Changing Domain Names

[ArthurNYC]

We are about to change domain names to a fresh domain (I could list the reasons, but it would take 3 pages of descriptions). We have about 75 review sites, about 600 pages, and have used a lot of sub-domains in the past but have had issues with Google on PPC and Natural Rankings, thus the decision to "start fresh". All of our content is unique to us and the site is relatively well optimized.

So while we have good, not great, natural search positions, I do not want to lose them when we switch. If we use 301 redirects from the old domain pages to the new domain pages, will our PR and listings "transfer" over or are we going to get sand boxed and lose everything?

Any suggestions to make sure we avoid getting sand boxed while maintaining what we have?

Thanks ahead of time!

Arthur

[cw1865]

Hello Arthur,

I can understand wanting to build a new site. Migrating can be a difficult thing though. There is something about redirects that I, personally, never caread for. To a certain extent, we share a similar problem. I too have 'dated' websites out there that are old and have certain positions that are entrenched in google.

Under the circumstances I would recommend keeping the old website live and simply starting a new website on the new domain name. Maybe you can't do this?

[ArthurNYC]

Can't keep the old site live as we then end up with duplicate content which kills us on PPC.

Arthur

[tamecrow]

You mention that you've had issues with Google in the past due to your PPC and natural search campaigns. Have these issues now been addressed?

[incrediblehelp]

Arthur no one can say fro sure. Why not do some testing first and try moving a few URLs at a time? Making the move slowly will ensure no major drops happen and you can analyze each more separately and ensure everything is working.

[cw1865]

Internet Security Software - PCSecurityShield

Arthur,

Is the above domain the website that you are going to migrate to or is it the website that you are going to migrate from?

If you're migrating FROM this site I'd liken it to trying to treat brain cancer by playing Russian roulette.

I don't mean this just from an SEO perspective, just from a business perspective, you have A LOT of goodwill built up in that name.

How are you going to get all of those backlinks to come over?

Let's put it this way: are the issues that you're experiencing worth risking your business over?

[SemAdvance]

You can migrate quite safely but you may have to ride out bumps.

Make sure to follow the following steps.

Set up new domain and secure hosting.

Load site pages to new domain hosted account.

Add .htaccess file with 301s completed.

Change DNS settings at registar.

Make sure site is live.

Allow spiders to crawl.

Pull old site pages down once site is propagated.

You can handle any Google-Mediabot issues via robots.txt file

User-agent: AdsBot-Google

disallow: /

[deepsand]

This subject has been here addressed numerous times; most recently, at New Domain SEO 301 Redirects .

You may wish to review this and other like discussions for readily available advice.