Old Website Build Effecting SEO

[moon-boots]

So this is a bit of a strange one.

My latest website was built on a different domain, then transferred over (as opposed to being built on a subdomain). I was told that the domain which my site was built on wasn't indexed by Google, but looking at the Google Search Console I can see that the old domain name is showing up as the most linked to domain name of my current site - meaning it was indexed. The domain (and all of its pages) does have a 301 redirect to the new website home page (as opposed to their individual pages), but could this be causing me a problem with SEO?

Additionally, my website has a sister (UK and US websites), both link to each other on the footer (which appears on every page). Could this be pulling my SEO efforts down if it is a do-follow link?

[impactzoneco]

The pages with the first domain name should be linked directly to the matching page of the new domain name, not to the generic home page. Having one generic page to which you are directing all old pages will affect your SEO, as far as I know. I do think the search engines prefer old url ==> new matching url, even though it is a pain in the rear to do when you have a large site.

I think the sister link ought to be OK, but are you using the href lang tag on both sites? Is one site the canonical site, or are they separate and equal?

[moon-boots]

Thanks for the response, but here is where things get sketchy.

The domain the website was built on had no previous google rank (thespacebazaar.com), it was simply a building and website testing platform - yes, I understand that this type of thing is usually done on a sub-domain, but that wasn't the case here - but upon importing the new website design, the site structure completely changed and it was here where 301 redirects were put in place (going from the old thespacecollective.com to the new thespacecollective.com site).

I 301 redirected all of thespacebazaar.com links to thespacecollective.com, but since they had no SEO value I didn't know whether or not that was even necessary. If that makes more sense?

As for language, I only have the one language installed and there is no duplicate site for other languages.

[impactzoneco]

Spacecollective,

You are welcome.

If I understand correctly, then, when the entire site structure changed, that left no way to redirect pages to similar or the same pages, because there aren't any? So that is why you have the generic redirect?

I think for usability, it is better safe then sorry to do 301 redirects. I agree, you made the right choice. I don't see this as a problem that will drag down your SEO. Google search engines do not penalize for 404s, so they should also not penalize for a generic 301 redirect, although it is not a good idea to do generic. The 404 issue with redirects is more one of a usability issue, than an SEO one. You don't want someone to hit a dead end on your site.

I looked at your two sites, and although they do have similar products, they each have a different address, and a different enough interface, that to my eye, they do not seem to be complete duplicates. So I think you are OK with that link to each other.

Have you performed a full SEO audit of your system to see what issues there are?

I took the liberty of of looking at both of your sites and running some quick tests.

There are things you can tweak on both of them. Try going to: GTMetrix.com and running your URL through. If you haven't already, add SEOQuake to your Chrome or Firefox browsers, go to the URLs for your sites, and you can see some of the errors you can fix that will help your SEO on the SEOQuake interface.

For example, your keywords describe your items, but they may not necessarily be how your users search to find those items. Also, look at: https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com -- your load speeds could be improved by optimizing your images.

To summarize, I think your SEO issues are not related to your 301 redirects and your link to your sister site. I see a variety of things that you can tweak and fix, and that should improve your SEO.

If you haven't done a full eval, I have a checklist on my business site that you are welcome to download (no email address required) and step through. I won't put the link here, as I don't want to be perceived as trying to sell my services or build backlinks to my site -- I'm trying to help you. But if you want to look at it, then search on my name or company, and you'll find it in the navigation bar under SERVICES. Also, I'm happy to answer any other questions related to your question in this thread.

-- Jewel

[moon-boots]

Thanks again for replying, Jewel!

My site structure changed, yes, but I redirected all of the previously structured pages to the newly structured pages, like for like, ie:

(old structure) - thespacecollective.com/product/t-shirts

(new structure) - thespacecollective.com/t-shirts

This isn't the issue.

My issue is that the newly structured website wasn't built on a subdomain of thespacecollective.com, it was built on a completely different domain; thespacebazaar.com (and the latter website was, for some unknown reason, indexed by Google). My question was regarding thespacebazaar.com general redirect to thespacecollective.com.

I was worried that because Google indexed thespacebazaar.com (and subsequently all of its content) before it was transferred over to thespacecollective.com, would Google think thespacebazaar.com was the original author of the content and see thespacecollective.com as copying.

Also, thank you for looking at both websites and taking the time to see the differences.

The two sites are very similar (this was by design), and share around 50% of the same products. I am currently writing different descriptions and product titles for both sites so there are no content copying issues. So I don't think there would be any issues there (but again, thanks for checking).

As for performing an SEO audit...

I'm currently teaching myself SEO because everybody I have hired in the past has been terrible (and super expensive for the amount of work they have done). Essentially I am reading a lot, comparing my website to what I have read, and then making changes where necessary (sometimes asking for advise first). But I'll take a look at GTMetrix and SEOQuake, thank you!

I'll also take a look at your website, thank you!

[impactzoneco]

Spacecollective,

Ah, got it. Re this question:

"I was worried that because Google indexed thespacebazaar.com (and subsequently all of its content) before it was transferred over to thespacecollective.com, would Google think thespacebazaar.com was the original author of the content and see thespacecollective.com as copying."

People change domains all of the time. They rebuild their site structures, too. Since you have the old domain rolling over to the new one, AFAIK the Google search engine bots will figure out your site has moved and you have a new structure. AFAIK, you're good.

As for the SEO work, I'm sorry you have had those experiences. To some extent, SEO is both art and science. There is snake oil out there, but there are also a lot of knowledgeable people. Feel free to ping me if you put another question here on the forum. I have over 20 years experience in IT, and I am a doctoral candidate. I'd be done if I hadn't started my own company! My academic background means I am happy to teach and do a certain amount of service work when I have a moment. (Moderators, please let me know if I am not allowed to say that; I'm still new to the forum. I'm happy to edit this response.)  -- Jewel