Directories and Domain Amends

[teacake23]

My company is branded as .com and we have both .com and .co.uk domains pointing to the same IP address, which is a UK based host. The site is already well indexed by the search engines but moreso for the .co.uk domain.
Because we are branded as .com I would like to consolidate the traffic to the .com domain, would a 301 redirect on the .co.uk be the best solution?!

Also, am I able to update my current directory listings too? Again the site is indexed by many of the major directories - some even in the wrong categories (before my time!), but most detailing the .co.uk domain. Is it possible to amend the listings so they detail the .com domain and where required change the category?

If I am unable to amend a current directory listing can I submit the .com even if the .co.uk is already listed?

Finally, can I submit the website to directories for indexing in multi categories? If so, is there a limit? For instance, as an international property website, if we have a listing in 'Europe-UK-Property' could I also submit to 'International-USA-Real Estate' because both are important but use different terms.

Any advice is much appreciated. :)

[jestep]

I would say a 301 would definitely be the best way to consolidate the website. Furthermore, if the sites are essentially the same, I would 301 each individual page on the .uk site to the corresponding page on the .com site.

What directory are you referring to? There are thousands of directories out there and each one has different rules.

[Chris Boggs]

Hi teacake and welcome to the forums. I agree with jestep (welcome to you too) that 301's would be a good idea, if you are trying to brand the .com. You may have some adverse effects in the case of UK'ers that are looking for other UK sites, however.

In terms of directories, most of the top ones will only index one version of the site, which it seems is your plan. The amount of categories you may submit to depends on the directory. Many paid directories will allow multiple listings, each costing X amount of money. Yahoo and the other "big boys" will probably not. See Danny Sullivan's article here (http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2167881) about directory submissions for further info.

[teacake23]

Thanks for the feedback Chris and Jetstep.