Redirect issue launching duplicate product categories on another TLD

[superstardenmark]

Dear Mozzerz

We run this e-commerce website (superstar.dk) where we are selling all different kinds of wristwatches from different brand names (Casio, Garmin, Suunto etc). We just bought another website selling watches (xxx.com) and therefore we would like to move some of the content from superstar.dk to the new website xxx.com, making superstar.dk into a more niche website. So we are basically taking a brand with all the products in it and shutting it down on superstar.dk and instead launching it on xxx.com. Superstar.dk will still be running, just with a more niche product- and brand selection.

So my question is, should we redirect all the old product categories that we are shutting down to the new website on another TLD where we are opening them again and the same for the products (e.g. superstar.dk/garmin -> xxx.com/garmin)? Or would it be better to keep the redirects within the same website/TLD (e.g. superstar.dk/garmin -> superstar.dk)?

A few examples:
superstar.dk/garmin -> xxx.com/garmin
superstar.dk/suunto -> xxx.com/suunto
etc..
superstar.dk/product1 -> xxx.com/product1
superstar.dk/product2 -> xxx.com/product2
etc.

[JaneCopland]

That would point the most authority at the home page, but isn't the best user experience. Our concern is that Google monitors how people use 301s in terms of how it affects user experience and whether the redirection was done purely for SEO purposes. However, if you can do that without confusion, it would be a good option.

[superstardenmark]

Wouldn't it be better to boost the frontpage of superstar.dk, redirecting all url's here (if we keep the confusion of our visitors out of the quation) ?

[JaneCopland]

Hi Soren,

If I were going to redirect internally (i.e. remove the brands, sub-categories and products but not redirect those pages to xxx.com), I'd consider creating a page on a new URL on superstar.dk, explaining why the pages are gone and linking to xxx.com. This won't confuse users, but will keep the authority of those redirected pages within the old domain.

If I were going to redirect to the new site, I would clearly do as you've mentioned above, redirecting www.superstar.dk/product1.html to www.xxx.com/product1.html and so forth.

[superstardenmark]

Thank you for your take Jane. We would like to keep superstar.dk as a well ranking website on all other categories (we are only removing 2-4 brand). Would you redirect the brand categories, sub-categories and product url's to the frontpage of superstar.dk or how would you do the redirects?

[JaneCopland]

I would agree with Rishi that redirecting between domains can be a little bit troublesome - it should make a lot of sense, but it's a tactic that has been abused for spam / low quality purposes in the past, and any tactic that has been abused is likely to be scrutinised at some point.

Ignoring potential future issues for a second, I would also say that whether to redirect or not depends on your goals. If you wish to pass all the authority from a well-established, well-ranked existing site (superstar.dk) and move the brand (besides the small niche you'll keep), redirection could be very helpful. If you don't want to remove any equity from superstar.dk, redirection to the home page or to a page explaining the site's changes + linking to the new website, could be good too.

[rishil]

If the new website is really new I suggest testing to see what happens when you redirect from the older site. If the older site pages dont have rankings and or any authority, I wouldnt bother either way.

[superstardenmark]

The new website has not even launched yet. We wan't to be sure how to handle this case before we launch. So what is your recommendation?

Anyone else who knows what best practice would be in our specific case?

[rishil]

So my question is, should we redirect all the old product categories that we are shutting down to the new website on another TLD where we are opening them again and the same for the products (e.g. superstar.dk/garmin -> xxx.com/garmin)? Or would it be better to keep the redirects within the same website/TLD (e.g. superstar.dk/garmin -> superstar.dk)?

Historically my answer would have been straightforward. Redirect to the new site. However with the changing rules in search engines I would advise caution. Does your new website have stable rankings? Is it worth the risk of 301's from another site?

My opinion is use of 301s for ranking cross domains may be a tactic that borders on the grey area and could lead to a penalty in the future.