I have two separate clients who want to change the domains for their web sites as their URLs are too specific and no longer reflect their service offerings. The domains in question have been in operation at least 3 years. They gain business from their current domains and have a reasonable ammount of site traffic and OK google placement for search terms. How do I go about changing the old domains to the new domains with out loosing page rank and traffic? What are the risks? How do I minimise the risks? Has anyone had success in doing this? If the risks are too great maybe its not worth the domain change. Thanks. Jonnie
Well, 301 all pages to new pages on the new domain is what I'd do. It might take a little time for G and other SE's to catch on to the new domain, so I'd keep it up for a few months after the transition. Keep watching the SERPS to see if the new domain has taken the place of the old.