SOP 58: 301-Merge Into Existing Site vs. Keep Standalone

SOP 58: 301-Merge Into Existing Site vs. Keep Standalone

After buying, you decide: fold the asset into a site you own, or run it separately. Decide by intent and risk.

— Keep standalone when: the asset earns directly (its own ads/affiliates), the niches differ, or you may resell it later. A clean standalone asset is easier to re-sell with attributable financials.
— 301-merge into an existing site when: you bought it primarily for its backlinks/authority, the topics are tightly related, and you will not resell. The merge passes link equity to your money site.
— Risk rule: a 301-merge is largely irreversible for SEO value and destroys the asset's standalone P&L. Never merge an asset you might resell.
— If merging, map every URL to a relevant target — blanket redirects to the homepage waste the equity and can be treated as soft-404s.

Pass criterion: merge/standalone decision made before close, matched to whether you will ever resell.

Save this — run it every deal.