DOMAIN RENEWAL DATE – 1 BIG GOOGLE RANKING FACTOR?

Does the claim that your domain expiration date affect search engine ranking hold any weight?

The Domain Expiration SEO Myth started over a patent held by Google related to ranking websites based on historical data. Many representatives of Google have stated on multiple occasions that domain expiration it not a major ranking factor.

A number of SEO’s have for years have claimed that the length of time for which a domain is registered can impact a site’s search engine ranking. Their theory is that domains registered for longer periods of time give Google a signal that they’re in it for the long-haul and should be rewarded. Sites that re-register their domain annually may give Google a signal that the domains may be temporary and therefore potentially spammy.

Google’s John Mueller stated:

“A bunch of TLDs do not publish expiration dates — how could we compare domains with expiration dates to domains without that information? It seems that would be pretty hard, and likely not worth the trouble. Even when we do have that data, what would it tell us when comparing sites that are otherwise equivalent? A year (the minimum duration, as far as I know) is pretty long in internet-time :-)”

Matt Cutts stated in a video:

“My short answer is not to worry very much about that [the number of years a domain is registered], not very much at all.”

Google’s official stance is “don’t worry about it” with a side of ambiguity. Other sources say domain expiration could play a factor. The best we can say is that domain expiration could play a small factor. So maybe it’s time to consider other reasons to register our domains for longer periods:

• Longer Domain Registrations Often Come with Price Breaks
• Longer Domain Registrations Means You’ll Save Time
• Missing Domain Renewal May Affect Your Ranking

My parting thoughts are that unless you’re registering a domain you have no intention of using for more than a year, there’s no good reason not to purchase multiple years of domain registration. You’ll be protected from having your domain expire and be bought out from under you. You’ll save some time each year going through the renewal process and potentially some money. And on the possibility that Google does look at domain registration and expiration dates as a ranking factor, you’ll get that ranking boost and avoid any potential penalty.