Need advice on 301 redirect from hyphenated domain to non-hyphenated domain

Discussion in 'Domain Names' started by ahmnasa, Dec 21, 2012.

?

Should I change domains?

Poll closed Dec 23, 2012.
  1. Do it!

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Don't do it!

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. #1
    Hi All!

    I have been running an online service since 2005 and have gained some good ranking on Google and other search engines.

    My domain name is for example is: www.smart-service.co.uk.

    I have recently got hold of www.smartservice.co.uk (example) and would prefer this domain as it looks a lot cleaner, more professional and less spammy.

    The website itself is professional and has many corporate customers and I feel the non-hyphenated name would look like we are more serious and not doing business by accident on a second choice domain. The hyphen domain has PR6 and Domain Authority of 70.

    I have read up a lot about doing 301 redirects but everyone has different opinions on whether it hurts rankings much or not. At the same time I feel I have a lot to gain switching over and would don't want to invest more money on SEO on the hyphenated domain if I end up doing it in future.

    Also another thing to note is that the hyphon domain age is 8 years whilst the non-hyphon is only 4 years, does this matter?

    It's a bit of a dilemma and wish to have some other opinions on what I should do.

    Thanks!
     
    ahmnasa, Dec 21, 2012 IP