Redirects

[tylerfraser]

I have a question about 404ed domains and old domains.

#1 A domain has many links to it, but has been 404ed for 4 months. Should I redirect to a page I own and is almost exactly the same content. Will the fact that it was once 404ed be an issue?

#2 I have an old domain that has many links but has been stagnant for a long time. Are these links still valuable and I should I redirect them to an important page on a different site?

Does penguin influence your advice?

[Adam.Whittles]

#1 A domain has many links to it, but has been 404ed for 4 months. Should I redirect to a page I own and is almost exactly the same content. Will the fact that it was once 404ed be an issue?

This sounds like a good idea to me. Make sure the page you are redirecting to is relevant to the original page. There shouldn't be an issue here as fas as I can tell.

#2 I have an old domain that has many links but has been stagnant for a long time. Are these links still valuable and I should I redirect them to an important page on a different site?

Whether the links are valuable depends on their quality. You should get an indication of their quality from how the site performs in the serps. If it is performing well then it probably does have valuable links. In this case I would be tempted to keep the domain running and add fresh content to the site. You could then link to another relevant site that you own and benefit from the value this provides. Either way, if you have a site that has value and performs well for certain keywords, it would be a shame to just redirect it to another site when you could gain commercial value from it.

Adam.