Bought a new domain and want to rank high fast? Some would say that’s hard to do, but Google’s John Mueller begs to differ. Someone on Twitter (now known as X) asked this now-deleted question:
“Does the age of a domain name impact Google search rankings?”
Mueller replied that the only people who would say such a thing are “Primarily those who want to sell you aged domains.”
In an older thread, he flat-out said, “No, domain age helps nothing.”
For those who plan to invest in more expensive, older domains, this is a clear message that Google does not care about age. The focus should always be on user experience, reliability and helpfulness of your website, as emphasized in our previous articles here, here and here.
Some of the most helpful Google SEO documentation include:
If you plan on investing in an older domain name, it’s best to focus your energy and budget on building a website that is helpful and reliable for users. This will be much more effective in the long run than relying solely on domain age.
More SEO News You Can Use
Check Out These Google Tips for Technical SEO Issues: Experiencing technical SEO issues is an everyday challenge for many website owners. This is what Google wants to minimize with its last SEO Made Easy episode released on December 8, 2023. In the episode, Google’s Martin Splitt shared three tips to solve technical SEO issues: (1) Use the URL inspection tools, (2) Checking your website’s crawlability and indexability and (3) Checking your website’s rendered HTML. SEO Made Easy is a series of “quick tips to make your site SEO friendly,” helping you answer the most common challenges many SEO professionals face. Check out all their episodes here.
Parasite SEO Will Get a New Name from Google: We won’t fault you for negatively viewing “parasite SEO” since it’s often associated with shady practices. When asked on Twitter about a “very specific written definition of parasite SEO,” the Google Search Liaison said, “We don’t use that term internally.” However, they do have guidance on this activity, pointing us to its documentation on helpful content systems. They recommend that any irrelevant third-party content on your website should be blocked from Google indexing, preventing a negative interpretation of your content’s helpfulness. Read this Search Engine Roundtable article for more information.
“About the Source” Feature Does Not Affect Your Ranking – Google: Publishers and content creators are growing weary about the new terms appearing on Search Generative Experience (SGE). This time, Twitter user Katie Berry complained about not having any information in its AI-generated summary’s “About the source” section for her website. However, Google Search Liaison replied that this is still an experimental feature and that you don’t “rank any better” just because it shows information about the source. Of course, another issue would be the lack of trust because of a blank “About the source” section, but Google Search Liaison promised to pass the issue to its team to “better improve generally.” Read the full forum discussion here.
Twitter Releases ChatGPT Alternative: Elon Musk-led Twitter is releasing yet another ChatGPT rival named Grok. This new AI chatbot developed by xAI is “modeled after the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, so intended to answer almost anything and, far harder, even suggest what questions to ask.” Twitter user Bindu Reddy shared screenshots of Grok using real-time data to craft responses. Another Twitter user, Edward Builds, says that “this is a game-changer” for creative marketing strategies. Will you use it? Read this Search Engine Journal article for more.
YouTube Gains More Video Reach Ad Formats: YouTube’s Video Reach Campaigns (VRCs) now include in-feed ads, Shorts ads and in-stream ads. This way, all your VRCs can reach your target audience efficiently with only one campaign. “People are engaging with YouTube in new ways, from exploring Shorts on their mobile devices to browsing for content on their TV screens,” said Google in its announcement on December 12, 2023. Google also showcased promising numbers using these new formats: 54% more reach and 42% lower CPM than in-stream-only VRCs. Check out Google’s full announcement here.
Editor’s Note: “SEO News You Can Use” is a weekly blog post posted every Monday morning only on SEOblog.com, rounding up all the top SEO news from around the world. Our goal is to make SEOblog.com a one-stop-shop for everyone looking for SEO news, education and for hiring an SEO expert with our comprehensive SEO agency directory.
