302 Redirect to keep rankings?

Dan B Rusu · 02-04-2012, 07:23 PM

We are changing our company name and will be changing the domain. We rank very well in search engines for our keywords. If we do a 302 redirect to the new domain, will we keep our rankings? Will the new domain take the position of the old domain in the search results?

etelligent · 02-04-2012, 08:25 PM

Unlikely. You will lose rankings. Heaps of link juice will be passed onto the new site to help it rank fast. But it will depend on how your competitors are positioned and how they have done their SEO. As now your new site will have a new SEO form which involves the new re-direct.

I would keep the old site, re-brand it with the new company info, even thought the domain is the old name. Just start posting alot of new content and linking it to the new website, drip feed style. Then go buy a great 301 and point it to the new site and run a new seo campaign to the new site. You will rank really fast.

other thing to remember is if your new website has only just been registered you will need some domain age before you will be no 1. Maybe 3-6 months, maybe sooner, or later, always depends on your competition.

Cheers

tim_buchalka · 02-04-2012, 10:49 PM

a 302 re-direct passes NO link juice (so your old domain would keep all of it). A 301 redirect passes link juice to the destination domain (your new company domain).

If you want your new domain to rank well, make sure it's a 301 redirect and you should eventually get back the same page rank (minus a little bit) over time.

Bing (up until recently) did not even index 302 redirects but does now sometimes, so generally a 301 (which tells the search engines this is a permanent change) is the way to go.

Depending on the amount of content, I would expect it might take a few weeks (up to a month) before you see the new results (your new domain ranking better).

It would not hurt to add some new content to the new domain and do a little backlinking as well just to "stoke the fire".

Cheers

Tim

99octane · 02-04-2012, 11:59 PM

You need 301 redirects to keep any of the value of your links. Preferable still is keep your domain that you have and slowly keep posting content and links pointing to your new site, then make the move a slow one over the next 6 months or so.

02-04-2012, 07:23 PM	#1
Dan B Rusu Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Seattle Posts: 638 Thanks: 110 Thanked 154 Times in 36 Posts	302 Redirect to keep rankings? We are changing our company name and will be changing the domain. We rank very well in search engines for our keywords. If we do a 302 redirect to the new domain, will we keep our rankings? Will the new domain take the position of the old domain in the search results?

02-04-2012, 08:25 PM	#2
etelligent Warrior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Gold Coast Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: 302 Redirect to keep rankings? Unlikely. You will lose rankings. Heaps of link juice will be passed onto the new site to help it rank fast. But it will depend on how your competitors are positioned and how they have done their SEO. As now your new site will have a new SEO form which involves the new re-direct. I would keep the old site, re-brand it with the new company info, even thought the domain is the old name. Just start posting alot of new content and linking it to the new website, drip feed style. Then go buy a great 301 and point it to the new site and run a new seo campaign to the new site. You will rank really fast. other thing to remember is if your new website has only just been registered you will need some domain age before you will be no 1. Maybe 3-6 months, maybe sooner, or later, always depends on your competition. Cheers

02-04-2012, 10:49 PM	#3
tim_buchalka Aussie SEO Geek War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 335 Blog Entries: 54 Thanks: 62 Thanked 117 Times in 57 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: 302 Redirect to keep rankings? a 302 re-direct passes NO link juice (so your old domain would keep all of it). A 301 redirect passes link juice to the destination domain (your new company domain). If you want your new domain to rank well, make sure it's a 301 redirect and you should eventually get back the same page rank (minus a little bit) over time. Bing (up until recently) did not even index 302 redirects but does now sometimes, so generally a 301 (which tells the search engines this is a permanent change) is the way to go. Depending on the amount of content, I would expect it might take a few weeks (up to a month) before you see the new results (your new domain ranking better). It would not hurt to add some new content to the new domain and do a little backlinking as well just to "stoke the fire". Cheers Tim
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02-04-2012, 11:59 PM	#4
99octane SEO Doctor War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Mesa, AZ, USA. Posts: 41 Thanks: 9 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts Social Networking	Re: 302 Redirect to keep rankings? You need 301 redirects to keep any of the value of your links. Preferable still is keep your domain that you have and slowly keep posting content and links pointing to your new site, then make the move a slow one over the next 6 months or so.