Moving to a new domain name - 301 redirect NOT an option

[Hermski]

Hi everyone

My question concerns moving from an old to a new domain name without losing all previous SEO efforts. I am aware that a properly executed 301 redirect is the answer and way to go as well as telling Google about it in Webmaster Tools. However, what is the situation, if you do not own the old domain name anymore?

If you have no means of getting back the old domain name and wanting to basically mask/switch the already existing website to the new domain name, will search engines penalise the "new site" as a duplicate, since the "old site" is still in the search engine rankings? I know that not being able to execute a proper 301 redirect and starting out with a new domain means a fresh start, but what is the best way to minimise the negative impact (if any)? Basically dropping the sites' current content and starting out new in favour of the new domain name is not really an option. Even if you were to take the content from the old site and place it on another site, this would surely be seen as duplicate too.

• Anyone thinks that Webmaster Tools/Google is savvy enough to spot the difference when the "old site" gets removed and the "new one" added instead (in Webmaster Tools).

• I read something along the lines about having your host point the DNS from the old site to the new one. Could something like be helpful?

Thanks all in advance for your help and input!

[RuthBurrReedy]

Using the Change of Address feature in Google Webmaster Tools and having your host point the DNS at the new site will help Google understand that the site has moved. However, you will probably see URLs from the old site outranking URLs from the new site for a while. If you can't create entirely new content for the new site, it would still be worth refreshing and rewriting the content for at least your highest-traffic pages, so they aren't exact duplicates.

Reclaiming as many links as possible by reaching out to get them pointed to the new site, rather than the old site, is definitely worth doing. You should also start thinking strategically about how you're going to market the new site to earn more links links once it launches, to make up for the links you can't get re-pointed to the site.

It will probably take a few months for the new site to start performing well and outranking the old site, but it's definitely possible.

[Highland]

While not having a 301 or even the original domain is problematic, I don't know that it is a bad as you think. Unless they took the previous site and set it up exactly as it was (which I doubt the new owner would do that), you should be able to set up your new domain and start over as it were. That's not as hard as it sounds and, believe it or not, Google can figure out domain migration like that without a 301.

Once it's up and running again you need to market the fact that it's moved. Nobody likes dead or incorrect links so go find all the old links you had and let them know that you've moved. That should get them to update and you can possibly rebound some of your original brand authority.

[Hutch42]

Sorry to bare the bad news, but without being able to set up redirects you are out of everything you had besides the actual content that you can put back up.  All of your link power is gone, you won't be able to get any historic, in general you are starting from scratch but with (hopefully) a decent amount of already tried and true content.