Which Root Domain to Use? Two aged domains, Different number of backlinks

Hey all,

I'll start with the questions, then give the back story. Perhaps you have insights to this.

1. Of two aged domains below, which domain should I use to get the quickest results? Why?
2. Should redirects be used on the new site to preserve existing backlinks -- or can branded shortlinks also pass on the value of those link?
3. What are the longer term consequences of these choices?

Now for the background:

I'm helping a client improve their ranking on a redesigned site (currently in dev stage) and recommended they go with Domain B, and use Domain A for branded, trackable short links (I thought this would be a cool solution, that would allow them to easily set up attractive links for use in their marketing, online and offline). Now after evaluating the number of aged backlinks to each one, I'm questioning my initial recommendation.

Basic details:


Site indexing:

Before digging deep into this project, I did a quick search for each domain (site:domain.com). Domain A showed 6 results. Domain B showed 67 results. The developer was using an iframe (not a forwarder) on the Domain A site to display the site built using Domain B.

Backlinks Differential Between the Two Sites:

I've just discovered the difference in the number of backlinks between the two sites (I should have checked this sooner). Now, I'm wondering if the site should use Domain A, instead, to leverage the already existing number of quality, aged backlinks -- or if redirecting those linked pages to another page on the new site would also leverage that link juice.

The other option would be to stick to the initial plan: Use Domain B, and redirect Domain A pages to Domain B. But, I'm not sure how efficiently the link juice will pass from one to the other using the link shortener as I'm planning to. One thing I'm unsure of is how redirects and link shorteners are handled differently by search engines with regard to how they are valued.

Summary:

I think the main issue I'm wrestling with is how to handle the already existing backlinks: use the domain with the most backlinks and redirect as necessary. The domain age is probably not as much of a factor given that each are aged for more than 10 years.

I hope this is clear.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

I actually have an update and a simpler question:

For SEO rankings, all else equal, which of the following would you choose?

Domain A Attributes:
- Shorter Domain Name (7 characters, contains first two words of the company name separated by a hyphen, would make a good branded link shortener)
- Domain Age: 20 years
- Backlinks: just over 100 (from 40 unique TLDs, all pointed to the home page)

Domain B Attributes:
- Longer Domain Name (17 characters, spells out the company name)
- Domain Age: 11 years
- Backlinks: 3 (from two TLDs, look spammy)

These are not recently purchased domains. Same owner since original purchase.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

ooo said:

For SEO rankings, all else equal, which of the following would you choose?

Domain A Attributes:
- Shorter Domain Name (7 characters, contains first two words of the company name separated by a hyphen, would make a good branded link shortener)
- Domain Age: 20 years
- Backlinks: just over 100 (from 40 unique TLDs, all pointed to the home page)

Domain B Attributes:
- Longer Domain Name (17 characters, spells out the company name)
- Domain Age: 11 years
- Backlinks: 3 (from two TLDs, look spammy)

Click to expand...

Anyone would choose the first domain. Links are the hardest part in SEO. So, all else beeing equal, I'd go with domain A.


Now, about your first post, I personally don't get the appeal of 'branded shortlinks', and I like more a domain that fully spells put the company name (personal choice), but with which one are the clients more accostumed? Which one has been used the last few years? which one is the people using to send emails? That kind of questions should be your criteria to choose one over the other. Then just 301 the other domain to the chosen one and you will get (most of) the link authority of the deprecated domain name.