How do I check that domain I'm considering buying has clean history?

[Jeepster]

I'm weighing up buying a niche-related 13-year-old domain that hasn't expired but hasn't been used in some time.

I've read the very informative thread here: www.seomoz.org/q/buying-domains-with-prior-age-and-or-pr

The backlink profile is clean, with only on-topic links.

However, it doesn't rank in the top 50 positions for its own (hyphenated & fairly competitive) domain name. Does this indicate a Google penalty of some kind? What's the surefire way of checking?

[OrionGroup]

I would recommend using opensiteexplorer.org to find out what type of links the site has coming towards it (you might have already done this). Also, do you have access to the domain owner's Google Webmaster Tools account? perhaps you could poke around there first if they will allow you access.

Scott

[Jeepster]

I've run it through Open Site Explorer and the link profile is pretty good.

The tip about GWT's a good one - I'll ask if the seller's open to that. Is it possible for site owners to delete unsavoury messages in GWT?

[OrionGroup]

Yes, the owner can delete messages, but perhaps you might be able to find something in the indexation history graph or other place.