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Domain upgrade questions!

  1. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    I'm SO CONFUSED! If anyone can give me clear directions as to what to do, who has done this before, I'd really appreciate it. I am not talking about self hosting, just the Domain upgrade.

    I think I’m missing something somewhere in all this.

    As I understand it, I effectively now have two URLs, teamoyeniyi.com and teamoyeniyi.wordpress.com. The WP URL is the “real” URL where the stuff is located on the servers. So I have two URL’s pointing at the same content.

    Surely I want Google to index based on the purchased domain, not on the WP URL as it has been doing so far.

    I did find this last night http://en.support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/google-apps-email/ but now I seem to have both URLs verified by Google under two different verification methods. Before I found the above link, I verified the new URL (the domain upgrade URL) under my old Google account (using the DNS verification). Then I couldn’t verify it under the new account which I created as a result to fht elink above instructions! This was after I had tried verifying it via the Dashboard Tools area (Meta tag) with the new code, but then the WP site wouldn’t be verified! So I put the code for the WP URL back and it still seem to be verified.

    It seems like I am starting all over again, but I can’t figure out whether I am supposed to keep both URLs under my old Google account, remove the WP URL from there and leave the new one.

    I read somewhere (can’t remember which support document is was now) that purchasing the domain would not lose all my Google information for the site, but I can’t see how that works if I now have a new Google account.

    So at the point where I had the new URL verified on the old Google account together with the WP URL but nothing verified on the [email redacted] Google account, I gave up and went to bed.

    I didn’t know I was going to need a new Google account.
    I don’t know how it works with two URLs verified and pointing at the same content.
    I haven’t even looked at the Bing questions yet!
    I don’t know if WP do the 301 Redirect or if I am supposed to do one? Is it even necessary?

    Does this make it any clearer about why I am confused?

    I hunted everywhere and nothing really addresses this issue at all.

    I just wanted to have everything “transferred” at Google and Bing and so on to the new URL, but the deeper I dig the more of a mess I seem to make!

    Many thanks for listening to me vent!

    Please help!

    The blog I need help with is teamoyeniyi.com.

  2. thesacredpath
    Member

    As far as the search engines are concerned after domain mapping, you have one URL, the one that you mapped to your blog as it is what the call a 301 permanent redirect. For a while, there will still be links to your old URLs with the wordpress.com in them in the search engine indexes, but over the next 3-6 months, the search engines will replace those old URLs with the new ones. As far as the search engines are concerned, you have one URL, the new one.

    On the verification thing, I've never tried to verify a mapped domain here, so I can't help you with that. It might be that you will have to wait for several days and then try again. It might be that Google hasn't found the updated nameserver stuff yet. I'm just guessing. This might be a question better answered by staff directly.

  3. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    Thanks TSP.

    It doesn't solve the whole two Google accounts thing or even did I verify correctly.

    Some of the new URL already showed yesterday in Google, so they were onto it.

    By the email addresses might be handy, which means I'd be stuck with the new account I guess.

    I got myself into a knot, didn't I? :D

  4. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    I apologize, but I'm a bit confused. It's probably not you though, just the almost 2am hour here.

    Your old Wp.com URL should be 301 (permanent) redirecting to http://teamoyeniyi.com/ so there's no worry about duplicating content, though it may take Google a while to catch up.

    I recommend just verifying the new domain and removing all traces of the old. Google Webmaster tools also has an option which allows you to mark one domain as moved to another.

    With the way search engine indexes work these days, you may have to wait to build up the same rankings, but it won't take too long.

  5. thesacredpath
    Member

    Not necessarily. Contact staff at http://en.support.wordpress.com/contact/ and discuss it with them.

  6. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    Thanks Macmanx, but the Google option to notify of a move is only available to top level domains. teamoyeniyi.wordpress.com is not a top level domain. So I can't tell them about the move. I suppose I could try contacting them!

    Btw - you think YOU are confused! Try being ME! I think I will have to get rid of the old Google account though, because otherwise I can't use the email addresses - but then again, do I want to?

    Thanks TSP. :) You deserve a gold star for patience with me.

  7. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    I will say this though - the accuracy of SiteMeter has improved out of sight! It was always about 30 pageviews behind WordPress Stats, now it is spot on!

  8. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    In that case, I wouldn't worry about the move in Webmaster Tools. Google will eventually catch on to the permanent redirect and take care of it.

    As for your email address, the new address through Google Apps for Domains is just a perk, there's no need to stop using your old one, unless it was also through Google Apps for Domains. Was it?

  9. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    No, it wasn't - just I liked the idea of giving our kids email addresses of [email redacted]! LOL Much more exciting than bigpond.com!

    Anyway Macmanx, not that I have you: right at this moment in time, both the WP sub-domain and the top level upgrade domain are verfied on my old Google account. The sub-domain via meta tag and the upgrade via the DNS thingy.

    I assume that is all right?

    I gather from what you are saying that as Google catches on to the redirect, all the stats will stop appearing under the WP.com URL and start appearing under the upgrade?

  10. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    Yes, eventually everything will appear under the new domain.

    For good measure, you might want to try also verifying the new domain via meta tag, and then delete the listing for the old WP.com URL, unless you still need the stats of course.

  11. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    No, I don't need the stats. Will take your advice though! I did that first, then undid it because I was so confused! LOL

  12. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    Actually, just thought of something else - do we need to submit a sitemap or anything? Or does WP still do everything it did before?

  13. auxclass
    Member

    The site map is sort of automatic once you verify the domain (done for you) - you should as @macmanx said verify your new domain with Google etc.

  14. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    Yeah, the sitemap is at [yourdomain].com/sitemap.xml

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