Changing .nl to .eu impact on rankings?

[MarikeP]

Hi all,

I have 2 questions concerning the merge of two websites of ours.
We would like to combine our .nl and .be website to one big .eu website.

Both websites have dutch and english rankings in The Netherlands and Belgium.

1. Will the rankings change because of the domain change to .eu?
2. Will the rankings in both countries change because of the merge?

I hope somebody can help me,

Greetings

[MarikeP]

Thank you all for responding.

Your answers were very clear and useful.

Best regards, Marike

[billhartzer]

Marike,

Whenever you change URLs, there will be some changes in rankings. However, ultimately, combining several established sites into one larger site will be better in the long run, as it helps with your overall Domain Authority and trust.

Keep in mind that 301 redirects are important--and if possible you may consider moving some content over time, and not move all the content all at once.

Also, your links will need to be updated: reach out to as many site owners as possible to tell them about the new URL change and ask them to update the links.

[vmialik]

Hi Marike,

1. Yes, change for the better or for the worse, usually they might take a dip for and then recover if all is done well and thought out.

2. Same response as above.

As for the best way to do this, there are many ways to accomplish this well, and its worth doing all the due diligence.

Some resources from moz to get you started here and here.

Hope this helps

[dotfly]

Hi Marike,

unfortunately I personally would answer both questions with "yes".

To sum it up: a change of domain names is not the best thing from SEO perspectives. But of course there are many situations in which this can`t be avoided and where SEO has to stand back.

The change/merge of a domain has always a certain impact on the rankings which have been established by the old one. I highly recommend you to use a 301 redirect or several if neccessary - they pass the PageRank for example.

Furthermore you should use the change of address tool in the GWMT - it`s used to tell Google that the address of your site has changed.

If youve done the work youll have to be patient. It might take some time until you get back all of your old rankings. In general this doesnt take soo much time but Ive experienced that there is a big chance that you wont get all your old rankings back and that those positions arent written in stone... well this aspect is also valid for well established domains.

Best regards, Marc