Transitioning to a new domain name

How can I avoid being hurt in the SERPs?

[GaryK]

Hi. I've asked a similar question before and also did some research before asking this question.

A website I run is in the process of transitioning from one domain name to another. I cannot simply drop the first domain name because it's been in use since 1998 and has a very loyal following.

The site used to be owned jointly with a friend who is no longer interested in being part of the site. The current domain has this person's name in it.

The new domain was selected primarily because it maintains the same acronym most people are accustomed to when referring to the site based on the site's current domain name.

I do plan on redirecting people from the old domain to the new domain. That's no problem as I can easily do it with ISAPI_Rewrite.

My concern is, of course, what effect, if any, this might have on my position in the SERPs where I'm usually in the top ten for my keywords because this transition may last for a year or more.

I'm woefully ignorant of these kinds of things so any help or advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Gargen]

well the new site will have to start all of over agian, sorry but your old sites pages will linger in the index for months so you will have time to build back up at the new site, my sugestion conctact as many people of link to you as possible and tell them that you have moved, this includes all of those directories, thats another thing you will have to wait months for the new site to be DMOZ listed

[tedster]

I do plan on redirecting people from the old domain to the new domain.

SInce you have done some research, I assume you've run into the importance of using permanent (301) redirects and not temporary (302) redirects. If the new domain has parallel pages to the old domain, then make sure there is a redirect that goes directly from the old domain's page directly to the new page, and don't just send all traffic to the new domain's Home Page. This is especially important for deep pages that have inbound links and pages that have been generating good traffic from search engines.

One more important thing you can do is to get inbound links to the new domain, as fast as possible. Ask the owners of existing links to change to the new domain, change directory listings over, buy new ones where you must and so on.

Changing a domain can be a tough road, and there probably will be a dip in traffic for a few months. But I would focus on getting the new domain promoted and standing on its own power, as well as putting the redirects in place. If you think of the new domain as a seamless continuation of the exisitng wesbite, then your expectations on traffic are bound to be disappointed. But if you think of it like promoting a brand new website, then your expectations can be exceeded because you have the advantage of an older domain to give you a jumpstart.

[GaryK]

Gargen, thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll pass on the DMOZ suggestion without further comment. But I appreciate your other suggestions and will follow them.

Ted, thanks very much for good, sound advice as well.

All the pages will be parallel and ISAPI_Rewrite will let me make the redirect permanent and still let the user see the page they thought they were going to see. I do understand the importance of making the redirect permanent.

Getting everyone to update their inbound links is going to be a big job but if you say it needs to be done I'll do it. I'm on good terms with everyone who links to the site. With that in mind do you think it's alright to use an e-mail template and customize it with each webmaster's name?

I guess I've got my work cut out for me. :)

[tedster]

If you write the boilerplate in a personable manner, a template email should be OK. If you can come up with something amusing, just some little turn of the phrase or whatever to lighten their day, I find you get faster responses.

Yes, I think getting the links updated is quite important for the long term - making the new domain stand on its own is valuable. If it's a really big job, with thousands and thousands of links, then you will naturally need to pace your work over a stretch of time.

Also, if you have email addresses associated with the old domain, keep them working as long as you can.

I also agre with Gargen that submitting to DMOZ is a good idea. Yes, it may be a long, wait, but the actual submission takes a short few minutes of your time - just submit it and let it go. Whenever they work through the queue at DMOZ and add you, and then the Google directory and others pick it up and give you a link, well some day you'll find your traffic has taken a jump. And if you are fortunate enough to be added fast (it still does happen) then the new domain gains authenticity rapidly.

[GaryK]

Thanks for the advice about the e-mail. I wish I had thousands of links but it's more like a few hundred.

I really wanted to let the DMOZ thing slide but since you brought it up again I guess I need to comment on it.

The site in question has been online since 1997. The domain name has been active since 1998. In that time I have submitted to DMOZ three times. I've never been listed. The sites in my topic are terribly out of date. Some of the sites no longer exist. There is no editor in my category. I applied to be an editor once and even though I followed their instructions to the letter, including disclosing I was the webmaster of a site in that category I was rejected by a form letter within five minutes. So far as I am concerned DMOZ is worthless. My site does just fine without it. In fact I can't see how being listed in DMOZ would boost my ranking at all at this point. I'll admit this may not be the case for everyone but that's been my experience.