The Google Webmaster Tools website has a section that allows people to execute a “Change of Address” quickly and without any hassles. This is primarily used when moving to a new domain but Rob from the Netherlands was wondering whether this method could also work when fusing two sites together (wherein one becomes an extension of the other). Google’s Matt Cutts shares his thoughts and provides Rob with a few tips to complete the process successfully.

Matt doesn’t recommend using the Change of Address form for merging sites because it simply was not design for that purpose. Instead, he proposes a more thorough two-pronged approach. The first part involves finding the most reputable external sites that link to the old domain. An exhaustive list may be found through the Google Webmaster Tools console and this can be downloaded for convenience. Just pick a handful with the highest PRs and send them a request to update their links to the new domain.

The second part involves doing a 301 redirect for every page on the old domain to its new domain equivalent. This ensures that visitors trying to access the previous site will have a seamless experience while they are being sent to the exact page that they want to see.

Video Link:
How can I merge two sites? –