SOP #44 — "Aged domain = safe domain" is wrong

SOP #44 — "Aged domain = safe domain" is wrong

Myth: an old domain has earned trust. Correction: age is neutral; history is what matters, and old domains carry more buried history to inspect. Audit the past before you value the present:

1. Pull the domain through Wayback Machine — check for prior niches (gambling, pharma, adult) unrelated to today's site.
2. Count ownership changes via historical WHOIS — 4 drops in 6 years signals a recycled penalty domain.
3. Check for a manual-action footprint: sudden traffic death in the Wayback/ranking history.
4. Review the backlink profile age — links that all appeared in one 60-day window = bought, fail.
5. Confirm the domain isn't on public spam blocklists (Spamhaus DBL, etc.).

An aged domain with a clean continuous history is gold. One with a checkered past is a liability you inherit.

Save this — run it every deal.