Does Changing Domain Registrar Info (Private Whois) Impact Google Rankings?

Dec 8, 2008 - 8:14 am 1 by

The topic of does domain registration impact your search engine rankings is nothing new. We have covered this topic here at least a handful of times, especially since Google became a registrar. But a new WebmasterWorld thread has several case studies from SEOs on the topic.

It all started when senior WebmasterWorld member, SEOPTI, said that he forgot to use private whois information when renewing his domain. His domain name went under the real information and then soon after he said, Google devalued his incoming links by 80% or more.

As you might imagine, many are skeptical. Another senior member, wyweb, said:

I removed privacy protection from 6 or 7 domains last summer, all with 5 and 6 PR. There has been absolutely no change in either PR or traffic levels.

Senior member, CainIV, said something similar:

Personally, some of my domains are protected and some are not. I did not notice a ranking change when switching to privacy, however, none have ever reverted.

Forum administrator, Tedster, said:

I have a client who changed the legal ownership of the domain (and business) twice within the past year. No changes in the SERPs followed on either time.

Other clients in the past have purchased other online businesses, changed the domain's Whois to reflect that, and also seen no ranking changes. Based on that, I'm thinking this is not an open-and-shut case of Whois changes influencing ranking.

Seems like this isn't as clear cut as we would like. Google might or might not reset the domain based on probably several variables.

Past articles on domain registration and SEO:

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Update: It seems Google has gone on the record saying domain registration length does not impact rankings.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Web Analytics

Google Analytics Real Time Reporting Glitching

Apr 23, 2025 - 10:54 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: April 23, 2025

Apr 23, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Stops Supporting Special Announcement Structured Data On July 31

Apr 23, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

More Studies Show AI Overviews Harm Google Click Through Rates

Apr 23, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Maps

Google Posts Go Missing From Local Panels

Apr 23, 2025 - 7:35 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Video Verification Gets Video Previews

Apr 23, 2025 - 7:31 am
Previous Story: Google Now Serving & Tracking AdSense Ads Via DoubleClick?