Active forum planning name/domain change - Should I wait for vBSEO?

[brookelyn]

Hello,

I run an active forum and we have decided to change our name/domain name URL. I would like to know what kind of effect this is going to have on our search engine rankings and if I should install vBSEO to my forums before or after we make the change. Is there anything I can do to maintain our current placement even with a name change?

Thanks for your help and advice!

[Joe Ward]

You should 301 redirect the old site to the new one, but only install vBSEO on the new forum.

Don't install it on your existing forum if you plan to move it.

You will see some impact in your SERPs. The 301s will help & vBSEO will help minimize the impact.

[brookelyn]

Hi Joe,

I am not starting a new forum, only changing the title/domain name. I am not moving to a different server or anything else. I plan to keep the old domain for whatever transition period is necessary, maybe even forever. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.