Buy a Banned Domain? Should You Ask Google for Forgiveness?

Nov 24, 2009 - 8:11 am 8 by

A WebmasterWorld thread has one webmaster who allegedly purchased a domain name that was banned by Google. He basically asked, how does he get this domain to be clean and start over.

In the past, I would have said, just submit a reconsideration request and hope that Google trusts that you are starting new. And that is the advice given in the thread.

But after sitting in a site clinic with Matt Cutts at PubCon. At about 10:51 PST, Matt said that when it comes to domains that were banned or severely penalized, it is just easier to start with a fresh new domain. I am not quoting Matt exactly, but he basically said that it is easier to start from ground zero then starting from 100 feet under ground. Yes, a penalized site seems to just have to work its way up from a negative state to get to level starting ground and often, it might not be worth the effort.

At the same time, if Google can press a button to wipe the history of the domain - then maybe you are in luck. I am just not too sure how easy it is to get Google to do that.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: January 20, 2025

Jan 20, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Weekly Spend Fluctuations Often Due To Market Conditions Or Budget Changes

Jan 20, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Ads PMax Search Terms Insights Gains Source Data

Jan 20, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Search Trending Products Carousel On Right Side

Jan 20, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Quality Analyst Detects & Treats AI-Generated Content

Jan 20, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Don't Dynamically Update Robots.txt File Multiple Times Per Day

Jan 20, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: SEO Gets a Google Birthday Cake