(Entry was posted by Melissa Klaver on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, Sunday, September 8, 2013).

Should I use a rel=canonical or 301 redirect to consolidate two identical sites with different domain?

Good afternoon! Here`s my dumb question: I have a client with 2 websites; one is a .com and the other is a .net. The domains are exactly the same, the content is exactly the same. Do I use a rel=canonical or 301 redirect to consolidate these sites??? I`ve been doing research, but am still unsure and don`t want to make a detrimental mistake!
Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions G+ community.

Justin Y: I would keep the stronger one of the two and then redirect the one that has less authority. If everything is "exactly" the same, you're probably safe to either do a perm redirect or * 301 to the better domain. Also add canonical tags to the keeper. If the content isn't the same, it's recommended to 301 redirect in segments. Gradually redirect to the site you want to keep so it doesn't come off as spammy.
Melissa Klaver: Thanks for your response, Justin! The content is identical. I was going to redirect the .net to the .com, as the .com will have better SEO value, from what I've read. ; So you're saying I need a 301 AND a canonical? ;
Justin Y: You're welcome. Yeh 301 the .net to the .com and then add canonical tags to the .com and that's all.
Melissa Klaver: Much appreciated! Have a great day!
Justin Y: Same to you :)
????? ?: I would use 301 in htaccess file. ;Old site can be removed. But need to check links from Google, all links must open new pages, not only "home page".