New domain, same site

My main competitor is gaining on me, have to adjust

[great_9]

Some stats:

- competitors and my domain is similarly old; ~5 years
- he now has 2 times more traffic than I do
- his domain is in the following format:
nnn-keyword.org
- my domain is in the following format:
nnnnnn.org (no keyword, just the name)

I have bought nnnnnkeyword.com, should I rather buy n-keyword.com (to make it shorter) and have all pages from nnnnnn.org redirect (moved permanently) to n-keyword.com?

Pages on nnnnnn.org and competitors nnn-keyword.org aren't search engine friendly. ex.: nnnnnn.org/something.php?article=number

[tedster]

First, note this thread about the issues with moving to a new domain:
Advice on moving a site to a different domain [webmasterworld.com]

I don't think a new domain will do much to help your situation, and if your current domain is already established for 5 years, that means a lot to Google's algorithm. You've established a lot of "trust" that would not easily transfer.

Much better, IMO, to work with your established domain. The competitive difference is much more likely to be backlinks, than the domain name. If you feel otherwise, then plan on a traffic drop that will past several months after you change domains.