Does transferring domain affect ranking?

I want to take over my friend's site. If I transfer the domain from register.com to godaddy.com and change the registrant information, will that affect the site's ranking in the SE's? Any input would be much appreciated.

 

I have done this a few times now and have never encountered any issues with fluctuation in rankings. Some people argue if you transfer out of one country to another that it could then have a negative impact. But I have never done that so I can not say for sure.

 

Done it a few times. Transferred domain only. Complete website was left as it is with same hosting company. Have not faced a problem so far. Rankings remain intact.

 

301 is always good option for this.

 

I think that he is talking about changing the domain's DNS HTTP pointers, not changing the domain itself.

And the answer to the initial question, no it does not affect your PR, but it can affect your SERPs.

 

I think if you move it to another provider in a different country (server IP, not sure about DNS IP), then it may affect your site...
A simple registrar change (domain name transfer) should be no problem...

 

Precisely. If you wish to market to particular geographical location, point your domain to a server located there to get more ROI.

 

So what I initially planned to do was change hosts. I was going to change registrar and also use my host for the site instead of the current host. Would that affect natural position in SE? If so, would it be better to do a 301 redirect, and just redirect to a site I have now that has different host? Thanks for all the advice, by the way.

 

But your going to use the same domain, correct?

 

yes, using the same domain.

 

Then you have nothing to worry about. change hosts at will, it wont affect your PR.

However, do take into account that you should host your site in a server located in the same are you wish to market.