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Domain rebrand dilemma - please advise

by Unknown Man
2 replies
Hello fellow warriors, I have a bit of a dilemma - any advice you can provide is extremely appreciated! Here it is:

So I've got 2 domains, let's call it olddomain.com and newdomain.com.

Currently my site sits on olddomain.com, but the old domain no longer fits the rest of the brand (we've deviated quite a bit) so I'm looking to potentially rebrand (301 redirect) to newdomain.com within the next 6 months or so.

I've got 2 questions:

1. Since I'm still using olddomain.com, and not quite ready to 301 to newdomain.com, can I simply forward newdomain.com to olddomain.com in the meantime? Or at least point newdomain.com to the same IP as olddomain.com? Until I'm ready to 301 redirect olddomain to newdomain. Because currently if you visit newdomain.com, it just leads to a dead page and it looks a bit unprofessional.

2. When doing outreach and building links, does it make sense to continue to use olddomain or should I ask bloggers to point to newdomain (since that will be the new domain in 6 months or so)?

Some background: our site is quite established with nearly a million users a month.

Many thanks for all your help!

John
#advise #dilemma #domain #rebrand
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I'm not a domain expert but I would not 'replace' a site that gets a million users a month. I know the standard advice is to use 301 redirects but in my experience that's not an infallible method. A new domain will be starting over while the old domain has a valid place in the SE's - a million users a month....it's a valuable domain IMO.

    How old is the 'old domain' now in use?

    no longer fits the rest of the brand
    I would be looking for a plan to expand the 'rest of the brand' to the new site...using the old site to help promote the new site through product links, etc. Is there a reason you cannot use TWO domains to push your business online? Or perhaps in time do a gradual transfer of your audience to the new domain through links/content/special offers.

    should I ask bloggers to point to newdomain (since that will be the new domain in 6 months or so)?
    I would not point links to a non-existent site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    Originally Posted by Unknown Man View Post

    Some background: our site is quite established with nearly a million users a month.
    Do the majority of your users come from organic search results and via links from other sites? If so, I'd be tempted to let sleeping dogs lie - at least until your newly branded site is ready to launch.

    Also, are you so sure a rebranding is necessary? A million monthly users seem happy enough with your existing set-up. Sometimes owners attach more significance to a name than the customers do. Just a thought.
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