What research needs to be done prior to purchasing an old domain?

[Gyi]

I'm planning on purchasing an old domain. I'd like to get an idea whether or not any "shadyness" was going on with the domain over the years. It's still indexed in google. I "whois'd" it, ran it through open site explorer, and did a "link:" search.

Anything else you would recommend for researching this domain?

[scanlin]

Can the seller provide you with historical Google Analytics data? If there is a sudden drop in traffic then the domain may have been penalized. Is there a visible site on the domain today? Does it rank for any phrases (should it? given the backlinks it has)? Maybe enter it in http://www.ispionage.com and then click on the SEO tab to see if it ranks for any phrases today. If it's on page 1 for anything then it is unlikely to be penalized.

Also, does it link out to any bad neighborhoods? Google cares more about what you link to than what links to you (in terms of giving you a penalty). If bad neighborhoods link to you then you won't get penalized but if you link to bad neighborhoods and Google identifies it as such then you will get penalized.

[Gyi]

Thanks Mike, very helpful.

[eyepaq]

Mike is right but I think it's enough to see if it's listed in google and if it is it doesn't matter if it was blacklisted in the past or not - since it's clean now.

There are different reasons in buying a domain and based on your reason I think you should focus on the research side. (for example: if you buy a domain for the current trafic and the link profile is kind of dark you could expect a full drop after you've bought it but if you buy it for the name of the domain even if it drops, the domain will recover eventually so it won't be an issue )

1. Buying a domain for the name  (brand or keyword).

2. Buying a domain for the history (back links)

3. Buying a domain for the current traffic.

Each of the three has a different "flow" in the review process.

Personally I've bought an old domain for the links in one of my client niche and I've only reviewed the domain for the future potential based on back-links and the investment turned out to be great even if the traffic was very very low.

[Gyi]

Thanks eye. I am purchasing for age and keyword in domain.

[eyepaq]

Then you should be safe no matter what  - if the price is right

All other advantages like is currently listed so no penalization and current back links are just a bonus.

At least this is how I see it