██FR█████ █INTELL███████████

Buying an Old Domain? 10 Free Checks You Shouldn’t Skip


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by galdevops

Buying an old (expired/aged) domain might sound like a great shortcut — built-in SEO juice, existing traffic, maybe even a cool name. But it can come with hidden issues that harm your site’s rank, security, and trust — or make it impossible to send emails properly.

Here’s the checklist I personally follow every time I consider picking up a second-hand domain. Hope it saves you some headaches.

🔍 SEO Aspects to Check

1. Check Domain Authority (DA) or Page Authority (PA)

High authority can be good — but don’t stop there. Context matters:

  • A low DA with a clean history and niche focus might actually be a strong starting point.
  • High DA can be artificially inflated by spammy backlinks (see next check).

Use free tools like:

2. Scan for Spammy or Toxic Backlinks

Backlinks are like a domain’s credit history. Too many “bad loans” from shady websites = bad SEO.

Use:

Look out for:

  • Links from adult/gambling/pharma/hacked sites
  • Overuse of exact-match anchor text (“buy cheap meds”)
  • Irrelevant forum/blog comment spam

3. Check If It’s Indexed on Google

Google:

site:yourdomain.com

If nothing shows up, it could mean:

  • The domain was deindexed for spam or policy violations
  • It never hosted real content
  • It was blocked via robots.txt or meta tags

No results aren’t always a dealbreaker — but they’re definitely a flag.

4. Search for Negative Mentions

Use:

  • “yourdomain.com” (with quotes) on Google, Reddit, forums, review sites

You’re looking for:

  • Scam complaints
  • Bad brand associations
  • Past controversy

Negative PR has a long memory — and it might surface again.

5. Check for Duplicate Content Legacy

Was this domain ever used for stolen, spun, or AI-generated content?

Check with:

Even if you rebuild from scratch, you may still suffer residual SEO penalties.

6. (Optional) View Historical Organic Traffic

If you have access to paid tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush):

  • Check if the domain had organic traffic in the past
  • Look for traffic drops (penalties, abandonment)
  • Identify once-popular pages that earned backlinks

It’s like reviewing a resume — not critical, but helpful.

7. (Optional) Manual Actions in Google Search Console

If the seller provides temporary read-only access to GSC, check:

  • Manual penalties
  • Crawling/indexing errors
  • Unnatural link notifications

This is rare, but valuable if you can get it.

🔐 Domain Health & Reputation

8. Check DNS Records

Before anything else, inspect the DNS setup:

  • Are A, MX, TXT, CNAME, or SPF records still present?
  • Is DKIM or DMARC configured?
  • Who are the current Name Servers?

Use tools like MXToolbox — or use a free domain health scanner that checks DNS records in one go (I built it after getting burned by a bad domain).

📌 Why it matters: You’re seeing signs of how the domain was used — whether for email, hosting, or left dormant.

9. Scan for Blacklists

Domains used for spam may still be listed on DNSBLs — hurting your email deliverability.

Same here, you can use blacklist checkers like MXToolbox — or run a domain reputation checker I built to audit email health.

Look for blocklists like Spamhaus, Barracuda, SURBL.

Even a single listing can cause mail to land in spam, or get blocked altogether.

10. Check the Internet Archive

Wayback Machine is a goldmine of domain history. It shows you snapshots of how a domain looked in the past, going back years. Explore and ask:

  • What did the site & it’s content look like, spammy, or legit?
  • Was it parked (empty or ads)?
  • Any indication it was ever hacked?
  • Any hints that it was used for spam or scams?

🚩 Red Flags:

  • Crypto/adult/pharma content
  • Malware redirect behavior
  • Parked/empty pages
  • SEO tricks like keyword stuffing or cloaked redirects

✅ Good Signs:

  • Legitimate business or blog presence
  • Real content with updates over time
  • Contact/about/team pages that show human ownership

Gaps in the timeline (no snapshots for 2+ years) aren’t always bad — but worth noting.

11. Does It Send Email Well?

After you purchase, you’ll want to send emails. But many old domains can’t — due to DNS issues, blacklists, or bad configuration.

Check:

  • SPF, DKIM, DMARC pass?
  • Is the domain blacklisted?
  • Do mail servers trust it?

You can run all these checks manually — or use a free tool that bundles them together and flags potential issues in seconds.

12. Check WHOIS History

Use WHOIS tools to answer:

  • Has the domain changed owners frequently?
  • Was it ever listed on domain marketplaces?
  • Are there suspicious or privacy-protected owners?

Past ownership can reveal domain flipping, overuse, or suspicious intent.

🚨 Red Flags: When to Think Twice

  • Scam content or malware
  • Tons of spammy backlinks
  • Blacklisted for email
  • Google deindexed it
  • Duplicate content past
  • Shady WHOIS records

✅ Green Flags: When It’s Worth It

  • Clean backlink profile
  • Indexed by Google
  • Legit business/blog past
  • No major blacklists
  • DNS/email setup makes sense
  • Organic traffic history (bonus)

🧠 TL;DR — Before You Buy, Run These Checks

Old domains can give you a head start — or drag you into legacy problems you didn’t create. Always run a quick audit before buying:

🔎 SEO History

  • Is it indexed in Google?
  • Was it penalized or full of spammy backlinks?
  • Did it have legitimate traffic or content?

🧬 Domain Health

  • Does it have clean DNS and email history?
  • Is it listed on blacklists?
  • What shows up in the Wayback Machine?

🧠 Reputation & Legitimacy

  • Any scam reports or negative mentions?
  • Real history (not just a parked page)?
  • WHOIS ownership timeline checks out?

Even if you’re buying for the name, you’re inheriting the past. This checklist takes just a few minutes and can save you hours (or weeks) of frustration fixing invisible issues.

💡 Bonus: I built a free tool that automates some of these checks (SPF, DMARC, DNS health, blacklist scans) — after getting burned by a “clean-looking” domain that turned out to be silently blacklisted. It’s free and requires no signup. Try it here.

✍ About Me

Self-taught web developer. Backend dev by day. Mom of two stars 🌟. Certified in DevOps. Building tools that solve real-world problems — and learning in public as I go.

Let me know what you’d add to this checklist — or share any horror stories from old domain purchases!


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by galdevops