Buying a SERPs competitor domain / site

[digitalarts]

For a specific term, we have the potential opportunity to purchase the domain (complete with site) that sits just above us in the Google search results... The domain has reasonable page authority of 49, domain authority of 38 with 168 linking root domains - 311 total links...

Would the most beneficial use of the domain be to retain the site content as is and incorporate a few relevant links back to our site or... 301 the entire domain?

[EGOL]

This is a very complex question.  Any answers given here will be guesses.

I am not trying to insult those who reply... just letting you know that you need a very in-depth study of many things including SERPs, products, goals, content, site strengths, site assets, and more.

[SimonCullum]

Exactly, this in itself is a great answer.

My addition (covered by Goals above possibly) is to focus on the objectives of your business.  Search kind of needs to come second here, would this potential purchase compliment your business objectives and goals!

Only you can really have an idea of the investment time & cost it may take to rank higher than your competitor for your chosen search terms.  Compare this against the cost of the domain & site purchase to factor into your decision making.

[EGOL]

A few years ago I purchased the #1 site for a competitive KW.... I ran the site for a couple of months before doing anything - just to get an understanding of the site and the people who visit.

[USHoleInOne]

Tough decision but if the price of the website is affordable I would purchase it. You have to remember it is important to analyze the site and do research but your other competitors may pick up underneath you too. If it is in your budget it maybe best to buy it and hold onto it.