A while back, John Mueller and Gary Illyes from Google reacted to a tweet around selling domain names based on their "SEO footprint." Meaning, it has a lot of perceived SEO value (links and authority) based on third-party tools. And the domain name broker is pitching that as a reason to buy the domain name.
So while Gary Illyes simply "no" to bidding on it:
No
— Gary 鯨理／경리 Illyes (@methode) June 9, 2020
John Mueller had a more fun response:
I bid ...
— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu) June 9, 2020
them good luck. Selling a domain based on the "SEO footprint" sounds a bit like selling a car based on the topped-up gas tank.
The funny thing, John said this the year before in a different tweet. He said buying used domains is like buying a used car. Keep in mind, when you buy a domain name, Google knows it has changed ownership and also knows the content on that domain name has changed significantly. So if the past history does not hurt you, which it might or might not - the same flows with it might or might not help you. Google might reset all the good things, all the past links, and such when the domain name is sold.
In any event - buy the domain name if you think the name works for your brand. But be careful not to buy a domain name with a shady history or that had adult content on it - use the Way Back Machine.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
