Buzzle.com has written a greate article on how google ranks pages submitted to it. How do they come by this information you may ask? It’s all in a recent patent Google filed:
How many years did you register your domain name for?
If it’s only one then that’s a point against you in Googles eyes.
Why?
Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their web site.
This is just one of the unusual factors now considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website. Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases.
How do I know this?
Google have recently filed United States Patent Application 20050071741 on March 31, 2005.
In which many of the search giants secret ranking criteria is revealed and it makes very interesting reading. You have got to read this if you’re serious about ranking well in Google. The days of Spaming Google are drawing to a close. With this patent they reveal just how hard they’re coming down on Spam sites. You Do Not want to get caught out.
Below you will find the hard facts, I recommend you bookmark this page now. You will need to reference it each time you optimize a new site.
• First of all Links. It’s common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works. 
This is a major factor so I’ll take a few paragraphs to explain what is going on.
As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link. Google seems to also consider historical factors. Googles ‘sandbox’ or aging delay begins countdown the minute links to a new site are discovered.
Google record the discovery of a link and link changes over time. The speed at which a site gains links and the link life span.
With this in mind fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.
Gone are the days of pages and pages full of link farms. You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with. That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics.
It always amazes me what kind of information you can get just be keeping your eyes open. This certainly gives better insight for webmasters wanting to fully use (and possibly misuse) Google.
Thanks for the link and info… Makes an interesting read. I’ll make sure I come to use it in the future