Should I 301 a penalised domain to a different domain or just wait it out?

[addz123]

This is a little frustrating. I bought a domain about 6 months ago and developed a site on it but it's not ranking for anything other then it's main keyword.

I'm sure the domain was penalised when I bought it. This is probably the biggest reason Google pisses me off. It was an unused domain (think there was a 1 page RSS feed site on it a few years ago), and had zero backlinks when I bought it, so it couldn't have had a link penalty or anything.

According to Google there's no manual penalties, so it must be an algorithmic filter. I have NO idea what this could be for or how long it's going to last. It just seems insanely retarded that Google has decided to filter a domain that hasn't been used in years and has a new owner/new site on it with some good backlinks. It's getting crawled regularly and has tons of pages indexed (ranks 11th for main keyword) but is completely amiss for any other keyword queries.

On the one hand I could just wait off the penalty (assuming it's timed) but on the other I could try 301'ing the whole thing to a different unused domain and see what happens. I'll obviously keep the penalised domain and see if I can wait off the timed-filter penalty or something.

The reason I'd want to 301 is that I'd rather make $500-$1k/month with the site at the new domain then just let it sit there indefinitely filtered for no reason.

[Mr-AJ]

Where does it rank for its exact match and where does it rank for such terms like exacht page titles (where it is supposed to rank well)?

[addz123]

Where does it rank for its exact match and where does it rank for such terms like exacht page titles (where it is supposed to rank well)?

It ranks 11th for it's exact match. I did a few searches for my exact page titles and for 90% of my I rank nowhere within first 15 pages on very uncompetitive searches. But then there are a few inner pages where I rank 1st page or 5th or 7th page or 10th page etc. Let me say again these are VERY UNCOMPETITIVE terms where there virtually no other sites targeting or referencing them.

Also I just noticed my XML sitemap ranks above one of my articles for it's exact page title.

I think I'm going to make a last ditch effort in February, by buying 100's of natural +1's, releasing some Press Releases with main brand URLs and making a Google Page for it.

[Prenut]

I see that you bought the domain 6 months ago, but how long have you had a site there?

At any rate I think this is way too short of a time to be considering this. Personally I don't expect anything from a site in the first 6 months, and I expect very litttle in the first year.

[addz123]

I see that you bought the domain 6 months ago, but how long have you had a site there?

At any rate I think this is way too short of a time to be considering this. Personally I don't expect anything from a site in the first 6 months, and I expect very litttle in the first year.

I've developed 20+ sites and have always started getting decent traffic within a month or two of launch. My StudentBanking.co.uk site is only around 1 month old and is already getting 1,000+ visitors per month. I've launched around 3-4 sites since in the last few months which get better traffic then the one I'm talking about.

With regards to timing, I launched it as soon as I bought the domain (6 months ago), so I find it very strange it's not even ranking in the top 15 pages for exact page titles when there is virtually no other competition.

What I'm saying is that something is definitely wrong compared to past experiences, where sites have began ranking straight away.

[MJ]

Prenut is right, I don't really bother going any further because nobody listens anyways.

[Squizzel]

Out of curiosity, do you make much money prenut?

[Mr-AJ]

It ranks 11th for it's exact match. I did a few searches for my exact page titles and for 90% of my I rank nowhere within first 15 pages on very uncompetitive searches. But then there are a few inner pages where I rank 1st page or 5th or 7th page or 10th page etc. Let me say again these are VERY UNCOMPETITIVE terms where there virtually no other sites targeting or referencing them.

Also I just noticed my XML sitemap ranks above one of my articles for it's exact page title.

I think I'm going to make a last ditch effort in February, by buying 100's of natural +1's, releasing some Press Releases with main brand URLs and making a Google Page for it.

What I've done in a similar situation like that is buying another domain for reg fee (if it's not that competitive you should find a few good ones) and move the whole content there and tell G that this is the new site and 301 properly. Then you should see pretty quickly how it develops. I never had problems with this technique maybe because I built some solid links simultaneously. This way you can always switch to your old domain but this is often unnecessary.

[suffolkpoker]

Out of curiosity, do you make much money prenut?

I think that's irrelevant, no body in there right mind would openly answer that in a public forum.

I think a redirect would be my last option especially on a new site. I would look at other factors on the sure which may be causing a penalty. I assume your using your standard template. I would look at the quality of the content. If you redirected the penalty would still follow if it as the cobtent anyway.

[Squizzel]

Its hugely relevant, would you take poker advice from a losing player? I think not.

TBH, the only people qualified to answer this are people who have sites penalized and 301'd successfully/unsucessfuly, or have evidence to back up either.

I see no evidence.