The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. SEO and Digital Marketing Forum
    2. Categories
    3. SEO Tactics
    4. Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    5. Should I redirect a domain we control but which has been labeled 'toxic' or just shut it down?
    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Should I redirect a domain we control but which has been labeled 'toxic' or just shut it down?

    Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    2 2 563
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • Daaveey
      Daaveey last edited by

      Hi Mozzers:

      We recently launched a site for a client which involved bringing in and redirecting content which formerly had been hosted on different domains. One of these domains still existed and we have yet to bring over the content from it. It has also been flagged as a suspicious/toxic backlink source to our new domain. Would I be wise to redirect this old domain or should I just shut it down? None of the pages seem to have particular equity as link sources. Part of me is asking myself 'Why would we redirect a domain deemed toxic, why not just shut it down.'

      Thanks in advance,

      dave

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • contentamplified
        contentamplified last edited by

        You could actually just use the disavow tool and target those toxic links. Google will then ignore them and as long as you have redirected the site properly, you should be good to go. However, it is also worth making a decision on how important the domain is to your over all strategy and if it seriously brings something to the table. If it is not going to make that much of an impact, then you should just get rid of it and move on.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • 1 / 1
        • First post
          Last post

        Got a burning SEO question?

        Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


        Start my free trial


        Explore more categories

        • Moz Tools

          Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

          Getting Started
          Moz Pro
          Moz Local
          Moz Bar
          API
          What's New

        • SEO Tactics

          Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

          Content Development
          Competitive Research
          Keyword Research
          Link Building
          On-Page Optimization
          Technical SEO
          Reporting & Analytics
          Intermediate & Advanced SEO
          Image & Video Optimization
          International SEO
          Local SEO

        • Community

          Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

          Moz Blog
          Moz News
          Industry News
          Jobs and Opportunities
          SEO Learn Center
          Whiteboard Friday

        • Digital Marketing

          Chat about tactics outside of SEO

          Affiliate Marketing
          Branding
          Conversion Rate Optimization
          Web Design
          Paid Search Marketing
          Social Media

        • Research & Trends

          Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

          SERP Trends
          Search Behavior
          Algorithm Updates
          White Hat / Black Hat SEO
          Other SEO Tools

        • Support

          Connect on product support and feature requests.

          Product Support
          Feature Requests
          Participate in User Research

        • See all categories

        • What happens to a domain in SERPs when it's set to redirect to another?
          kevinliao
          kevinliao
          0
          2
          820

        Get started with Moz Pro!

        Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

        Start my free trial
        Products
        • Moz Pro
        • Moz Local
        • Moz API
        • Moz Data
        • STAT
        • Product Updates
        Moz Solutions
        • SMB Solutions
        • Agency Solutions
        • Enterprise Solutions
        • Digital Marketers
        Free SEO Tools
        • Domain Authority Checker
        • Link Explorer
        • Keyword Explorer
        • Competitive Research
        • Brand Authority Checker
        • Local Citation Checker
        • MozBar Extension
        • MozCast
        Resources
        • Blog
        • SEO Learning Center
        • Help Hub
        • Beginner's Guide to SEO
        • How-to Guides
        • Moz Academy
        • API Docs
        About Moz
        • About
        • Team
        • Careers
        • Contact
        Why Moz
        • Case Studies
        • Testimonials
        Get Involved
        • Become an Affiliate
        • MozCon
        • Webinars
        • Practical Marketer Series
        • MozPod
        Connect with us

        Contact the Help team

        Join our newsletter
        Moz logo
        © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
        • Accessibility
        • Terms of Use
        • Privacy

        Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.