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Moving my site to another domain, what about SERP rankings?

by Nail Yener
3 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi Warriors,

I created a site for testing purposes long ago and now I want to improve it by adding more content and changing its design. However, I realized that the domain name that I chose will not be a good one to continue with. I was a newbie when I registered it.

Now, I want to register a better domain name and transfer all the content to the new site (about 100 pages) but since I have never done this before I am concerned about losing rankings.

I did some research about moving a site to another domain and I learned that I should use a 301 redirect for every single page and create their corresponding ones on the new site. This is ok, not a big deal. But this part is not so clear: Shall I keep the old site even after the new one is fully indexed? Or, simply what shall I do?

I would really like to hear from warriors who has some real experience about moving sites to new domains.

Thanks
#domain #moving #rankings #site
  • Profile picture of the author RevSEO
    A 301 redirect from the old domain tells Google's servers that the pages have moved forever. Its a permanent redirect. That means what when you visit that URL, you'll be automatically transferred to your new domain. Therefore the content/website issue is irrelevant assuming you set up the 301 redirect properly.

    Unfortunately I never recommend changing domains like this, unless you are very early in the game (and not many links, pagerank, and rankings). Or unless there's a trademark or copyright issue.

    Rankings will take time to come back, and even then I've never had my rankings retained after changing domains as you are attempting to do. Its a long uphill battle. So weigh the options before going forward with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author internet_seo
    You should avoid migrating content from one domain to another. Instead try to optimize the new domain as well as your old domain.

    Your old domain will receive age-benefit which you would not get in a new domain. Try to optimize both or atleast create 10-15 content for new domain.

    Sometimes copying content from one domain to another can make your website look like duplicate website to search engines.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Chase
    Originally Posted by dianeforster View Post

    you have a option in google webmaster tool to indicate the domian chage. pls check it out
    This is a good idea - register your site with Google Webmaster Tools and find the option to move your site from one domain to another. This should help.
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