2 Relevant local websites but closing one and redirecting it to an older site

[surfsup]

We have 2 websites, 1 domain is about 10 years old and another is about 4 years old, the 4 yr old domain we are thinking of shutting down since its the same type of service we run but it was a 'keyword domain' that used to rank on 1st page but now its 4th page back.

If we put the blog posts and other content + setup re-directs from the 4yr old domain to the 10 yr old domain, would this help the 10 yr old domain with more link juice that it might need for the extra boost?

There isnt really any point having both websites up since both are about the same content and targeting the same local market.

[DonnaDuncan]

Hi Surfsup,

I agree you should concentrate on one domain and agree that it should be the older one. Before deciding on whether to redirect or not, I recommend you profile the links to the site. There might be some good ones that would, as you say, give your elder site a needed boost. If that's the case, you should consider redirects or asking the source to point to your older site directly so the entire link value transfers and can be sustained over time.

If you have bad incoming links, then you'll have to weigh the decision to disavow them before redirecting or not bothering to redirect at all.

[SamuelScott]

I would recommend deleting the four-year-old domain and NOT redirecting it (and the "link juice") to the ten-year-old domain for one simple reason: If the newer domain has fallen in rankings as you describe, there is probably something wrong with it (in Google's eyes). And you don't want to taint the older site with the newer one.

One issue, I suspect, is that Google views it as potentially a keyword-stuffed copy or duplicate by you of the older site (as in, two cites on the same "C-block"). In such a context, there is no reason for also the newer site to rank highly -- it offers no added value for the user that the older site does not.

So, if you just cut the newer site and focus even more on only the older one, you might even see the older one start to do even better since it doesn't have a keyword-stuffed duplicate "weighing it down." Good luck!