Using an old domain to point traffic to a new domain

I have an older site that I haven't updated in over a year, but it still gets a considerable amount of traffic from search engines and backlinks (thousands). I am developing a new site that is similar in content, but set up as a blog.

My question is: can I update the old site to point to the new site, and have the new site rank just as well, with all of the backlinks, etc.?


Thanks,
Rob

 

Yes, you can. Using a permenant 301 htaccess redirect.

http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles3/spiders-301-redirect.htm

 

Will the new domain 'inherit' the old domains PR?

 

Yes. It should but you will not see it in the toolbar until the next pagerank toolbar export a few months down the line.

 

Thanks! Would the same things happen if I combined a bunch of smaller sites into one new site under a new domain name? Would the new domain name just pick up the highest PR?

 

Technically yes, but be careful.

I have combined many smaller sites into "Super sites". It was actually my first time dealing directly with a Google employee. It was a great success. The important thing is that the sites you"Merge" are all relevant.

I was told not to combine all to the root domain too. Basically, I had 10 different products and merged them into www.domain.com/product1 www.domain.com/product2 etc.

Hope that helps.