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We've had our website for over 6 years and have had a lot of traffic through SEO efforts since then. We're considering shortening our domain name to make it easier for our customers to remember.
What should I be concerned about and what are some ways to minimize the negative impacts if we do decide to make the change?
Thanks in advance.
We've had our website for over 6 years and have had a lot of traffic through SEO efforts since then. We're considering shortening our domain name to make it easier for our customers to remember.What should I be concerned about and what are some ways to minimize the negative impacts if we do decide to make the change?
I've been reluctant to reply.
This thread was merely moved to forum 11 because of my tongue-in-cheek request.
However, one has no way of knowing (since I don't venture into the other Webmaster World forums) whether this inquiry is genuine or another forum's moderator attempt at being a PITA.
There are others (and in other forums) that could advise you better than myself.
You haven't specified if your site is static or dynamic?
1) I would suggest creating similar directory structures on the new site.
2) Leaving the old site function for some months (perhaps longer) with redirects in place, and until the SE's list the redirected pages to the new sites. (Jeeves will be the slowest to conform).
2-3 years ago, I moved more than 300 pages from one site to another (within a folder of the duplicated name) an never skipped a heart beat.
What should I be concerned about and what are some ways to minimize the negative impacts if we do decide to make the change?
Six years. That's a lot of history associated with that domain. I might suggest not messing with it at this point. If you want to promote the shorter version of your domain, feel free to do so. Set it up as a 301 to the primary domain and be done with it. That way you can promote the short version for type in's and keep those six years of hard work.
If you are absolutely adamant about changing the domain and not keeping the existing one, I think you'll be in for a rough ride while the new one gets indexed and replaces the old. But, you really can't replace six years of history. :(
What puzzles me is #*$! you waited until I replied! (rhetorical).
