If I redirect from .net to .com, do I lose page rank?

11 replies
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Dear community friends.

I have a question about redirecting from .net to the .com version of my Site.

Back in June of 2007 I registered my .net domain name. The .com version was registered on 2002 and was not available.
The name is a very decent key word search term (Pinmaps), so I decided to register the .net extension and started to build a web site for fun. My idea of selecting the name was to create a brand around it. Almost 10 year of having a well-developed web site has been very useful because my site ranks very well with Google. Basically, it grew organically. I never made any
SEO effort and did not spend money on advertising. 95% of the visits came to my site organically from search engines.

I converted the software into a business that has been successful and a few days ago I had to opportunity to buy the .com version of the domain name and after several months of negotiation I bought it. I thought would be a great idea to protect the brand owning both extensions. At this point the .com domain has no SEO value whatsoever. The search engines have no knowledge of it, because the previous owner never developed a Site and kept the domain parked.

I want to move the Site to the .com domain and do a 301 redirect from the .net one, but I'm frightened with the thought of losing all the traffic coming from search engines and being drop down on the list. This would mean a lot of revenue lost.
Is it true that like some people say that all the ranking authority would be transferred to the new .com domain? Should I do the opposite and redirect from .com to .net? I personally feel like .com gives you more respectability.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Thank you for your help.
#lose #net #page #rank #redirect
  • Profile picture of the author expmrb
    Yes you can redirect it. You may loose traffic a bit for a friction of time but it will come back if you have a good link profile.
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  • Profile picture of the author Endrue11
    301 direction is the best technique to move old domain to new domain. So, you can move it. little bit down for certain period of time but it will come back soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    I'm not sure if I wouldn't do it the other way around - re-direct the .com one to the .net one that is already ranking (I assume). Moving to a .com TLD is not going to provide any rankings benefit, so why go through the hassle of moving the domain and the loss in traffic which undoubtedly will occur - at least for a period of time?

    This way, if people mistakenly type in .com, they still end up on your .net site.
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    I'd do it like Dave suggested. Why take a risk if you don't have to?
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  • Profile picture of the author Sergio101
    Thank you for your responses.
    Yes, I agree that redirecting from .com to .net will be a lot easier and safer. However; my personal opinion is that .com domain names gives you better status and more respectability as a business.
    Any thoughts on that?
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      People are more used to .com. So, what? You're redirecting them. Which means you can advertise the .com version and they'll end up on the .net and everything'll be fine.

      Originally Posted by Sergio101 View Post

      Thank you for your responses.
      Yes, I agree that redirecting from .com to .net will be a lot easier and safer. However; my personal opinion is that .com domain names gives you better status and more respectability as a business.
      Any thoughts on that?
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    The thing that so very few people in this business seem to realize is that the vast majority of regular internet users don't look at the URL, don't know what (or even where) a URL is and have no preconceived notion over whether a .com, .net. .us, or .org is better or worse or even care. They may remember websites as .com, whether they are or not, but they just want information and couldn't care less about the TLD that information comes from.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sergio101
      Great advice Dave. Thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author PromoA
    Google should be friendly to redirection. 301 is a right thing to do.
    Please share with us how it was going. Do you see changes in the traffic?
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    • Profile picture of the author Sergio101
      I have decided to takes Dave's advice and redirect the .com to the existing .net Site that has the history with the search engines. I thought why to take the risk of loosing 15% page rank even if it is temporarily. The income from the business that pays the bills is more important that me seeing the .com next to my domain name. If someone mistype the extension of the URL on their browser it will end up on my Site regardless.
      Great comments from everyone.
      This forum is a great source of information. I'll keep coming every day to learn more about the fascinating topic of SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnsimth
    Yes you will lose it temporally and all will recover after sometime. You should use 301 redirect and intimate search engines that site have been moved to new address.
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