Now if you do decide to move, please note that there "will" be some loss of PR and/or SERP, at least in the short time frame. 301 redirects are the best thing to do but they are not fool proof. Don't take my word for it.

Eric Enge: Let’s say you move from one domain to another and you write yourself a nice little statement that basically instructs the search engine and, any user agent on how to remap from one domain to the other. In a scenario like this, is there some loss in PageRank that can take place simply because the user who originally implemented a link to the site didn't link to it on the new domain?

Matt Cutts: That's a good question, and I am not 100 percent sure about the answer. I can certainly see how there could be some loss of PageRank. I am not 100 percent sure whether the crawling and indexing team has implemented that sort of natural PageRank decay, so I will have to go and check on that specific case. (Note: in a follow on email, Matt confirmed that this is in fact the case. There is some loss of PR through a 301).

Source : http://www.stonetemple.com/art.....2510.shtml

And if you are looking for a keyword rich domain, google is devaluing the keyword domain aspect. Again, don't take my word for it - http://www.seobook.com/googles.....main-names

So if it were me, I would keep doing what I am doing. Unless, the domain name bothers you that much for other reasons. 

Thank you everyone for your feedback and support. You are all really awesome.!!

Agree with Forest.  If you do the redirect correctly you should be ok.  You will take a short-term hit though.

 

Plus to maintain existing links you'll have to maintain both domain names, the old one redirecting to the new one.

 

Good point. It wouldn't be a smooth transition would it?!

Agree with Forest.  If you do the redirect correctly you should be ok.  You will take a short-term hit though.

 

Plus to maintain existing links you'll have to maintain both domain names, the old one redirecting to the new one.

 

Good point. It wouldn't be a smooth transition would it?!

I don't know, just one opinion here but your blog has built it's own indentity with that name. I actually think it's an interesting name, and don't see it hurting your efforts at all. My vote is for you to keep it, but of course you have to be happy with it.

 

Thanks Squirrelers. That's two votes to keep it. Thanks for the encouragement- maybe your're right-it is good the way it is.

If you switch properly with redirects and things you shouldn't lose much google juice (although I don't know post Panda update if that still stands).

 

I think it's a decision for the long term and you will have to take some knocks no matter what but I like your name as it is and don't think it should change.

 

Thanks Forest. Great feedback and I am glad to hear you like my name. That is one vote to keep it.

Or, you could consider building a brand new blog with a name you like better, and keep Prairie Eco Thrifter for more 'green' things (or whatever you would like to post on it).

Just saying, you have to live with your blog everyday, so do what makes you happiest!

Hey Everyone

 

I have been thinking a lot lately about my blog name. I do like it and it started out as a unique way to describe myself. However now that my blog has grown and continues to grow, the more I wonder if I should change the name. Does my site name seem less professional, less valuable? Should I change it to something that readers and advertisers could relate to more or search for more on Google?

I don't think your site seems less professional or less valuable, but I think that the name is hard to spell and -- just based on the name alone -- someone might guess you were into strictly sustainable living out by yourself on the prairie. I think you might have a wider audience if you changed it, but who knows. You have to go with your gut. I restarted my blog with a completely new name (MoneyCrush) and it was a big help.

I, too, went through this very same dilemma. About a year and a half ago I decided to change my blog from a Wordpress.com blog called "Urban Homesteader" to a self-hosted site "Happy Simple Living." I wanted to broaden the topics I could write about and more accurately reflect my passion for simple living. I also thought the new platform would be a broader base for the January Money Diet my blog sponsors every year.

I posted a "we've moved page" on the old blog that you can see here, and this page is still my biggest referring page according to my Analytics report. Once I'd made the transition, I transferred all the content to my new site and removed it from the old site.

It was kind of a pain at the time, to be honest, only because I'd worked hard to build relationships and many bloggers had given me reciprocal links. Most of those have been updated, and now I'm very happy I made the transition. My traffic has increased ten-fold and I get a ton of traffic from people who organically search "simple living." So for me, it was definitely worth it.

I've always thought Prairie Eco-Thrifter was unique, but if you have a strong name in mind to transition to it could be totally worth it. That's my two cents worth!

All the best,

Eliza

Thanks SPF. Much appreciated. I am not sure what to do either. I haven't been having issues with it persay but I just look around even on the network here and I feel like my blog name doesn't fit. Maybe it's just me being self conscious.

I like the name.  Unless you come up with a really good one, I wouldn't go through the hassle of changing.  Don't feel alone with a name that doesn't fit.  "Mom's Plans" doesn't say anything about finances either.  In retrospect, I would have chosen a different name, but I don't want to change now.