We've just bought a new domain - need advice on the exact procedure to follow...

[posh_tiger]

Hi guys,

We've just bought a 3 letter .co.uk domain to replace our current 20 character old domain.

Our existing domain is PR5 with quite a few links (that we can modify no problem) We're currently .301 redirecting the new domain to the old domain.

I was looking at the procedure in one of the guides but as it's slightly different - is this the correct procedure?

1. prep the duplicate site on new domain and prep the individual htaccess .301 redirects

2. Add new the domain to google webmaster tools  bing Webmaster centre

2. On the switchover date - modify all possible incoming links from external sites

3. On the switchover date - apply the .301 redirects and make the new site live

4. On the switchover date - apply the new sitemaps to google & bing

5. on the switchover date - fill out the change of address form in webmaster tools

6. Do the happy dance?

many thanks in advance,

Tony.

[SeoStallion]

Simply, yes that just about covers it.

The things to bear in mind are that there is often a delay in recognising the new domain so there may be a short amount of time where your domain is not apearing on the SERPS.

My personal advice is as follows:

Pre-move: Buy the new domain as early as possible and put some simple content on it. Submit/register your domain with the major search engines and get a few links to ensure it is listed and the search engines recognise it (this helps to reduce or avoid sandboxing).

1. Create all necessary 301 Redirects.

2. Use analytics and site explorer to find the top 200 or so domains sending traffic to your old domain and contact their webmasters to change the links.

3. Make sure both the old and new sites have been verified and have site maps submitted.

4. Launch your new site with a media and online marketing campaign. The goal is to get as many new inbound links as possible as quickly as possible and to attract a large number of branded searches for the new site.

5. Monitor your Webmaster Central account for 404 errors and to check how Google is dealing with your 301's. Whenever a 404 is produced, place a 301 in place.

6. Monitor the spiders on your new domain. Search engines spend more time crawling sites they trust so when your crawl level is close to your old sites level you are probably close to that trust level (this is a crude measurement).

7. Monitor your search engine traffic referrals to help determine how your new site is developing on the internet.

8. You can also check your server logs for 404 and 500 errors.

For more information Matt Cutts published the following:
http://blog.milestoneinternet.com/web-development/faq-on-duplicate-content-and-moving-your-site-by-matt-cutts-at-pubcon-2009/