Old blog on blogger has backlinks - can I 301 it?

[Mobillica]

Hi guys, hope you can offer me some advice here.

I have an old blog (blogger, hosted on my site) which is linked to from my homepage but has not been updated since 2009.

I've noticed recently that many pages from this blog are appearing in the supplemental index, and I really want to get them out of there.

The thing is according to WMT there are around 25000 backlinks pointing the blog, but I guess you could call the blog obsolete as most of the pages are in the supp index.

Just wondering what you guys would recommend I do. Could I 301 the blog to my main index page? Would the link juice be passed back to my homepage?

I dont really want to continue the blog as I really dont like the blogger interface.

Mmmmm what do you suggest?

[tedster]

First, I'm not sure what you mean by "hosted on my site". Do you mean you have a custom domain name? As far as I know, a Blogger blog is always hosted on the Blogger server.

I don't think there's any way to 301 redirect from a Blogger subdomain - see this previous thread: Blogger and 301 redirect [webmasterworld.com].

If you previously set up a custom domain name that you control, and if your custom domain has accumulated the backlinks, then you would have a way to approach this. It's one reason that a custom domain is a good idea for a Blogger blog.

I've read (can't vouch for it) that there is a way to combine meta refresh and javascript with custom Blogger tags to take visitors to a new address for the blog. There might be something in there for you. But since you won't be maintaining the blog, and link equity transfer through meta refresh and javascript is questionable, I don't know that this would be worth pursuing in your case. If you want to check it out, here's the link: [teqsnacks.com...]

[Mobillica]

Thanks Tedster once again for your reply. Interesting links quoted there.

Yes, the blog is hosted on my custom domain ie mysite/blog, so I have access to all the pages, including the index.htm

I dont think I can actually add any more posts as blogger did a big update on its server last year which means I cant post any more posts orsomething.

Anyhow, since the majority of the blog posts (dating 2009) are within the supp index I have noindexed, no followed these.

As for the blog homepage, there are 25000 backlinks pointed to it.

The blog is obsolete, but I dont really want to lose these backlinks and the benefits they bring.

So, I do have access to the blog index page. What would happen if I undertook a 301 from mysite/blog to mysite?

Thanks for your help. :)

[tedster]

If you own the custom domain name, then your registrar should be able to set up a 301 for you. If that's not the case, move to a registrar who will.

[aristotle]

Could I 301 the blog to my main index page? Would the link juice be passed back to my homepage?

Maybe I don't understand the setup, but I don't see the reason for using a 301. Instead, it seems to me that the best approach would be to simply link internally from the blog to the home page, and also to any other pages that you want to transfer the link juice to.

[Mobillica]

link internally from the blog to the home page

would this have the same effect re link juice as a 301?

[aristotle]

would this have the same effect re link juice as a 301?

Actually, I think a direct link would transfer a little more link juice than a 301 would. Using a direct link would also allow you to keep the blog's content on the site, whereas you would lose it using a 301. I wouldn't worry about updating the blog or adding any new posts -- Just keep it as it is.

[projectmanuk]

Am I right in guessing that the majority of the 25000 backlinks are internal links from post pages in the blog?