Can some expert help us on switching domain name issues?

[PuzzleZoo]

We have a small brick and mortar store chain in California. And we also have an online store with the same domain name. We are planning to invest on our online store platform and switch to Magento. while switching to Magento platform we are also considering to switch our domain name also. Our current domain name is not representing our current business model and capacity.

Our brick and mortar store name is PuzzleZoo, our e-store domain is also  PuzzleZoo. This domain is active in use for well over 10 years. But once started as a puzzle store, today we sell more toys than puzzles. We want to keep our brick and mortar store name as our brand.

We also own ToyZoo domain name. And we are looking to use the new Magento store with ToyZoo domain. The question is should we keep both domains separately running or should we use only one. In this case should we stay with PuzzleZoo with only looks like a Puzzle store instead of a toy store. Or should we use ToyZoo and redirect the PuzzleZoo links to ToyZoo links?

If we have both stores open with similar products, descriptions and images, are we going to get penalized by Google for duplicate content issues? Or PuzzleZoo being a brick and mortar store and ToyZoo being an online only store will help us to avoid getting Penalized by Google or other search engines?

If we use Toyzoo are we going to lose our keyword authority and traffic?

Looking forward to hear Expert opinions. Your participation will be highly appreciated.

[LesleyPaone]

I don't recommend Magento, because I am a Prestashop person. But at the same time, one feature of Magento (and Prestashop) is that you can manage two separate shops at two domains from the same back office. If it were me, I would run both. The puzzle site is more targeted to puzzles, the toy site is more targeted to toys. Each has their own place in the market and can stand alone. It actually will give you a good ground to test the sites against each other.

[RobertFisher]

PuzzleZoo,

Your question: The question is should we keep both domains separately running or should we use only one. In this case should we stay with PuzzleZoo with only looks like a Puzzle store instead of a toy store. Or should we use ToyZoo and redirect the PuzzleZoo links to ToyZoo links?

First, the business consideration is does PuzzleZoo send you a lot of business, or revenue, etc.? Does it do so in a way that the customer being redirected to ToyZoo will be lost and then go somewhere else? (My guess is NO, but you need to answer that.) If the answer is no, you can redirect without losing business from the puzzle searches. I would not ever suggest the two site option based on what you have. You are correct IMO in redirecting the traffic to the ToyZoo domain if you believe it is more representative of what you sell. Toy is going to be searched more than Puzzle for example.

Redirect the traffic to the ToyZoo domain if you believe it is more representative of what you sell. Toy is going to be searched more than Puzzle for example. Next, with a redirect, if done correctly you will not likely lose much rank or juice. Did I say if done correctly? Good. First, you need to run something like Screaming Frog and get all your urls so you know where you are and then develop where you are going to with ToyZoo urls. Remember it is not domain to domain but url to url. Here is a link to a moz page on redirects. This will give you a How-To, pitfalls, etc.

I strongly suggest that you record the PA/links of all pages from Puzzle and then watch the progression to Toy. It is a good lesson in how links and redirects work. If done correctly, in my experience it is rare to lose more than about a percent of juice. Did I say if done correctly? Again this is what is important.

Lastly, in GWMT, put in a change of address since the domain name is changing. It will last for 6 months and by then all urls should have been indexed multiple times.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes. 
Best,

Robert