Hi DP members, There is a dilema which I think I can not really solve. I am marketing website - www.thailandholidayhomes.co.uk, website have a very stable SERP for the top competitive keywords in the industry. Currently I am replacing the present website with a brand new one, modern, interactive and full with social extras. Because of domain is .co.uk, we are getting benefits in UK ranknigs, however we have results in almost any Google local search engines. I am thinking to replace the domain with .com version which have the same age. Do you think this will be proper or probably I am gonna lose the rankings, even if I redirect all pages with 301 redirect? Kind regards Kal
I would suggest you to purchase another domain named as www.thailandholidayhomes.com and redirect it with .co.uk.
I already own thailandholidayhomes.com! Please read what I am asking! Will I get advantage if do the opposite use .com domain as main one, and redirect .co.uk to .com?
Yes you can redirect your all pages with 301 redirect . It'll affect your rankings, but when google cache your pages all the values of your old domain will transfer to new one.
You may loss the ranking for time being which will take further time to regain similar position but it all depends on how perfectly you do the 301 redirect and continue in link building process with the new domain name.
Maybe google loves you While I was surfing I found that Google Webmaster Tools has launched a new tool called Change of address with its brand new look. If you are moving your site from old domain to a new one, it can be of much help. this is the link: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=83106
The following is specific to Google: There is a difference between how domains non-country specific TLDs (like .com, .net, .org, etc.) and domains with country specific TLDs (like .co.uk) are treated. Country specific domains (like example.co.uk) are automatically assumed to want to rank in that country specific Google (like Google.co.uk). You cannot even set the Geo Targetting preference in Google's WMT for these because they automatically assume you are targetting users in that country. But within non-country specific TLDs (like .com, .net, .org, etc.) supposedly the TLD has NO impact on rankings at Google. But even if the search engines are TLD agnostic, consumers are not... Your TLD will likely affect your click-thru-rate should you manage to get your pages to rank where consumers can find them in the SERPs. The following is NOT specific to Google: Generally speaking, I think consumers (as well as other webmasters) see .com as the most "legitimate" business domain TLD... .net is probably perceived by consumers as being the 2nd most legitimate business domain TLD, although I believe unless they are an networking type company they are perceived as MUCH less legitimate than a .com. The perception of a .net site as being a "legitimate" business site is probably getting better over time though. .org is generally viewed by consumers as non-profit or informational sites although this is not always the case... But typically .org is not a "great" domain TLD for selling products under. .biz and .info are likely ignored for the most part by most consumers. So depending on whether you're selling something or providing an informational type site, the TLD you select could have a direct affect on click-thru-rates in the SERPs, your ability to drive traffic to the site, and your site's ability to attract backlinks.
Google has given specific guidelines for informing the search engine about 'change of address'. You need to decide which countries you are targeting.