Dr. Peter J. Meyers wrote an excellent piece on Moz.com that deals with changing multiple domains, basically 5 into 1 for this case study. The article is very detailed and is definitely something you want to bookmark in case there ever comes a time when you need to do this.
From the article:
People often ask me if they should change domain names, and I always shudder just a little. Changing domains is a huge, risky undertaking, and too many people rush into it seeing only the imaginary upside. The success of the change also depends wildly on the details, and it’s not the kind of question anyone should be asking casually on social media.
Recently, I decided that it was time to find a new permanent home for my personal and professional blogs, which had gradually spread out over 5 domains. I also felt my main domain was no longer relevant to my current situation, and it was time for a change. So, ultimately I ended up with a scenario that looked like this:
The top three sites were active, with UserEffect.com being my former consulting site and blog (and relatively well-trafficked). The bottom two sites were both inactive and were both essentially gag sites. My one-pager, AreYouARealDoctor.com, did previously rank well for “are you a real doctor”, so I wanted to try to recapture that.
I started migrating the 5 sites in mid-January, and I’ve been tracking the results. I thought it would be useful to see how this kind of change plays out, in all of the gory details. As it turns out, nothing is ever quite “textbook” when it comes to technical SEO.
Read the full article on MOZ
Christopher Hoffman Laursen from European Domain Centre, left a comment, he pointed out he put together an infographic on the 15 steps to take to keep your Google ranking.
Hi Raymond, thanks for sharing the 15 step guide. I hardly never see anyone doing more than doing 301 redirects and job done – it has devastating consequences in loss of traffic, orders and bad user experience with all the 404’s.
Thanks for the comment Christopher, nice work on the infographic.
Hi Raymond,
I have always been fearful for changing a domain. This article gives a different insight.
information are useful and i understand re branding is not easy as it thinks to be but yes some time it’s essential
great work and very useful tips. thanks for sharing
I’ve always been hesitant to change domains but this provides me with very interesting insights to let go of my fears and just do it.
Hello MHB,
GOOGLE has sadly created a generation of Digital Code Grifters. This can be directly related to the movie of Zuckerberg being a hero for stealing from others for his own gain. This is not what our forefathers held in esteem. Its Grifting, and lots of people support this failed Moral Abyss. We will with great effort fight this FAILED System of Degradation. The ending Moral of the story is = ( The Truth Matters- Its your Integrity. It is Everything ! )
We have a Strategically Superior Answer to GOOGLES SECRET SAUCE, No SEM Digital Code Manipulation is involved COMING . JAS 5/7/15
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger) (Former Rockefeller IBEC Marketing Analyst/Strategist)
Wow Jeff! That was really interesting…deep and insightful. Can you share some more of this wisdom with us? Please!
Wealth Foundation says
May 7, 2015 at 8:40 am
R. E. = ” Wow Jeff! That was really interesting…deep and insightful. Can you share some more of this wisdom with us? Please! ”
How can we share our Knowledge and yes Wisdom when someone over at thedomains.com erases and scrubs our comments at their whim ? We warn you MHB,and Ray, this needs to stop ! JAS 5/7/15
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger) (Former Rockefeller IBEC Marketing Analyst/Strategist)
Good information…But we are facing some problem with handling the external links. How to track that report ?