301 help needed

matt5409 · 09-14-2011, 02:17 AM

Hi everyone

My client has an exact match keyword domain which is ranking number 1 for that keyword. However, they have recently had a new site developed and want to have the current site 301 redirected to the new one (a different URL).

I know Google appreciates 301 redirects but in this case, it will be redirecting an exact match domain, and we don't want to lose the ranking. I could speculate on this forever, but am looking for advice from people who have actually done this - is it safe?

Many thanks in advance.

matt5409 · 09-14-2011, 05:02 AM

Are you speaking from direct experience or from something you've read? If it's something you've read can you provide a credible source?

I only ask because there is WAY too much hearsay in SEO and most of it isn't entirely accurate.

Thanks.

SimpleSEOTips · 09-14-2011, 05:22 AM

Hi Matt,

I can chip in with direct experience of a full site redirect. There was no loss in rankings but a bit of a dance along the first two weeks while new pages were being indexed and others dropping out of search engine results. As long as all pages are redirected to the same url structured style (.i.e. olddomain.com/sample-page-1 to newdomain/sample-page-1) and the content is kept the same then you should have no issues.
Make sure you create a Google Webmaster account for the new domain before the redirect and submit a full xml sitemap as soon as the redirect is done to help with the new pages being indexed quicker.
The experience I have of this was about 2 years ago so I can only speak of this as fact from back then. Things may've changed but in hindsight all the nail biting I did in advance and during wasn't neccessary.

matt5409 · 09-14-2011, 07:57 AM

Thanks very much for that insight, that has made me feel a little better about it. Should we go ahead and do this I'll report my results back here

brianlmaule · 09-14-2011, 08:34 AM

Yeh it will be fine

09-14-2011, 02:17 AM	#1
matt5409 Advanced Warrior Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: England Posts: 916 Thanks: 187 Thanked 165 Times in 106 Posts	301 help needed Hi everyone My client has an exact match keyword domain which is ranking number 1 for that keyword. However, they have recently had a new site developed and want to have the current site 301 redirected to the new one (a different URL). I know Google appreciates 301 redirects but in this case, it will be redirecting an exact match domain, and we don't want to lose the ranking. I could speculate on this forever, but am looking for advice from people who have actually done this - is it safe? Many thanks in advance.
	Nothing to see here

09-14-2011, 05:02 AM	#2
matt5409 Advanced Warrior Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: England Posts: 916 Thanks: 187 Thanked 165 Times in 106 Posts	Re: 301 help needed Are you speaking from direct experience or from something you've read? If it's something you've read can you provide a credible source? I only ask because there is WAY too much hearsay in SEO and most of it isn't entirely accurate. Thanks.
	Nothing to see here

09-14-2011, 05:22 AM	#3
SimpleSEOTips HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 147 Thanks: 17 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts Social Networking	Re: 301 help needed Hi Matt, I can chip in with direct experience of a full site redirect. There was no loss in rankings but a bit of a dance along the first two weeks while new pages were being indexed and others dropping out of search engine results. As long as all pages are redirected to the same url structured style (.i.e. olddomain.com/sample-page-1 to newdomain/sample-page-1) and the content is kept the same then you should have no issues. Make sure you create a Google Webmaster account for the new domain before the redirect and submit a full xml sitemap as soon as the redirect is done to help with the new pages being indexed quicker. The experience I have of this was about 2 years ago so I can only speak of this as fact from back then. Things may've changed but in hindsight all the nail biting I did in advance and during wasn't neccessary.

09-14-2011, 07:57 AM	#4
matt5409 Advanced Warrior Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: England Posts: 916 Thanks: 187 Thanked 165 Times in 106 Posts	Re: 301 help needed Thanks very much for that insight, that has made me feel a little better about it. Should we go ahead and do this I'll report my results back here
	Nothing to see here

09-14-2011, 08:34 AM	#5
brianlmaule Warrior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: 301 help needed Yeh it will be fine