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Types of migration

Domain migration

Also known as: domain change, site move, moving to a new domain

In SEO, a domain migration means a website moves to a different domain name, for example from old-brand.com to new-brand.com, and every old URL permanently points to its new counterpart. Search results for the phrase often show Active Directory or Windows network migrations, which are a different topic.

What does Google recommend?

Google’s site move documentation gives this order of work:

  1. Prepare the new site and test it, including the HTTPS certificate.
  2. Map old URLs to new URLs. Google names sitemaps, server logs and analytics data as sources for the list.
  3. Set up redirects. Google recommends server-side permanent redirects, such as 301 and 308, and advises avoiding chains. Googlebot follows up to 10 hops, but if a chain cannot be avoided, Google recommends ideally no more than 3 hops and fewer than 5.
  4. Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
  5. Use the Change of Address tool for domain or subdomain moves. It is not needed for HTTP to HTTPS, www to non-www or path changes inside one domain. Both properties must be owned by the same account.
  6. Monitor traffic, crawling and indexing on both domains.

Google states that for medium-sized sites it can take a few weeks or more until the new URLs replace the old ones in search results.

Redirect chain and direct redirectTop: /old reaches the target via two intermediate URLs, three redirects and four requests. Bottom: /old redirects straight to the target, two requests.Chain: 3 redirects, 4 requests/old/products/old/p/new-2019/target/200 OK301301301Direct: 1 redirect, 2 requests/old/target/200 OK301Chains build up after several relaunches when old rules are never pointed at the current URL.
Every hop in a chain is a separate request. Google’s crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops; Google still recommends redirecting straight to the final destination. Sources: Google Search Central: HTTP status codes, network and DNS errors; Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes.

How long should redirects stay?

Two Google pages give different minimums. The site move documentation says to keep redirects as long as possible, generally at least 1 year. The Search Console help page on the Change of Address tool says at least 180 days, longer if Google Search still sends traffic through them. To meet both, keep redirects in place for at least one year.

Example

Apache
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://new-brand.com/$1 [R=301,L]

This pattern only works when paths stay the same. If the structure changes, each URL needs its own target.

Change one thing at a time

Google advises changing only one thing at a time. A domain move, a CMS change and a new layout should happen in separate steps, so that traffic changes can be traced to a cause.

Checklist

  • Test the new site completely before the redirects go live.
  • Decide the matching new URL for every old URL. Many old URLs should not point to one unrelated destination such as the home page.
  • Set up server-side permanent redirects (301 or 308), each old URL pointing as directly as possible to its target.
  • Remove noindex and robots.txt blocks that were only needed for the migration.
  • Make the canonical annotations on the new site use the new URLs.
  • Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
  • Submit the Change of Address for the old domain (owner of both properties, same Google account).
  • Keep the redirects for at least one year. The Search Console help page gives a minimum of 180 days.
  • Monitor traffic, crawling and indexing on both the old and the new domain.
  • Schedule the move for a period of lower traffic and do not change CMS or layout at the same time.
  • Spot-check the most important redirects with a crawl before and after launch (practitioner experience).

Common mistakes

  • Everything to the home page: Google advises against redirecting many old URLs to one irrelevant destination such as the home page.
  • Targets that do not exist: Google names redirects to wrong or non-existent URLs on the new site as a mistake.
  • Blocks stay in place: noindex or robots.txt blocks that were meant only for the migration remain active.
  • Canonical points to the old domain: Google says the canonical annotations on the new site must use the new URLs.
  • Moves in a row: The Search Console help page advises against chaining consecutive migrations (A to B to C) or merging several sites into one destination at the same time.
  • Change of Address in the wrong case: The tool does not apply to HTTP to HTTPS, www to non-www or path changes within one domain.

FAQ

How long does a domain migration take? Google speaks of weeks or more before new URLs fully replace old ones in search results for medium-sized sites.

Is moving hosting the same thing? No. If the URLs stay the same and only the server changes, Google’s separate hosting guide applies.

More on the searchVIU blog

Sources

  1. Site move with URL changes – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
  2. Change of Address tool – Search Console Helpsupport.google.com
  3. Changing web hosting and SEO – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com

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