Yahoo! Store Domain Redirect Update

 Inside your store manager, if “Domain Redirect Setting” is unselected - Yahoo! will soon default your store to “ONE” domain name, with the address of “storename.stores.yahoo.net”.  If you currently have no “Domain Redirect Setting” specified, the following warning appears:

Yahoo! will set a default domain redirect to [storename].stores.yahoo.net in early May for your Store.  The domain redirect will take place automatically and no action is required on your part.  If you wish to specify your own default domain, you can change your current redirect settings on the Domain Names page of the Store Manager.  Learn more. 

It is IMPERATIVE that if you see this warning, you should then “Set Redirect” for Yahoo! Domain Redirect Settings.  Be sure to choose the DOMAIN that you want SEARCH ENGINES to know your website as.  If you go by www.activek9.com - it is important that in your store manager you click on “Domain Names”, under “Site Settings,” - - be sure “www.activek9.com” is selected as your “Redirect”.

A site containing more than one domain per store creates a sort of confusion among search engines like Google and Yahoo!

To show a simplified version of this confusion, think of your “domain” as a “residence.”  Imagine you’ve just moved: from 123 Brick Road to 456 Smith Street.  Initially the post office will deliver mail to both locations.  However, once you place a “mail forward” on your mail box to alert the post office of your new primary address, the post office will alert the sender of your address change, as well as forward your mail to your new residence.  With time, the senders learn your new address and the “mail forward” is no longer necessary.

To put this metaphor back in terms of the web, suppose your website has always used www.theferretstore.com – but recently, you were able to purchase the domain www.ferretstore.com.  You want your customers to be able to find you after the domain change.  By alerting the “Domain Names” section of your store manager about the new address, Yahoo will use a 301 redirect (permanent redirect).  The permanent redirect notifies search engines you will not be returning to the previous address; therefore, the search engine can safely update the address.

Back to reality, Yahoo has decided that IF you have never specified what your “REAL” address is, they are going to default your store to “storename.stores.yahoo.net”.  This is a much better solution than allowing the “previous” default, which actually never required you to specify a default redirect.  Due to the way the Yahoo! stores were built over the years, stores currently have domain names associated with them that you probably have never seen before such as:

http://store.yahoo.com/storename/
http://storenname.domain.com/
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/storename/

NOW is the time to make sure that you have selected the CORRECT domain name to point to your store indicated in the Store Manager.  IF you are seeing that warning on the top of your store manager, be sure to update this setting TODAY. 

If you need additional consulting, be sure to visit Yahoo’s Help Page at http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/store/manage/sitesettings/sitesettings-29.html or call Solid Cactus at 1-888-361-9814 for assistance.