> We just completed the transition [301-ing from MelonCard.com to SafeShepherd.com] yesterday
Clearly, your definition of 'out of the blue' is not the same as mine... good luck figuring out if the problem was on your end or theirs (hitting the front page of HN usually helps).
Yeah, this hardly got a mention, despite being the most obvious and influential factor. It's certainly not out of blue. Now, as to why Google failed to connect the dots for them, who knows.
I should clarify. We've been ranking for "Safe Shepherd" and SafeShepherd.com. A 301-redirect from MelonCard.com shouldn't bring DOWN our rank for "Safe Shepherd" on SafeShepherd.com. Unless I'm missing how the algorithm works..
Clearly, your definition of 'out of the blue' is not the same as mine... good luck figuring out if the problem was on your end or theirs (hitting the front page of HN usually helps).
Edit: clarified transition per comment below