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Call them widget.ca and widget.com
We have been using widget.ca for years and it has a PR of 6. widget.com has a PR of 6 because google knows that it is the same IP address and the same content, however widget.com is not in the index, because google will filter duplicate content on the samp IP.
Six weeks ago, we decided that we want everybody to use widget.com. We did a proper 301 redirect from widget.ca to widget.com and we verified the header to make sure it was 301 and not 302.
since widget.com is relatively new, it has very few backlinks, but we assume that we would inherit the PR from widget.ca to widget.com during the redirect.
Now, tonight the night of the blackout, we disappear from the google index. We are still in the google directory, and the google toolbar reports a PR of 6 when you manually type our widget.com url.
So what is going on, and what can I do to fix the problem, or to make google realize they have a problem with PR inheritance on 301 redirects?
According to what I learned in this forum, PR can not be passed down from your old site to your new site, even though they are the same content. Perhaps you have to contact those who link to you to change the link to your new site.
That is not correct.
Google will indeed follow a 301 and will pass the PR to the redirected pages.
It just takes a little time to catch up, that's all.
TJ
I am now history in Yahoo(web) and only show up in Yahoo(directory).
Should I use the add url feature at google, to add the widget.com back in. I hear that the freshbot will pick it up in a few days.
[edited by: lgn at 11:25 am (utc) on Aug. 15, 2003]
Six weeks ago, we decided that we want everybody to use widget.com.
Three months is a long time to wait to be put back in the index, due to a PR transfer.
Umm, 6 weeks isn't the same as 3 months.
If you have a PR of 3 you should still appear in the index - unless you have been deliberately removed from the index for some reason.
unless you have been deliberately removed from the index for some reason.
Yup, sounds to me like a penalty of some sort.
If the 301's are correct, then at least one or other of the sites should be in the index depending on where google has got up to.
I've never seen a site removed from the index but retain it's PR though.
Are you sure you're not in the index? What are you doing to check that?
TJ
Can I use my leverage as an Adwords Advertiser.
Should I get my lawyer to draw up a friendly letter.
Should I try to contact them by phone.
What works?
One caveet, I did find one link for my site. The one being used for googe adwords (ie www.widget.com/index_adwords.htm)
I can't be penalized as I have PR.
But I have hundred of sites linking to widget.ca/index.htm which then is redirected to widgets.com/index.htm
In theory I should be able to get Yahoo (A PR5) to change its url for our site to widget.com, but
we joined when it was a free inclusion and we were included automatically without asking and we don't have an original contact email to pass their security check on the change form.
trillianjedi is correct. I've done this on many occasions. PR is transferred to the new domain.
I didn't wait long enough to test that theory because I saw that most of my backlinks were not pointing to my new domain in spite of contacting nearly all of them. I wanted to retire the old domain.
If it works, why does it work (in the case where you want to retire an old domain)? I can believe it would if the old one remains alive with a 301 redirect.
I can't be penalized as I have PR.
If you haven't been banned, then I think you're just going to have to wait for the 301's to resolve in google.
TJ
>In theory I should be able to get Yahoo (A PR5) to change its url for our site to widget.com, but
we joined when it was a free inclusion and we were included automatically without asking and we don't have an original contact email to pass their security check on the change form.
Try asking them nicely. I've managed to get many old listings changed on behalf of clients, without the original email. Specially if you've 301 the old domain, they'll be able to see for themsleves.
>If it works, why does it work (in the case where you want to retire an old domain)? I can believe it would if the old one remains alive with a 301 redirect.
You're right, the old domain HAS to stay live with the 301 redirect in place for this to work.
This has been a sucky week: First Google and now the power grid.
No body can place orders as our credit card gateway is in Toronto (No Power) and our redundant payment gateway in Ottawa is down (No Power).
So much for distributed redundancy.
If your old site has still PR6, it should be listed in SERPs in the same (hopefully good) position as always, and every searcher will be redirected, until the PR will finally be 'transferred'.
A client of mine also had some yahoo-listings from the old free-of-charge-days, I just redirected the pages to the new version. Of course this does not give her PR, but it sure brings the visitors.
I noticed that the freshbot is running. Can it
hurt me to add the url back in using the add url
feature of google, while I wait for google to figure out the 301 redirect situation.
It won't hurt to add your URL one more time, but I guess it won't give you something either. But you could try it.
