Do old backlinks still help with new URL with 301 redirect? Also I added the www. How does this affect it all?
-
I changed my URL from exampledetailing. com to exampleautodetailing. com. It is redirected with a 301. Also, it is on Squarespace AND I opted to add the www. So will the old backlinks of exampledetailing. com still help the new URL exampleautodetailing. com or do I need to try and update all the links? Also, future links, do I need to include the www. or just the root domain of exampleautodetailing. com or even the whole https://wwwexampleautodetailing. com? I believe the www is considered a sub domain and a new entity on Google, so I am not sure how that works. Thank you!
-
So about updating links to the new one. I see that you said that I should use the https://www.domain.com at all times.
Then you said that the www is considered a new entity, but then you mention that it was ok to not use the www in my domain.
Are you talking about the backlinking domains I do from here or on the actual website itself?
Last thing. is the backlinking rule that it should always match the exact way it shows in the URL bar? So for example https://www.domain.com should always be https://www.domain.com and never https://domain.com or even domain.com?
-
Hi there,
You still will get value from your backlinks if you do a 301 redirect on the server level. When doing 301 redirect you are losing about 30% of SEO juice, so it is better to update your links to the new site. For the new links, you should link them to https://www.domain.com at all times. Yes, you are correct www ( CNAME) subdomain is considered as a new entity, that's why it is ok not to use www in your domain.
Ross
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Unsolved Old domain taken over by new client
Hi Moz Peeps, I have a client who has taken over an old domain from a company that existed about 5 years ago. The business has a strong DA in a totally different industry. In any respect, since taking over and managing their SEO it's been close to 3 months, however search visibility continues to remain at zero. Is there anything I should be doing to get the site to be re-indexed again? Thanks
Local Website Optimization | | RichardNM0 -
What's the best international URL strategy for my non-profit?
Hi, I have a non-profit organization that advocates for mental health education and treatment. We are considering creating regional chapters of the non-profit in specific countries - France, UK, Russia, etc. What's the best long-term foundation for global organic growth? Should we simply internationalize our content (.org/uk/)? Or create a custom site for each ccTLD (.org.uk, etc.? Since it's an educational site, the content for each country would not be particularly unique, apart from: Language (regional English nuance for UK and AUS, or other languages altogether) Expert videos and potentially supporting articles (i.e., hosting videos and a supporting article for a UK Doctor versus a US Doctor) Offering some regional context when it comes to treatment options, or navigating school, work, etc. Any thoughts would be much appreciated! Thanks! Aaron
Local Website Optimization | | RSR1 -
Client wants to rebrand but insists on keeping their old website live as well...
I am working with a client in the dental space that has an existing (11 year old) website for his practice. His domain is tied to his last name, which he would like to get away from because he plans to sell the practice in the next couple years. Backstory: Prior to taking him on, he was working with an SEO agency out of India that were built him quite an ugly backlink profile. Once we discovered it, we immediately notified him about the risk of a penalty if left alone. He was riding high in Google SERP's so of course, it was of no concern to him. Needless to say about a year ago he was inducted into Google's "manual penalty club" for suspicious links. His site vanished in Google and all! Hooray! But no, not really... We met with him to discuss the options, suggesting we clean up his backlink profile, then submit for reconsideration. Based on the time we told him it could take to make progress and be back up and running, he wasn't very excited about that approach. He said he wanted us to rebuild a new site, with a new domain and start fresh. In addition, he wanted keep his original site live since it is tied to his already thriving practice. To sum it all up, his goal is to keep what he has live since his customers are accustom to using his existing (penalized) website. While building a new brand/website that he can use to build a cleaner backlink profile and rank in Google as well as to sell off down the line without having his name tied to the practice. Question: Being that he has an existing site with the company NAP info throughout and the new site will also have the same NAP (just a different domain/brand), is there a "best way" to approach this? The content on the new site would be completely unique. I understand this approach is iffy but in his situation it makes sense to some extent. Any feedback or ideas on how to best handle having two sites running for the same dental practice? If any part of my question is confusing or you need further details to help make a suggestion, please fire away and I will be happy to give as much detail as possible. Thanks Mozzers!
Local Website Optimization | | Bryan_Loconto1 -
Is Keyword Density Still Relevant?
Good afternoon everyone! I wanted to ask everyone here a question, one that has been being discussed around my office with a lot of different sides being taken. Does Keyword Density matter? If it does, what percentage do you try to have your keyword hit?
Local Website Optimization | | TaylorRHawkins1 -
How to direct the right countries to different URLS.
Hello, I have one site that has 3 different "sites" sitting within. .com/us/shop - Serves the US and Mexico How do i point US and Mexico to .com/us/shop .com/eu/shop - Serves all countries in Europe excluding the UK How do I point Spain, France, Italy, Germany to the .com/eu/shop .com/shop - Serves the UK and all other ROW countries. How do i point UK, China, Russia, Hong Kong to .com/shop Thanks
Local Website Optimization | | MarniFP0 -
I have a Wordpress site that ranks well and a blog (uses blogger) with slightly different URL/domain that also ranks decently. Should I combine the 2 under the website domain or keep both?
I realize that I am building essentially 2 different sites even though they are connected, but on some local town pages i have 2-3 results on Page #1. Nice problem to have eh? But i am worried as for a lot of my surrounding towns my competitor has the top listing or definitely ahead of me, so i am wondering if i combine or convert my blog into the same domain as my site, then all of that content + links should hopefully propel my site to #1. Anyone have an experience like this? thanks, Chris
Local Website Optimization | | Sundance_Kidd0 -
What are these strange backlinks?
Hello everyone! Ive recently taken on a client that has a fairly large plumbing company. We're doing okay so far at almost number 10 on the local search for plumbers on google. Our #1 competitor however.. has an interesting backlink profile that I simply cannot understand. They are linked and yes, the links are followed, from a bunch of comics? Heres an example of one of their links. http://endlessorigami.com/comic/modern-day-fight-club-2/ moz reports that the link text says "Brooklyn Plumbing" .. Where are the links on these pages? I don't see a single link... how is this even related to a plumbing company? Im so puzzled, and it appears this is where the majority of the link juice is being passed to my competitor. There are at least 15 links that are just random comics.. Thank you everyone. I hope this isn't a silly question.
Local Website Optimization | | Ant-Built0 -
Local Rank & Branding Confusion - HELP
I am working with a client now that has two sites that serve two segments of a particular market segment. They have two different URLs which cater to these different target markets BUT the company is known in its local market as a their brand name (of course) which is different than their 2 domain names used on these 2 sites. Confusing eh? This has resulted in confusing Google and their rank has suffered a bit. To provide more color + insight- Let's just say this company is called AtlantaEventsInc and they offer event services for corporate events and let's say weddings. So let's say they have had atlantaeventscorporate.com for 20 years and then they add atlantaeventweddings.com about a year ago since their wedding business is expanding. So they promote their corporate events on one site and their wedding events on another. These 2 sites also currently share one blog, share one Facebook page, one Twitter and have two Google+ pages. Should we keep these two sites totally separate? and even have separate blogs and separate social media accounts? OR since our rank has only suffered with the new wedding site (just a year old) should we retire that site? (i suppose we could still keep separate blogs though for each target market. WOULD LOVE INSIGHT ON THIS! Thanks, Chris
Local Website Optimization | | Sundance_Kidd1