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        4. Domain Name Change - Best Practices?

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        Domain Name Change - Best Practices?

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        • Michael-Goode
          Michael-Goode last edited by

          Good day guys,

          We got a restaurant that is changing its name and domain.

          However they are keeping the same server location, same content and same pages (we are just changing the logo on the website).

          It just has to go a new domain. We don't want to lose the value of the current site, and we want to avoid any duplicate penalties.

          Could you please advise of the best practices of doing a domain name change?

          Thank you.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • KeriMorgret
            KeriMorgret @petrakraft last edited by

            This YouMoz post may also help some too. http://www.seomoz.org/blog/web-site-migration-guide-tips-for-seos

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • petrakraft
              petrakraft last edited by

              I would recommend following the step by step guidance of Google in the Webmaster Tools -> Configuration -> Change of Address:

              1. Set up your content on your new domain.

              2. Redirect content from your old site using 301 redirects.

              3. Add and verify your new site to Webmaster Tools.

              They offer further guidelines here: https://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=83105

              KeriMorgret 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
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