Google and private domain registration

[lfgoal]

This is based on paranoia, but I'll ask the question anyway. Is there any reason (or logic) to believe that registering a domain privately might affect a site's ranking in google?

Registering a site privately and keeping it hosted elsewhere, along with zero links between the site and others you might own, could hide the fact that an individual is trying to dominate a serps.

Having said that, maybe google doesn't care about one person attempting to dominate a serps as long as there is no "artificial attempt to boost a site's ranking in google". In other words, as long as the sites get their own backlinks.

Anyway, any reason (or logic) to believe that registering a domain privately might affect a site's ranking in google?

[ptoma]

Do a search for "googleguy whois" ... From what I'm reading you're better off not going private. Oddly enough I went private in February ... and I died with the June 27th update .... whether those are related... I don't know, but I'm terribly paranoid now.

[tedster]

From what I remember Matt Cutts saying, anonymous whois details, on their own, are not a problem. After all, there definitely are many non-malicious reasons for protecting your whois information. A lot of well ranked sites are registered anonymously -- so on its own, anonymous whois data is clearly not "the kiss of death".

However, coupled with other negative "points" raised by a domain's activities, an anonymous whois can be the one final negative factor that puts a domain over the top and trips a punitive action.

[jaffstar]

A lot of well ranked sites are registered anonymously

Agreed.

The minute you put your contact details on whois, you are open to kinds of spam marketing of sorts.I personally like hiding my details because of this :)