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welcome to webmasterworld.
Google can do that, and some....... :)
whether it DOES it is a different issue.
Shak
Be sure to read Marcia`s WebmasterWorld Welcome and Guide to the Basics [webmasterworld.com] post.
Of course the robot could do a whois lookup for all the domains it crawls. Itīs just a question of whether that is a sensible use of resources. Additionally not all NICs allow the use of the whois data for commercial purposes. So I guess that whois queries will be done only when a site is reviewed manually.
Andreas
<added>despite my use of text templates I was too slow ;)</added>
Welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]!
Just in case you're thinking of trying something "tricky"...
Does any one know if Googlebot can query a database and get information on the domain owner's name (not IP address but a person's name like Mary Smith) and compare that name with other sites it is crawling?
I suspect most of the permanent bans for excessive cross-linking, hidden text, and the like are done this way. If Google does manage to automate the process, it will just happen sooner.
Sites which hit number one using these techniques don't last long; As soon as number two spots anything untoward in number one's site and reports it, he's number one... A lot of motivation there, see? The higher you are in the SERPs, the cleaner you'd better be.
If you are thinking of trying something that violates or even skirts Google's rules, don't. Well, don't until you have a pool of great domain names, some of which you can afford to lose, and a staff of sharp researchers to stay on top of Google's latest policies, IP adddresses, spidering schedules, etc. :)
HTH,
Jim
