Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Is it allowed to buy an old website with external links en redirect it to your own site??
- 
					
					
					
					
 This post is deleted!
- 
					
					
					
					
 Yes it allowed to buy an old website with external links en redirect it to your own site. for example I had old website like Gazebo and i have buy new website askgazebo so we can buy it easily. 
- 
					
					
					
					
 I have been trying for some time to take the online store to the front page, but it is very difficult to go up in google searches for the keyword ( sex shop ). 
- 
					
					
					
					
 It is generally not prohibited to buy an old website with external links and redirect it to your own site, but it can have consequences and should be done carefully. Firstly, the external links may not be relevant to your own site's content, and redirecting them could result in a negative user experience or even harm your search engine rankings. Additionally, the previous owner of the site may have agreements or contracts with the external sites that could be violated by redirecting the links. Before proceeding with such a purchase, it is important to carefully analyze the potential risks and benefits and consult with legal and SEO experts and the best digital marketing agency. It is also crucial to ensure that the redirect is done properly to avoid any technical issues or penalties from search engines. 
- 
					
					
					
					
 @Femamedia It's understandable that you're concerned about your competitor's seemingly questionable link-building tactics. Here are some answers to your questions: 
 • Reporting the issue: Yes, it's possible to report these practices to Google. You can do this through the Google Search Console's Spam Report tool or by filling out a Webspam Report form. However, be aware that it can take time for Google to investigate and take action on reported issues.
 • Natural link building: It's commendable that you aim to obtain links honestly. Keep in mind that it's not always about quantity but quality. You can try to build relationships with other websites in your niche, create high-quality content that others would want to link to, and promote your content on social media platforms.
 • Old website acquisition: While your competitor's strategy may have worked in the short term, it's not a sustainable long-term solution. As you mentioned, it's against Google's guidelines, and if caught, they could face penalties. Focus on building a strong and trustworthy website with quality content, and you'll likely see improvements in your rankings over time.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
- 
		
		Moz ToolsChat with the community about the Moz tools. 
- 
		
		SEO TacticsDiscuss the SEO process with fellow marketers 
- 
		
		CommunityDiscuss industry events, jobs, and news! 
- 
		
		Digital MarketingChat about tactics outside of SEO 
- 
		
		Research & TrendsDive into research and trends in the search industry. 
- 
		
		SupportConnect on product support and feature requests. 
Related Questions
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Interal linking
 Re: I'm stuck by internal linking. What structure should a football website follow? Silo or Topic Cluster? Competitive Research | | thanhdung0906
 I need advice on my website. My website: https://tipbongda247.net/
 I hope there are answers!
 Thanks0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Should I get a link from a low quality directory?
 While doing some backlink research of similar ranking sites I noticed that a few of them had links from a directory called Infignos, it has a moz DA of 37 and a low spam score of 3, so it doesn't look like complete junk. But the posts on it look terrible, like people are just putting keywords with a small description to get rankings. Should I bother posting something similar to be competitive or just move on? Any advice or feedback on this is much appreciated, I know some of these things are not quality sites but I was wondering the best way to filter that out. Thanks in advance. Competitive Research | | iwantclarity0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Does link equity still count after an expired domain is purchased?
 Hi guys, We've recently noticed a (very) minor competitor competing with us, as well as some of our industry's biggest names, in the Google SERPs - and the reason why has us absolutely stumped. Aside from an awful website from an aesthetic/UX point of view, their on-site content is horribly over-optimised, with keywords on the homepage even STRONG TAGGED for crying out loud! A backlink check using OSE and Ahrefs found 19 linking domains - most of which were just trash - but there were 5 that boasted some decent DA, the highest being 43. The thing is, these 5 sites are all very generic industry-relevant "blogs" that provide exceptionally poor quality content. The thing is, they have some very high quality backlinks (the BBC, the Guardian and CNN to name just three) acquired when the websites were something different entirely. The competitor has basically bought expired domains, turned them into basic websites related to our industry and linked them to their main domain. My question then is: is this competitor benefiting from the very high quality links that are pointing at sites that are then linked to their main domain? I found an article from 2009 that suggested old links stop counting after being purchased by someone else, but we are stumped as to why they could be otherwise. Thanks in advance everyone! John Competitive Research | | NAHL-14300
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		I am looking to find the top pages based on traffic volume on my competitors websites, does anyone know of any good resources?
 I want to know how which pages on my competitors websites are the most popular based on the traffic volume. I do not care how many links or directed to that page or any other metric. Only thing I am looking for is the traffic volume. It would also be nice to know the length of time spent on that page. Competitive Research | | kanteenboy0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Why do some sites perform great but show no data on the tool bar?
 Hey everyone, Been a paid member for 3 days and this is my first time posting 🙂 I have a quick question about competitive analysis with the MozBar. I do not want to point out the exact website (unless that is something cool to do on this forum), but there is a site ranking for a single keyword in the local 7 pack in slot one, which is also slot one for the SERP entirely. When I go to look at the page in more detail, the MozBar is showing no DA, PA, anything at all, and the Open Site Explorer is showing no links internal or external. I know that the page has to have at least some of these elements populated in order to be ranking for a term this competitive, so why is the bar not showing anything? The bar works GREAT on other sites below this one. Thanks for any help! Competitive Research | | tonyflorespsa0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		How Do You Create an excel spreadsheet of all blog post content on a site?
 Is there a quick and easy way to create an excel spreadsheet with a list of all blog content and it's SEO factors i.e. URL, title, description, etc.? I know I could use screaming from to get the entire site but is there a way to just get the content on the blog? Competitive Research | | RonMedlin0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		How can I obtain analytics and social data for a site that I'm not authorized on?
 I'd like to get traffic information and facebook /twitter stats for a company. Don't know their ua, logins or have access to any of their pages. Where can I find this information? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Competitive Research | | brandonschultz0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		My competition is using 1px images and links without anchor text. Good or bad idea?
 I've been scoping out some of my competition and I noticed the number 1 ranking site is doing a lot of "interesting" stuff. I saw a bunch of 1px blank images that they must be using for the alt tag keywords. I also noticed several links to internal pages with different keywords without anchor text so they don't actually appear on the page. Is this considered black hat? Should I be doing something similar? It feels like the work I'm doing to try to rank #1 with a clean/professional looking site are wasted when the #1 sites are doing things like this. Competitive Research | | technota0
 
			
		 
				
		 
			
		 
			
		 
			
		 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				