Changing domain name and keeping rankings

[member22]

Hello,

I have a domaine name www.abc.com that is currently ranked on google but I am considering changing that domain name to www.abcdef.com I was wondering what could be the issues in terms of seo ?

How about my external link pointing to www.abc.com if I change the domain name to www.abcdef.com is google going to disregard all the external links I have and will I need to start SEO from scratch again ?

If not how can I change domaine name without hurting my seo.

Thank you,

[tedster]

This is one of those often discussed topics. Here are two threads from the past that cover a lot of the basics:

Moving a site to a different domain [webmasterworld.com]

Moving to a New Domain - Official Advice from Google [webmasterworld.com]

Note that if your "new" domain was previously used by another owner, you should investigate its history so it doesn't come back to bite you ;) If there is a dark history, you can let Google know that you are a totally new owner through a WMT message

[jinxed]

No, you'll be fine. Just implement your 301 redirect code *correctly* and set your new domain in GWT and there should be no problems.

I would also contact the site owners of your “best” external links and get them to point it to your new domain instead.

Didn’t Matt Cutt’s say there is around 1% link juice degradation for each redirect? I’m sure I heard that recently.

[legaleagle]

Yes I also remember something about not all weight being passed through a redirect so def worth updating best links

[zehrila]

Its risky, Matt Cutts himself has admitted saying shift of domain might cause you some drop in ranks. There are also chances that new domain has some sort of bad history.

If change is unavoidable, try to move in phases. That is Don't change url structure, content, design or CMS. Just put your old script and database on new domain and apply 301 redirects, make sure each url is redirected correctly. Read what Tedster said!

[jinxed]

If done right, I'm not sure why it would be risky. It's just important to plan it properly and double check the technical side of it to avoid duplicate content issues.