How to change your domain name without losing visibility on Google?

Are you considering changing your domain name without losing visibility on Google? Do not panic ! In this article, we'll explore together the key steps to making this transition safely. We'll assume that you still have access to your old domain name, which will make it easier to implement an effective strategy to maintain, or even improve, your online presence. The domain name change will be discussed here as part of a branding strategy. Get ready to discover how to evolve your brand without compromising your SEO! Precautions to take before embarking on changing your domain name Changing your domain name without losing its visibility on Google requires a few steps that you must consider. Changing your domain name is a significant decision that can affect the visibility of your website. To minimize risks and ensure a smooth transition, here are the essential precautions to take: Complete assessment of timing and motivations First and foremost, make sure the domain name change is necessary and beneficial for your brand. Weigh benefits such as improved brand recognition or alignment with a new strategic direction against the risks of lost SEO traffic and user disruption. Choosing the new domain name Select a domain name that is not only relevant and memorable, but also optimized for search engines. Check that it is not associated with previous penalties or a bad online reputation. SEO Audit of the old domain Conduct a complete audit of your current site to identify your SEO strengths and weaknesses. This includes analyzing backlinks, high-performance keywords, and content generating the most traffic. Detailed Planning Create a detailed migration plan that includes 301 redirecting all old URLs to new ones, updating backlinks, and communicating with stakeholders like affiliates and business partners. Transparent communication Inform your users well in advance of the upcoming change. Use all available channels (emails, social media, site notifications) to explain the reasons for the change and what it means for them. Technical Readiness Make sure your new domain configuration is technically ready before making the transition. This includes hosting, configuring DNS servers, and optimizing the site loading speed. Security Backup Make full backups of your site before migrating. This will allow you to restore the old version if there is a problem with the new domain. By taking these precautions, you can change your domain name while minimizing the negative impact on your SEO and maximizing the chances of success for your new online identity. After the change, how to recover your visibility Once you have changed your domain name, it is crucial to implement effective strategies to quickly recover your visibility on Google. Here are the essential steps to follow: Comprehensive 301 Redirects Make sure all old URLs are redirected to the new ones via 301 redirects. This will help transfer 'SEO juice' and let search engines know that your site has moved permanently. Learn more. There are several approaches to performing the 301 redirect. You can, for example, use the cPanel functionality (if you use one). Or Alternatively, if you are using an Apache server compatible with .htaccess, you can redirect from this file. To redirect all pages from the old domain to the new domain globally, you can simplify the process with generic redirection rules that cover the entire domain. Here is how you can proceed depending on the web server you are using: For Apache servers Open the .htaccess file from your old domain. Add the following redirect rule to redirect all requests to your new domain while retaining the path and query parameters: RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.nouveaudomaine.com/$1 [R=301 ,L] This rule tells the server to redirect all pages (^(.*)$) to the same path on the new domain. For Nginx servers Edit the configuration file of the old domain. Add the following redirect directive to the server block of the old domain: server { server_name old-domain.com; location / { return 301 $scheme://nouveaudomaine.com$request_uri; } } This configuration redirects all requests for the old domain to the new domain while preserving the request path and parameters. For IIS servers Open IIS Manager and navigate to the old domain. Select “URL Redirects” from the features panel. Configure the redirection: Choose “Permanent redirects” (status 301). In the “Redirect to” field, enter the URL of your new domain. Make sure “Redirect all queries to the exact URL entered above” is disabled and “Append query string to new path” is enabled. Testing and Verification After setting up the redirects, test them carefully to ensure that all old URLs lead correctly to the corresponding ones on the new domain. You can use online tools to check the redirect status of URLs or simply test manually by accessing various old URLs to see if they redirect correctly. By following these instructions, you should be able to effectively redirect all your traffic from the old domain to the new one, while maintaining the integrity of your accumulated SEO. Updating Google Search Console Notify Google of your domain change via Google Search Console. Use the change of address tool to speed up Google's recognition of the new domain. To notify Google of a domain name change, you can follow these steps through Google Search Console. This is an essential tool for managing your site's presence in Google search results: 1. Verify both domains in Google Search Console First of all, make sure you have added and verified your old and new domains simultaneously in Google Search Console. This involves proving that you are the owner of these domains via one of the methods offered by Google. Google suggests adding a DNS record, importing an HTML file to your server, or using a meta tag on your home page. 2. Use the Change of Address Tool Google Search Console offers a Change of Address tool that lets you notify Google that your site has moved to a new domain. Here's how to use it: Log in to Google Search Console. Select your old domain. Go to “Settings”, then find and click “Change of Address”. Follow the instructions to specify the new domain. This tool will guide you through several steps, including verifying that 301 redirects are correctly in place. 3. Submit sitemap, submit sitemap for For both domains. For the old domain, this will allow Google to re-scan old URLs and see 301 redirects. For the new domain, this helps Google quickly discover new URLs and index them: In Google Search Console, select the profile of your new domain. Go to “Sitemaps” under the “Index” tab. Delete the old sitemaps if they are still there and submit the new sitemap for the new domain. 4. Monitor both domains Continue to monitor the performance of both domains in Google Search Console. Keep an eye on URL indexing, crawl errors, and traffic data to ensure redirects are working correctly and the new domain is gaining visibility. Content Review Make sure all content on your site is up to date, including brand names, URLs mentioned in content, and metadata. Also make sure the new domain is fully optimized for relevant keywords. Backlink re-engagement Contact webmasters of sites that point to your old domain to inform them of the change and ask them to update their backlinks. Although this can be time-consuming, it is crucial to maintaining the strength of your backlink profile. Communication campaign Launch a communication campaign to announce the change of domain to your audience. Use social media, email newsletters and other communication channels to inform your customers and partners. Monitoring and Adjustment Monitor the performance of your new domain with tools like Google Analytics and Search Console. Pay attention to traffic or ranking issues and adjust your SEO strategy accordingly. Relaunch digital marketing campaigns Once the new domain has stabilized, consider relaunching your digital marketing campaigns to boost your visibility. This can include PPC, social media marketing campaigns, and remarketing. By following these steps, you can not only regain your lost visibility from the domain change, but also position your site for increased success in its new digital home. Conclusion – change your domain name without losing its visibility changing your domain name without losing its visibility requires planning and the implementation of a set of processes. By following these steps, you will be able to get there. Contact us for assistance.

Gilblas Ngunte Possi

Founder and Full-Stack Developer at Prositeweb.

My proficiency with modern tools and a keen analytical sense regarding information technology enable me to provide superior guidance in the development and implementation of your web solutions.