2 replies to this topic

[grooveitgolf_com]

I have a client who has two domains - one from 1998, and the other from 2001. Their niche is not all that competitive, and they rank well for the domain from 1998.

The kicker is that the old domain (circa 1998) is one of the companies under their main umbrella brand name, which is the newer domain (from 2001). The company now wants everyone going to their new domain name. The funny thing is that the site is exactly the same for both domains - it's just a branding issue, I suppose. Their current staff has no knowledge of SEO so it's hard to tell what they were doing before.

I don't want to kill current rankings, so would it be worthwhile to 301 the older domain to the newer domain, or do I still risk an aging delay. Should I leave the older domain alone and just start fresh building links to the new one?

[Randy]

Since it's a branding issue I would initially lean towards redirecting everything to the domain you want everyone to end up on via a 301. However make sure first that this domain has links pointing to it and is fully indexed. It'll be tough to go back now and tell for sure if it's emerged from the aging delay, but I would suspect that it probably has.

Assuming the newer domain is not being slapped down by the aging delay one of two things is going to happen in my experience...

1. The moment the old domain goes bye-bye the newer domain will take up it's spot in the SERPs because the engines have already figured out that the two are connected.

2. It'll take 4-6 months for the newer domain to get the full effect of the 301s and start moving up the SERPs.

Which will be the case should be evident pretty quickly. Within a matter of days after you throw the switch.

[Jill]

Read Scottie's article on switching to a new domain just in case.