Is re-branding safe?

[KS__]

I am not entirely pleased with my website's name and have been willing to change it for years. I feel it is not brand-able.

But since its an old domain name and overall figures of DA, PR, Moz score etc. are very good, I have been wary of changing the name and doing a 301 permanent re-direct from the existing name to the new one.

Please suggest me if I should go for it. If yes, what are the best practices to go about it.

[UmarKhan]

Hey,

If you feel your brand can not related to your site, you should go for the re-branding. Just Keep in the mind that, your traffic and ranking might suffer a drop and you have to keep patience in whole process. Here are the things you should work on:

1. Perform a full SEO audit
2. Plan a perfect redirection plan
3. Update your business information at every place
4. Issue a press release stating your re-branding news
5. Update your social media profiles and handles (Obviously, you don't want to loose your followers)
6. Spread the word via blogging.
7. Inform your existing customers through newsletters and even phone call if necessary.

See these resources for reference:
https://moz.com/ugc/overcoming-a-rebrand-seo-search-engine-opportunities
http://www.mightybytes.com/blog/will-rebranding-hurt-seo/

Good luck!

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

A rebrand is a business decision. I would take advantage of all the information from Umar as well as a few more points for good measure:

Content Audit - Find what current content can be updated, consolidated, removed, and migrated to the new website. What other opportunities do you have for your content?
Website Migration Guide from Moz - This will help make sure that your transition to the new website will go smooth and cover your bases.
Backlink Audit - This will help you on a couple of fronts. First, you will find backlinks that you will want to update to the new domain once it is live and ready to go. Second, you will find links that you can either remove or disavow so that when you redirect, it won't be a factor.
Change of Address - You will want to use this so that Google knows your site moved to a new address. Google also has a resource for when you move a website.
Local SEO - If you have listings or citations, make sure those are updated. Perform an audit so you can make sure that any mention of your business is corrected and now points to a new domain.

There are a lot of opportunities in rebranding, but you want to make sure that you take care of everything that you can to help users and search engines see that your site has moved and you are now a new brand.

Hope this helps! Good luck!