Merging two websites to one...

[GrumpyCarl]

Hi all. Could do with a second opinion on this please...

At present a client of ours owns two shops (both doing the same but in towns about 20 miles apart - they sell flooring, but using different names) and has a website for each. The plan is to rebrand both of these stores the same and merge both websites into one.

The problem comes that both of the individual websites rank very well in their respective Google Local search results and I fear that killing one of the sites will mean that one store will vanish from the local listings. One domain is a DA 45 and the other a DA 11 so the plan is to use the stronger of the two domains.

The question I would like to ponder with people wiser than myself is how can we ensure that the new single domain ranks for both locations in the local?  Would the easiest solution be to have pages such as domain.com/store1 and domain.com/store2 with full listings for that store inc name, address, phone number, customer reviews etc?

At present the DA 45 domain ranks very well in it's Google local so we need to find a way to change the homepage of that to have both the stores phone numbers but without affecting the local listing. I was considering adding the second phone number as a text based image so that it's visible for people but not for bots

Finally, would 301 redirecting the now unused store to domain.com/store2 help with ensuring that we do not lose any local listing for that keyword? If not, are there any suggestions people could offer up

Many thanks for any help and sorry for the very long question

Carl

[Talooma]

This can be a tricky move. You are correct in saying that you should create 2 separate folders for each branch but try to make sure you keep your localized keywords for each branch.

If you are going to be using the domain of your stronger branch, you will most probably be moving the current content to new pages and folders (From website.com/ to website.com/branch1)  so you will most likely see a drop in ranking until the new pages start gaining authority. You are basically starting over except your domain will still have some of it's authority.

301 redirecting a page/domain won't transfer any authority.

[GrumpyCarl]

Thanks for the reply Rod

To be honest, very little content from the current site will be moved over as most of the products and services are offered in both locations. Given the impact on the local rankings for the domain which is being 'killed' I may suggest to the client that they keep that site live and let it continue with it's rankings for the time being. As, and when, the new site starts to rank for the same keyword the old site could be withdrawn

[Talooma]

That makes sense. Good luck!