Avoid losing SEO value when changing your website’s domain name, and maintain your visibility and ranking in search results.
Ieva Treiliha
Your business is well established, and your website attracts a healthy flow of traffic from Google. However, after much consideration, you have decided it is time to update your domain name. Let me start by saying: Changing your domain is definitely not something you should do every fortnight. There is always a risk associated with changing domains. On the other hand, you should not continue with a domain name that no longer aligns with your website strategy. That is why you need to think carefully and make the right decision – ideally, you want to keep your new domain for a long time to come.
Unfortunately, the risks associated with switching domains are often underestimated because for many, “that SEO stuff” can seem a little intangible. However, what is much more tangible are the possible consequences. You could lose visibility in Google due to a drop in keyword rankings. This will reduce organic traffic to your website, resulting in fewer enquiries. And of course, the purpose of your website is to generate traffic, leads, and revenue.
Ignoring the risk of lost SEO value can therefore be a costly mistake.
That is why I recommend reading this blog post for a clear understanding of the key areas you – or your web developer – should focus on.
Now, let’s get technical. First and foremost:
301 redirects
Missing 301 redirects is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when changing your website.
A 301 redirect simply means “moved permanently”. That is exactly what needs to happen with every page on your website – each and every one must be moved.
For example, the product category gammeltdomaene.dk/produktkategori1 should redirect to nytdomaene.dk/produktkategori1.
Similarly, the product page gammeltdomaene.dk/produktkategori1/produkt1 should redirect to nytdomaene.dk/produktkategori1/produkt1.
You get the idea. But what if a product will not exist on the new domain? In that case, the product page should redirect to the most relevant category. For example, you could redirect gammeltdomaene.dk/produktkategori1/produkt1 to nytdomaene.dk/produktkategori1.
The most important pages to redirect are those that:
All data regarding traffic, conversions, and revenue can be found in Google Analytics.
Keyword rankings can be monitored using tools such as AccuRanker or Ahrefs. The latter can also be used to track your backlinks.
Monitor your rankings
It is crucial to monitor your rankings before, during, and after changing your domain name, so any lost SEO value can be spotted quickly. Drops in key keyword positions are usually easier to identify on a day-to-day basis than drops in revenue, especially if your revenue tends to fluctuate.
On-page parameters
Avoid changing your most important on-page parameters unless you really know what you’re doing – especially if your old site is already well on-page optimised and performing well in search results. Pay particular attention to the following on-page elements:
At a minimum, your text should be transferred, but you can also expand with more relevant content.
If you have invested heavily in SEO optimisation, you likely know which landing pages rank well and attract valuable traffic from various keywords. These are the landing pages you need to handle with particular care.
Google bot
It is important to block Google’s access to your new site in the robots.txt file while it is still under development. Even more important is to allow Googlebot to crawl and index your new site as soon as it is ready for visitors. Otherwise, you will be literally invisible in Google’s search results.
Speed
The faster your website loads, the better the user experience – and Google knows this. If your website migration leads to slower loading times, Google is likely to penalise your rankings, which reduces organic traffic and conversions. Your new site should load at least as quickly as the old one. You can test your site’s speed both before and after the migration using Google Page Speed Insights.
Mobile-friendliness
Google has gone mobile first. That means your new site must be mobile-friendly with a responsive design, regardless of whether your old site was mobile-friendly or not. You can read more about the Mobile First Index and why responsive design is so important here. Test your site’s mobile-friendliness before and after the move using Google’s Mobile Friendly Tester.
Remember to submit an updated sitemap in Search Console as soon as your new site is ready. This helps Google to index your website correctly and quickly. Check that the number of indexed pages matches the number that were indexed before – or at least matches the number you now want indexed, if you have cleaned up your content.
Keep a close eye on your data in Google Search Console after the migration. Many errors can be detected here.
Other relevant articles:
How to make your website fast
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