Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
Ben
[edited by: tedster at 8:55 pm (utc) on Nov. 19, 2006]
SCNR
My own view is that there are many, many other ways to help Google see your site is legitimate.
Having said that, if you intend to keep the name for at least 10 years, registering for 10 years can't hurt and will mean you're unlikely to forget to renew it and lose it (keep on topping up the domain every year, then if you miss a year or two it's not curtains for the domain)
My domain registrar is prompting me to register for 10 years
Well, they would say that, wouldn't they. :)
I've never registered anything for ten years for practical reasons: if ever I want to change registrar, an extra year is added when I make the move. I'm not sure that a domain registered to the ten-year limit is transferable at all in the first year because of this.
Having said that, registering for more than just one year at the time does indicate a certain limited investment in the longevity of a domain (less likely to be a throw-away), but I see no real benefit in registering domains for more than three to five years into the future.
It is simply not cost effective to waste money on such a long-term lease. Save your capital.
The landscape of host companies is changing fast enough that I do not want a 10 year commitment to a company playing by old rules in a game where the rules keep changing. With the likes of godaddy around now pushign the envelope, can you imagine having an expensive long-term commitment to network solutions?
We own authority sites, and I've got dozens of domains in different sectors, some still stuck with network solutions, many with the likes of godaddy and NONE of my sites have suffered due to who has my contract or for how long.
10 years is a waste of money, and so is 5 years. If you are organized, go with 1 year spots, and gain the ability to do what's right and best in 12 months if things change.
If you're not organizedd, then get organized. A 10 year commitment so you don't forget to renew is the least of your worries - suggests to me that despite the facade of a 10-year commitement, you're not commited to it if you can't keep track of it. ; )
As for google, I have no reason to believe they care. I suspect they MAY be interested in knowing how long the domain HAS ALREADY existed, but are less interested in knowing our corporate philosophy on long-term leasing. ; ) If one of my domains has existed for 8 years, I suspect it is moot whether that domain is paid up for 1 more year or 10 more years.
Look elsewhere for fodder.
One of Google's patents mentions this, and it is a no brainer good thing for any serious business so there is no reson not to do it.
I'm talking about registering a domain name. No one's making any long term commitment to a domain name registrar or a hosting company. They only help manage the process. If a registrar company goes belly up, why would I lose my domain name? ICANN would facilitate the transfer to another company.
Because in just the last 2 years, more competition from peopel like godaddy has forced the prices of renewal way, way down.
There is no telling what is going to happen to domain prices in the next 2 years.
So, you may be wasting money because what costs $6 today may be $3 soon. For one domain, whatever. But for lots of domains, that adds up.
Anyway, the real object of this discussion was, does the number of years you renew matter to google, and for that, from my experience, the answer is no. From there, I was just trying to see why you would want to extend for long periods of time, and I can see no obvious organized ; ) reason.
(And no, I have nothing to do with godaddy. ; ) I've got a hundred + domains stored there, that's it. I keep referring to godaddy because off the top of my head, I can't think of any of the others that are in the same sector, but there are others equally inexpensive now... ; ) )
And it was updated to 10 years when the Google patent mentioning length of domain name registration came to light. Doesn't mean it has any impact whatsoever - just idle speculation that "can't hurt to try".
Of course the rush of websites registering for 10 years at that time would give Google a great list of sites that "know SEO"...
My hosting company sent an email to all its clients saying if WE link to THEM then OUR search rankings will improve (a misguided interpretation of the theory that linking to "authority" sites helps your rankings).
Seriously folks - does anyone honestly believe that a factor that ANYONE can control at the drop of a hat can in anyway influence organic SERPs? If it was ever a factor, it ceased being so the second the SEO community digested the patent mentioning it.
Ben - its just your registrar trying to sell you something based on an unproven, unrealistic and unlikely theory. It isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference to your rankings if you do it or not. Base your decision on the business impact of the situation (they offering a reduced price for 10 year registration? They should - they get your business for a decade and more money from you now).
MG
The duration of registration period has zilch to do with the SERPs! Don't be fooled by anyone.
Check out the domain name forum if you require more accurate advice:
[webmasterworld.com...]
So you're saying that only high quality sites can afford to register for 10 years? And the throw away sites or the ones you really don't value would never be registered for 10 years...
Makes sense to me.
I have sites dominating SERPs which do not loose traffic as the expiry date nears.
I think this debate is similar to the US vs UK hosting debate for websites. It is pure speculation (in my opinion).
Domain time to expiry does not matter!
Domain time to expiry does not matter!
i agree
[0099] 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.
My own take is that it is in use, as one very small part of Google's trust metrics.
That's just saying that Google's patents don't matter, which is not a good philosophy.
A hundred things matter. People always seem to think one thing will lead to an earthquake if they do or don't do them. Length of registration is just one thing. It should be obvious that a ten year commitment is at worst a microscopically bigger commitment than a one year one, so why not do it.
The reasons stated above for not doing it seem to be exactly what Google is looking to identify, more trivial domains. It's not a huge thing, but this one is right on the money.
On the other hand, it's impossible to tell from the real world experience whether or not it's a factor. Since in the real world there are so many other factors at play...
This would be a good question for Matt Cutts - how much of the factor is the domain time to expiry when it comes to SERPs?
So you're saying that only high quality sites can afford to register for 10 years? And the throw away sites or the ones you really don't value would never be registered for 10 years...
No, affordability is different, after all we're only talking about $100. It is the intention to use and propagate a useful site.
No one with a cr@p MFA type of site would consider registering for 10 years since they know they're going to be blown out.
HOWEVER, never start a sentence with a conjunction!
However, it is plainly obvious that the MFA'ers have now started to purchase high quality "type-in" domain names and serve very nice pages with relevant advertising content.
They do not rank in the SERPs but they have purchased, somewhat serruptiously, specific "words".
I'll say no more, check around for yourselves and see.
your registrar did smart thing to sell domain
he offered you but i m damn sure he can not give any possibility or gaurantee..
this is the bif FAKE thing
do not trust on him...
after all, it's too hard to get good page ranks
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5) Registering a domain for several years is a good SEO tactic.
Fact. There is a minor benefit to domains with longer registrations. It shows that the site is planning on being around a while, and makes it more costly for spammers to buy disposable domains. Just like when the IRS determines who to audit, each “flag” is worth a certain amount, and if you score too highly, boom - you’re audited. A single year registration is just one flag.
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I also asked him if private registration was a "bad SEO tactic" and he said it was.
(I assume I'm not allowed to give out a URL for those interested in reading the whole thing, so sorry for not doing so.)
It is simply not cost effective to waste money on such a long-term lease. Save your capital
We are talking about approximately $100 here, give or take.
All part of business. I trust the guy who has alot invested and so would Google, period.
Register the domains long term if you want to remove this issue as a factor in good ranking.
Has anyone seen solid evidence that either traffic or rankings changed when you registered that domain for 10 years?
I reckon that a site with unique content, regular updates, good linking strategy, etc. can not get affected if it's owner forgot to renew the domain in time or did not register for the maximum registration period.
At least I haven't seen anything to suggest otherwise...
But if you want to register a domain for 10 years, go ahead! Can't hurt. But if you have only registered a domain for year, I think there is no reason for you to now be stressed that you screwed up - I don't think you did, and I am certan domain time to expiry is moot.
"We are talking about approximately $100 here, give or take. "
X a few hundred = a huge cash outlay
(I have lots of domains for various reasons - I am active in many different sectors, and I have registered many product-name-type domains to gather type-in traffic, which is substantial in many cases. This is all legit, white-hat stuff. People WILL do type-ins, nothing wrong with that, and if I can have the domain for $6 a year and grab all that traffic, hell, I want it. Better I get a whack of traffic for $6 a year, than pay someone ; ) 0.05 _minimum_ a click to get it. You do the math. So, having lots of domain names does not make me black-hat. I've simply done the math, and realized domains with type-in traffic are a cheap way to grab more traffic. And, better I grab the domain and serve up a real page at my site with real content that is probably close to what the person who did the type-in is honestly looking for than let it sit with some domain company serving up ads and wasting someone else's advertising bucks, even if they are a competitior: that type of wasteage drives me nuts and is NOT what the internet is supposed to be about. : ) )
I am horribly off-topic - please forgive me.
Doesn't make any sense. I work from home, and I do not want my home address associated with my domains in the bright light of the internet.
There is a very legit reason why some people use private registration.
To penalize on this sort of stuff is goign to get a lot of false posiives. Most webmasters DO NOT come here to read all this stuff and will NOT evaluate the number of years they should renew or whether or not they shoudl click public or private regiratrtion because of a fear that google has a patent saying it is important.
My primary site is an authority site, and it has not suffered in any way from private registration nor from 1 year time to expiration.
Like other clear-minded folk in this forum note, all that matters is content, content, content. I suggest that hypothetically speaking, even if time to expiry or private vs public registration matter to google or yahoo, that what really matters is a good content site,and that if you have no content, it won't matter what you do with expiration time or regitration type, that will nto get you above sites with content, and, if you DO have content, it is moot whether you have a 1 year lease or a 10 year renewal on your domain.
Don't wory about this stuff!
Just build an awesome site that everyone wants to go to, and other webmasters feel compelled to link to!
None of my visitors care if I have renewed for 10 years or not or if I have a public or private registration.
If google and/or yahoo do use this info in any way, it is a horrible short cut that is / will be full of false positives because there will be enough exceptions to the rule they are trying to apply to make the rule pointless.
