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Changing Domains- hurt SEO

by JohnnyWeb
4 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hey Everyone,
Quick question. I have a client that owns a house painting franchise and wants to do SEO on a site he just launched. Problem is, he's most likely going to drop his current domain name altogether for a new one in a few months (to get out from under the franchise) while keeping his current site design. I'm concerned that he will lose the benefit of what he wants me to do for him to boost his rankings right now.

Should I go ahead and do the SEO now or wait until he changes domain names? Thanks in advance.
#changing #domains #hurt #seo
  • Profile picture of the author christopherNV
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnnyWeb
      I thought about the 301, but I'm not as knowledgeable about these as I'd like to be. Can you set up a 301 if the franchise owns the domain? (which they do) He's considering leaving the franchise so he doesn't have to keep writing the big check every month and he wants more control of his business.

      I have encouraged him to buy the new domain now before I get started. Thanks for validating that one. I've got him looking at domain names now.
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  • Profile picture of the author cdemar22
    If you sign up both domains with Google's webmaster tools, and do a 301 redirect across the domain, there is a feature within the webmaster tools that allows you to "tell" Google that you are moving your domain. If you do this, you shouldn't get penalized in search results, or at least not on Google.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnnyWeb
      Awesome! Thank you very much!
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      • Profile picture of the author TSDMike
        Let me see if I understand what you're getting at:

        Your client just launched a new site on a domain he doesn't own. When he severs ties with the owner (franchise) of the domain, he will not be able to retain it. So he will essentially move the site to a new domain name.

        If you've no access to the old domain name, I don't see how you can execute a 301 redirect.

        When you move the site from one domain name to another, yes your efforts with respect to offsite optimization will probably be wasted.

        That said, if the on-site elements are in place, and you have good content on the site, it shouldn't be too difficult to get your site reindexed on Google. Obviously, this is largely dependent on the amount of competition for the target keywords, etc.

        I see your biggest challenges to be your existing backlinks and the age of the old domain.

        What I would do is secure the new domain right away. Create a landing page optimized for the targeted keywords explaining that this is the future home of such and such.com. Then, during your linkbuilding efforts, build backlinks to both domains.

        If you're writing articles and such, you might be able to go back and change the links to the new domain. When you move your content from the old site to the new domain, preserve all filenames and URL extensions and such to make the transition as smooth as possible.
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        Web Marketing, SEO & Wordpress Site Development in Grand Rapids, MI
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