Executive Summary, typed while listening to video
search google for...
site:domain.com
zero results may be a bad sign, may have been dropped from google
search for "domain" minus the .com
might get domain results showing what people were talking about relating to this domain
key thing to ascertain: was it a spammy domain previously?
use archive.org and type in www.domain.com and see what it looked like
if buying existing site/domain
ask to see
google analytics
webmaster console
see traffic over time
If you really like the domain and buy it anyway,
even if it was a spammy domain...
can do a "reconsideration request"
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35843?hl=en
but don't count on previous links carrying over, especially if previous owner was webspamming
can also do disavow on the previous owners spammy links to get a clean start