Google’s John Mueller said that using expired domains, and repurposed domains are “SEO-flotsam, index-cruft.” John went on to add that search engines have had a lot of practice with dealing with that appropriately.”

Flotsam is defined as the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea.

This is just a great quote, so I had to share it:

Yes, John went on to add that you can “build a new site if you want,” but he said, “don’t assume there’s old & tasty SEO-juice to lick up just by placing a site on an old domain.”

We wrote about this topic a lot, a lot, Google knows when domain names change ownership and Google can remove or keep any signals it wants from the old domain.

Here are some older stories on this topic:

Google Penalties Might Follow You To A New Domain Name
Reminder: When Buying A New Domain, Check Its History
Buying a Used Domain? Submit a Reconsideration Request to Google
Google’s Matt Cutts On How To Buy Domain Names
Submit a Reconsideration Request to Google if You Buy a Banned Domain

Forum discussion at Twitter.