SEO out of whack due to refund for inappropriate .com domain from WordPress

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  stkfitclub · Member · Nov 19, 2013 at 12:38 pm

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  I’m having a SEO nightmare due to having purchased a .com domain with you initially (I returned it for a credit as you only sell .com domains and i wanted a com.au) – Basically the first google result tht appears for my BRAND NEW business is a dead link to stkfitclub.com – An error message appears with no link to my actual domain, which is obviously terrible for my business.
  Can you suggest a way to fix this?
  Thanks,
  melissa.
  st k fit club
  http://www.stkfitclub.com.au

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  kraftbj · Staff · Nov 19, 2013 at 11:02 pm

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  Hi,

  There’s not an easy fix for this. The domain name is in being in the process of being cancelled, so it’ll soon not resolve to any site at all.

  Google and other search engines will re-scan pages in their index (according to the schedule that the search engine deems best). Once the site at the bad domain is re-scanned, it’ll be removed from the search results.

  You can request from Google to remove an address from their index at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/removals?pli=1 , which could possibly speed up the process.

  If you have any questions or need anything else, please let me know. Thanks!

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  stkfitclub · Member · Nov 20, 2013 at 1:30 am

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  I’ve done as you suggested re google removals. Would buying the stkfitclub.com domain and re-directing it to my site be a solution?

  It’s really most important for my actual site to appear above the dead link.

  Thanks for your advice in advance,
  Melissa.

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  kraftbj · Staff · Nov 20, 2013 at 4:36 pm

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  Hi Melissa,

  That’s an option. Since it was purchased/cancelled, we can try to “undo” the cancellation, which sometimes works or have to wait until the domain has been returned to the marketplace to purchase (there’s a delay before it can be bought again).

  If you’d like me to try, I’ll contact our domain provider to see if that’s still possible.

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  stkfitclub · Member · Nov 20, 2013 at 8:37 pm

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  Would the re-direction be an additional cost? If so, what do WordPress charge for such a thing? & do i need to administer that myself?

  Thanks for your help with this.
  Melissa.

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  kraftbj · Staff · Nov 20, 2013 at 9:40 pm

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  We can link the domain to your same account, only setting your .au domain as primary. In other words, besides the cost of the domain if we’re able to get it back, there’s no additional cost.

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  stkfitclub · Member · Nov 20, 2013 at 9:41 pm

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  Ok, yeah lets try that then please.

  Thanks for your help : )

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  kraftbj · Staff · Nov 20, 2013 at 9:44 pm

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  Sounds good. I’ve sent the request to our domain provider and will let you know as soon as I hear back.

  Cheers!

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  kraftbj · Staff · Nov 21, 2013 at 6:16 pm

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  Howdy,

  We were able to get the domain back, so I added it back to your account.

  Your .com.au domain is “primary”, so that will be seen by users when visiting your site. As Google updates, it’ll see the redirect and eventually use your .com.au domain instead.

  I’ve sent a payment request for the cost of the domain. If you have any questions or need anything else, please let me know.

  Cheers!