Hello All,
Below is the step by step guide to do a safe 301 re-direct:
- Make a list of all the existing pages/links
- Make a list of all the RANKING pages on SERPs
- Make a list of in-bound linking pages (external pages linking to you) and linked pages (pages being linked)
After collecting the above data, do the following:
a) create .htaccess (apache server) or httpd.ini (windows server) file
b) Check the original and destination urls
c) Double check the above data
d) Upload the file
e) Wait for atleast 4-6 months while constantly checking the RANKING/
PR changes
f) Link building to be done for the new site
g) Use "robots.txt" to block the old pages
h) Use Google Webmaster Tools to exclude/delete old pages from index
i) Finally delete the old pages from your server
The process of re-direction is complex from situation to situation. The above mentioned points are resultant of my personal experience.
Thank you