Robert_Charlton - 10:07 pm on Aug 28, 2012 (gmt 0)

diberry - One another thread [webmasterworld.com...] you just posted...

I've been thinking more about 1script's remarks, and realized, duh, I did make one tech change around the 23rd. Basically, I had changed my domain name months ago for branding purposes from OldName.com to NewName.com and 301'd everything from OldName. Around the 23rd, I switched OldName to a reseller hosting package, since all it's doing now is redirecting inbound links to OldName that I can't get people to update. There was no downtime for either site, because I left OldName's old hosting up for four days to cover the propagation period and then some. I've changed hosts on my main sites many times in the past and NEVER had a Google traffic drop like this, so it's hard to believe changing hosts on the redirected site would have such an impact.

I just want to clarify, is the site you're discussing in this thread the one referred to in the quote above? If so, might this perhaps open or re-open an avenue of inquiry that we might have missed or glossed over?

Changing a domain name in close proximity to making lots of changes on a site is something that Google has frowned upon for a great many years, probably going back all the way to the Florida update, at least. This was true even before the patent for spam detection also under discussion.