you typed in). Could this be what's causing the problem? If so, what can I do about it?

N.B. I don't think this is a sandbox issue. The site isn't in a commercial area, and I've been able to get a similar site to rank well in a short space of time.

[Webwork]

There's probably no practical way to answer the fundamental question: "Is it the domain's fault". There are simply too many variables to account for.

I've seen all manner of ranking variation when it comes to "previously owned" or "old and transferred" domains.

Blanket rules that would penalize a domain for a use such as you describe would not reflect the best intelligence when it comes to ranking a website that "is a thing new". Perhaps wrongfully, I give Google credit for being a bit smarter than that. (Let the lashings begin.)

I would look elsewhere or simply assume the back history of the domain is only 1 of many variables at play. As best I can tell Google is still focused on the merits of link votes as the foundation of its ranking algorithm. That would be where I would focus: rate of link growth, neighborhood of links, authority of links, tld of ranking sites in realm (.edu?), tld of IBLs for ranking sites, etc.

[Pedent]

Thanks Webwork; the advice is appreciated. I'll just keep doing what I always do and I'm sure I'll get the rankings I want in time. I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't overlooking something important in domain name's history. Cheers.