We have recently changed our website domain from socialsmoke.com to socialsmokehookah.com. We setup a 301 redirect, which seems to be working properly. Within a few days Yahoo picked up the new sight and immediatley replaced our old link with our new domain name. We actually have advanced from position 5 to 2. On MSN or link name has not updated but our position has been getting better and better, and we are currently number 2. The big problem is with Google. Our domain was number 5 on the first page for well over 1 month (after a steady increase over a few months) and on the first page and top of the second for much longer. Now we are the 6th listing on the second page and our link has not updated. (All the above is in reference to the keyword "HOOKAH")

What have we done wrong in this name transition and what advice do you have for helping us regain our "past glory"? Do we need to basically start building links from scratch again? What is needed for our new domain name to be found and appear on the SERP for MSN and Google?

If you need any more info from me let me know.

Thanks in Advance!!!

MSN and yahoo mainly concentrate on on page elements where as Google is mainly backlink driven. Try getting as many backlinks as possible and then you will be increasing the SERP's. Probable cause of drop could be many but what I suspect is you were gaining backlinks so you were moving up in google but probably its stagnant at this point. There can be other reasons also.

I could be as simple as a straight forward fluctuation of the SERP's. Just wait for a while and your position may come back. Mean while you may as well carry on getting BL's as shabbirbhimani said.

Hope you regain your "past glory" although second page isn't anything to be ashamed of.

What I don't understand is why did you change your domain name to begin with? The first is easier to rember and the second really isn't much different from the first. I just don't get it.

LOL. Yeah I know. My partner got a little hair brained idea and implemented it before asking around.

another issue is the age of your website.

Things will bumb up if the site is older and is refreshed frequently.
Have a little patience