evanderchen
Newbie
- Apr 29, 2026
- 15
- 7
I've been picking up some aged domains lately and wondering what you guys check first before pulling the trigger — backlinks, DA,PA /DR, Wayback Machine ?
First thing you check when buying an aged domain?
- Thread starter evanderchen
- Start date
- May 10, 2012
- 9,538
- 7,558
Jokes aside, @Evelines is very much right.
After I check price, I put it into Majestic to quickly glance on backlinks. If those are shite, I pass.
If the backlinks look half decent, I check the hosting history. You can see abuse there immediately.
If that checks out, I move to Archive and Domaintools Screenshots.
And if that's still fine, I check all of the above more closely.
After I check price, I put it into Majestic to quickly glance on backlinks. If those are shite, I pass.
If the backlinks look half decent, I check the hosting history. You can see abuse there immediately.
If that checks out, I move to Archive and Domaintools Screenshots.
And if that's still fine, I check all of the above more closely.
- Sep 25, 2025
- 208
- 41
A more effective approach to take is one that considers historical usage in the industry and niche consistencies, because often past use and relevant backlinks will carry more weight than statistics alone
sadfghggfh
BANNED
- May 3, 2026
- 13
- 6
It is necessary to pay attention to ownership
evanderchen
Newbie
- Apr 29, 2026
- 15
- 7
okay noted, and how about the overview history traffic ahref/semrush?
- May 10, 2012
- 9,538
- 7,558
Sure, those are one of the other dozen things that you should check, but it's not one of the first things I go after.
Mostly, because Ahrefs is expensive, plus the traffic history is rather inconclusive as compared to hosting history.
- Jun 20, 2015
- 5,222
- 781
I saw such threads every months. I don’t rely on DA/DR first, check backlink quality and relevance first. Then check for spam history, if everything is clean, then metrics as a last step.
- Sep 4, 2025
- 129
- 83
I usually check the backlink portfolio and calculate how much $$ would I need if I wanted to replicate it.
So if it has 1000+ premium backlinks from tier 1 sites, socials, wikis and what nots, then I can justify a price of up to 7k.
After that I check the content quality on wayback machine and if it's going to fit my niche. I did some mistakes before so now I'm trying to buy targeted aged domains.
So if it has 1000+ premium backlinks from tier 1 sites, socials, wikis and what nots, then I can justify a price of up to 7k.
After that I check the content quality on wayback machine and if it's going to fit my niche. I did some mistakes before so now I'm trying to buy targeted aged domains.
Whiteyland
Newbie
- Sep 8, 2023
- 23
- 2
First check the backlink profile like spam, quality and then wayback history after that only metrics like DA and DR.
- Feb 10, 2026
- 112
- 23
You have to check:
1. Da/Dr
2. Number of backlinks
3. way back machine too.
4. it's price like how much does it cost and how much would it return so that you must idea.
AlijahOliver
Newbie
- Oct 19, 2025
- 44
- 4
First thing I check is backlink history quality (not just DR/DA) especially spam patterns and anchor text. If that looks clean, then I verify Wayback consistency before anything else.
- Nov 21, 2025
- 102
- 31
I first check the domain history through Wayback Machine - the main thing is making sure the domain wasn’t spammed in the past.
Then I look at backlinks and link quality. DR/DA are secondary metrics for me.
- Feb 10, 2026
- 112
- 23
wayback machine won't display the domain is spammy or not, he needs to check from seo tools like moz, semrush etc.
Maani007
Registered Member
- Jan 13, 2026
- 77
- 29
So here is what I personally do every time. Wayback first to check history, then Ahrefs traffic graph to see if Google is still crawling it actively, then I look at referring domains to see if the links are from real sites or garbage. DR is literally the last thing I check because anyone can inflate it. Seen too many DR 50 domains with completely useless link profiles to trust that number alone.
- Sep 17, 2008
- 6,037
- 3,973
First thing I look at is the stats, Moz, Majestic and DomDetailer. I look for the higher stats in a list, then I look at referring domains figures. Then wayback overview for obvious drops. If things are looking good I will then go to the backlinks list to see what they look like and then proceed to the wayback machine snapshots.
I have about an hour of videos on exactly how I assess domains before purchase, @seodev on youtube if you are interested.
Vetting domains is not complicated, you just have to be diligent and try not to make excuses for why you need a domain with any real red flags. If you find bad signs just move on.
I have about an hour of videos on exactly how I assess domains before purchase, @seodev on youtube if you are interested.
Vetting domains is not complicated, you just have to be diligent and try not to make excuses for why you need a domain with any real red flags. If you find bad signs just move on.
- Oct 23, 2018
- 1,605
- 139
first thing i check is the backlink profile and anchor text, that tells you way more than just DR or DA. then i look at Wayback to see if the domain was used for spam before. metrics can look good while the domain is actually burned.