Dumb SEO Questions

(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 &quot;exactly&quot; the same, you&#39;re probably safe to either do a perm redirect or * 301 to the better domain. Also add canonical tags to the keeper.<br /><br />If the content isn&#39;t the same, it&#39;s recommended to 301 redirect in segments. Gradually redirect to the site you want to keep so it doesn&#39;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&#39;ve read. ;<br /><br />So you&#39;re saying I need a 301 AND a canonical? ;
  • Justin Y: You&#39;re welcome. <br />Yeh 301 the .net to the .com and then add canonical tags to the .com and that&#39;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 &quot;home page&quot;.

View original question in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, Sunday, September 8, 2013).

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