
How does one change his domain name without losing hits? - nocivus
http://pedroassuncao.com/2010/10/how-does-one-change-his-domain-name-without-losing-hits/
======
jacquesm
301 redirects.

See:
[http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en...](http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=93633)

~~~
ericabiz
Yes, and make sure to notify Google of the 301 from inside their Webmaster
Tools site, as well. Also, run a Yahoo Site Explorer search to see who is
linking to you, and email all those folks to have them change the links to
your new domain.

A caveat: You may lose search engine rankings for a few weeks. My site was
ranking #4 for a specific keyword and I changed the domain. Did everything
right--301 redirect; notified Google. I have a service that checks my rankings
every day. I noticed the site dropped from the rankings ENTIRELY for 3 weeks!

But then it came back with the new domain...and at #1 for that search term. :)

Just know that even doing everything right means you may still have a waiting
period.

By the way, I'm shocked this guy just let his old domain name waste away.
Fortunately, it appears he still has the name. If the OP is reading this, for
Pete's sake, do a 301 before you lose all your Google juice!

------
dedward
301 redirects as jacquesm siad. That will take care of the search engines,
anyway, which is probably where most of your traffic is coming from.

That said - you should also be analyzing your logs or whatnot to see where
your traffic is really coming from, and more importantly,whether this new
strategy is working before you shut off the old domain.

------
joshklein
301 redirects. Follow jacquesm's link to Google's recommendation.

Here is my how-to guide on implementing what Google recommends:
[http://www.joshklein.net/seo-basics-how-to-safely-move-
redes...](http://www.joshklein.net/seo-basics-how-to-safely-move-redesign-
your-website)

