How to handle 2 domains pointing to the same server.

[eztrans]

My client has 2 domains which point to the same sever. eg a.com and b.com both point to the same place.

For now a.com has better seo but the client wants to switch to using b.com more.

Im guessing 301 redirects will not work in this case.

How would I handle this?

If i'm forced to manage both domains, what is the best practice for monitoring in seomoz pro. Should i set up a.com as a competitor?

[iPullRank]

Hey Darren,

I'm not quite clear what you mean by the same server. If you're saying both domains point to the same content in the same folder in a virtual hosting environment and it's a question of duplicate content I would definitely suggest just 301 redirecting the domain on an .htaccess level and calling it a day.

If what you're saying is that the 2 domains share the same hosting environment but are in separate directories with separate content and you're worried that since they are on the same IP address then yes the problem is slightly more complicated. I would suggest moving the 2nd domain to a different C-block and then 301 redirecting it. Another thing to think about here is...are these domains registered privately or are they registered to the same person? Many SEOs believe this tends to affect rankings.

As far as monitoring in SEOmoz pro I would set them up as competitors to compare linking metrics but as far as crawling give each domain their own campaign.

-Mike

[eztrans]

Thanks for the response ipullrank, but domains point to the same content. So i took you advice and did the 301. Here is what i used.

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.newdomain.com
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]