Step 2 of the Buying Websites Due Diligence Process – Verifying the Website History
Now that we’ve discussed the step-by-step prcess in checking the website ownership with Step 1 of the buying websites due diligence process, let me carry on with Step 2 — how to delve into the website history. Here we provide answers to the questions “What should we be aware about a website’s history?” and “What tools can be used to do this?”
The Domain Age
In domainspeak, the age of the domain is simply how long the domain has been registered. This is essential because most online marketers are of the opinion that search engines are more “friendly” towards websites which have been existing for a longer period. Same as in Step 1, the Whois tool of DomainTools will prove to be very useful as it can give the registration date of a website. Take note however that the domain age differs from the website age. The former merely refers to the date when the domain was registered whereas the latter is the period when the actual website has been in existence.
Frequency of Site Ownership Transfers
The Whois inquiry will also yield data on the registration history of a domain, particularly on the frequency of ownership transfers. If transfers have been too many and too close for comfort, make some inquiries.
The IP History
Get the IP address of the website from the Whois info then visit YouGetSignal and do a reverse IP search by entering the Whois IP address. The reverse search will show if the seller is actually, hosting the website in question over a shared server, and will even list down all other sites hosted by the same server. This may cause future problems particularly if the other sites on the server are either porn or spam sites, which can be potentially banned.
How to Tell if the Site is Banned from Search Engines
Finding out if a specific website has been banned by a search engine may prove to be difficult as you can’t simply find this info in Whois, and there are no clearcut rules for this. If a site is banned or penalized by Google or any other search engine good luck on having it indexed or ranked. Try these methods to know if a website may be banned:
Make a Google search for the www domain, without using the www (e.g. “websites.com” as opposed to “http://www.websites.com”). If the domain appears in the search results without any hitch, then there’s no ban on the site. If it doesn’t appear in the results, you could be facing a problem with the site. To confirm if the website is indeed banned, make a search for “site.www.website.com” and “sites:website.com” and again, if the search doesn’t provide you with any results, none of the site’s pages have been indexed and it’s definitely banned..
Is the Website Banned from Affiliate or Ad Networks?
Aside from checking if Google or any other search engine has penalized the site, it’s also practical to check if the site may be banned from any affiliate or ad networks as well. No site is worth the purchase after all if it can’t earn you any income. Ask the current site owner directly or try to inquire from the networks or companies for straight answers.
The Backlink History
In online marketing, the greater the number of backlinks pointing to a site, the more “popular” the website is, which in turn, will result to better search engine rankings. Quantity and quality backlinks are both important, although you’d do best to focus more on quality backlinks, or those from well-known, high-ranking sites. To know which types of backlinks were used on a site, utilize the Yahoo! Site Explorer Tool.
There you’ve got it – the 2nd of many steps in the due diligence process when buying websites. These are just a few tips that can guide you in picking out the ideal websites to flip. For the entire list of the Step 2 guidelines, check out our site and be on your way to making your website flipping success story!
