Change domain name

Hello,

I have been running my site on a .net domain for almost 10 years. Some time ago I managed to purchase the .com. My question is: should I change my site (fairly large forum) to the new .com domain or should I just stick with the old one?

I know Google webmaster tools provides us with a tool to do such thing. However I have never tried it before so I really don't know what to expect as 90% of my visitors come from Google.

Something tells me not to do it

 

301 redirect is the most efficient and Search Engine Friendly method for webpage redirection.

 

You can redirect old to new domain with the help of 301 redirect and i am sure that your website ranking position and traffic will not be affect so don't worry you can do it.

 

You must have to use permanent redirection 301 for new .com site

 

I would follow what everyone above said, but also let all your existing members know by mass email (which is a perfect time to include an advertisement) or a sticky across the board. I hate going to a site when they change domains, I'm just too impatient to wait for the redirect. haha

 

So what you are saying is that if I use 301 redirects my ranking at Google would not be affected at all?

 

Yes but may be in little movement.

 

No, you will NOT see any changes after the redirection, because this redirection tells Google to REDIRECT EVERY backlink from the old website to your new website. So if you have a backlink from this forum that points to your .net website, then .net redirects to .com, so it's the same! Just after a few days after the redirection your old ranking should be OK!

 

It would be OK, if you keep working on your .net domain as you are running a forum so it would have huge number of posts, members, and you may have built brand name too.... no one can guarantee that your ranking would drop or not after 301 redirect...

 

No, There are little bit dropping in your ranking but if you have no other chance then you have to move ahead and building more branding strategies....

 

If you will use 301 redirection then your domain rank will not be effected. It will take some time to move your all back link to your new .com domain.

 

Just make sure the 301 redirect is done right. If people have bookmarked your threads or try to visit them, you want it to redirect to the same thread on the new domain. If you don't know how to do that with regex in .htaccess then I'd hire someone to help - it can save you a lot of time and effort.

 

No after redirection 301. You will not get the effect, Try to optimize the new site as well.. And get the benifit from old traffic as well as new domain traffic,.. Use PPC advertisements simultaneously with the SEO..