Considering changing your domain name but not sure where to begin or what to expect? Checkout this live case study article where I will be documenting my journey of changing my previous domain name from sassandseo.com to sassandseo.com after getting married! You’ll learn about the core components of what you need to do to ensure as seamless a transition as possible and rebuild your ranking as quickly as possible. Let’s dive in.
Why Change Your Previous Domain
Changing your domain name is no small task and it shouldn’t be taken lightly since your entire online authority is attached to your website domain name. Evaluating the suitability of your current domain is crucial, as it may no longer accurately represent your brand as it evolves. Unlike social media, where all your followers are already connected to you, your domain name is based on search and people finding you. Domain names are crucial for establishing an online presence, and once you change the name, you have to inform the entire internet of where they need to go next. Without the proper preparation, this can become a nightmare of a task.
Reasons to Change a Domain Name
Changing a domain name can be a strategic move for a business, and there are several reasons why you might consider doing so. Here are some of the most common reasons:
- Rebranding: If your business is undergoing a rebranding effort, changing your domain name can be a great way to reflect your new brand identity. A new domain name can signal to your audience that your business is evolving and staying current.
- Business Relocation or Expansion: If your business is moving to a new location or expanding into new markets, changing your domain name can help you better target your new audience. A domain name that includes geographic keywords or industry-specific terms can improve your visibility in search engines.
- Business Evolution: As your business grows and evolves, your domain name may no longer accurately reflect what your business does. Changing your domain name can help you better communicate your value proposition to your customers and align with your current offerings.
- Legal Issues or Conflicts: In some cases, businesses may be forced to change their domain name due to legal issues or conflicts with an existing domain name. This can happen if another business has a similar name or if there are trademark disputes.
- Ideal Domain Name Availability: If you come across an ideal domain name that wasn’t available when you first started building your website, it may be worth changing to it. A more memorable domain name or one with a relevant domain extension can enhance your brand’s credibility and improve search engine rankings.
The Impact on SEO When Changing to a New Domain
Switching to a new domain can have a significant impact on your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). It essentially means starting from scratch in terms of backlinks, domain authority, and keyword rankings. This could result in a temporary drop in traffic and rankings until the new domain gains traction.
Once a domain name is registered, it is stored in the Domain Name System (DNS) databases and cannot be modified, making it essential to select a domain name carefully to avoid confusion and potential traffic loss due to DNS errors.
To mitigate this risk, it is important to properly plan and execute the transition to the new domain. This includes setting up proper redirects from old URLs to their corresponding pages on the new domain, informing search engines of the change through webmaster tools, and updating all internal links within your website.
Additionally, creating high-quality content on the new domain and promoting it through social media and other channels can help establish credibility and drive organic traffic.
Factors to Consider When Changing Domains
- Backlinks
One of the biggest concerns when changing domains is the impact on backlinks. Backlinks are links from external websites that point to your website, and they play a crucial role in SEO and rankings.
When you change domains, it’s important to make sure that all of your backlinks are redirected to their corresponding pages on the new domain. This ensures that you don’t lose any link authority and helps maintain your search engine rankings.
It’s also a good idea to reach out to other websites linking to your old domain and ask them to update the links to your new domain. This will help ensure that all of your backlinks are pointing to the correct URL.
- Domain Authority
Domain authority is a metric used to measure the strength and credibility of a domain. It is based on factors such as the number of backlinks, quality of backlinks, and overall website traffic.
When changing domains, your new domain may have a different domain authority than your old one. This can potentially impact your search engine rankings. However, by properly redirecting all backlinks and maintaining high-quality content, you can help maintain or even improve your domain authority.
- Content Migration
Another important aspect when changing domains is migrating your content from the old domain to the new one. This includes not only the text content but also images, videos, and other media files.
It’s crucial to ensure that all of your content is transferred correctly and remains accessible on the new domain. Broken links and missing content can negatively affect your website’s user experience and ultimately lead to a decrease in overall traffic.
To avoid these issues, it’s best to create a detailed content migration plan. This should include steps for transferring all content, testing for any broken links or missing files, and implementing redirects for any old URLs that are no longer valid on the new domain.
Additionally, make sure to update all internal links within your content to reflect the new domain. This includes not only text links but also image links and anchor texts.
- Monitor Your Website Traffic
After changing domains, it’s essential to closely monitor your website’s traffic. Keep an eye on both the overall number of visitors as well as the sources of your traffic. Are you still receiving traffic from the same channels as before? Is there a significant decrease in overall traffic?
If you notice a decrease in traffic, it could be due to issues with your website’s visibility and search engine rankings. Make sure to check if your new domain has been properly indexed by search engines and consider implementing SEO strategies to boost your rankings.
- Utilize Social Media
Don’t underestimate the power of social media when it comes to promoting your new domain. Use platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to announce the change and redirect followers to your new website.
You can also take advantage of paid advertising on these platforms to reach a larger audience and drive more traffic to your new domain.
- Engage Your Audience
Lastly, don’t forget about engaging with your audience during this transition. Keep them updated about the changes and ask for their feedback on the new website.
This will not only keep them informed, but also make them feel included in the process and create a sense of excitement about your new domain. Plus, their feedback can help you make any necessary improvements to enhance user experience on your website.
By following these steps, you can ensure a smooth and successful transition to your new domain. Remember to plan ahead, communicate effectively, and utilize all available resources to make the most out of this change.
Preparing for the Domain Name Change
Before you start the process of changing your domain name, there are several things you need to do to prepare. Here are some steps you can take to ensure a smooth transition:
Back Up Your Website’s Content
Before you start making any changes to your website, it’s essential to back up your website’s content. This will ensure that if anything goes wrong during the domain change process, you can easily revert to a previous version of your site. You can use a backup plugin or tool to save your website’s content, and make sure to save your backup to multiple places for redundancy. Popular backup tools include UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, and Duplicator. By having a reliable backup, you can safeguard your data and minimize downtime during the domain change.
Research Your Domain Host’s Features
Before you start the process of changing your domain name, it’s essential to research your domain host’s features. Check whether your current website builder or hosting provider offers the flexibility to change your domain name. Some hosts provide easy-to-use tools for domain changes, while others may require more manual steps. If this option isn’t available, you can acquire a new domain name elsewhere and transition your website’s content to your new domain. Understanding your domain host’s capabilities will help you plan the transition more effectively and avoid potential pitfalls.
Choosing a New Domain Name
Choosing a new domain name is a critical step in the process of changing your domain name. Here are some things to consider to ensure you select the best possible domain name for your business:
Selecting a New Domain Name
When selecting a new domain name, there are several things to consider. Here are some tips to help you choose a great domain name:
- Keep it Short, Simple, and Easy to Remember: A short and simple domain name is easier for users to remember and type. Avoid long or complex names that can be easily misspelled.
- Use Keywords Related to Your Business or Industry: Incorporating relevant keywords can help improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and make it clear what your business is about.
- Avoid Using Numbers or Special Characters: Numbers and special characters can be confusing and are often mistyped. Stick to letters to keep your domain name straightforward.
- Check for Availability on Social Media Platforms: Ensure that your new domain name is available on major social media platforms. Consistent branding across your website and social media profiles can enhance your online presence.
- Use a Relevant Domain Extension: Choose a domain extension that fits your business. While .com is the most popular, other extensions like .net, .org, or industry-specific ones can also be effective.
- Ensure the Domain Name is Available: Before finalizing your choice, check that the domain name is not already in use by someone else. You can use domain registration tools to verify availability.
- Consider Branding and Marketing Implications: Think about how your new domain name will fit into your overall branding and marketing strategy. A well-chosen domain name can strengthen your brand identity and make a lasting impression.
Remember to also consider the SEO implications of your new domain name. You can use tools like Google Search Console to check the SEO performance of your previous domain name and to ensure that your new domain name is optimized for search engines. This will help you maintain or improve your search engine rankings after the domain change.
Live Case Study Using Google Search Console
Our previous domain name purchased in 2018 was SophieKessner.com and at the time of the domain change, our site had built some fairly impressive stats including a Domain Ranking or Domain Authority of 34/100 and over 1700 backlinks for the site. The role of the domain host in ensuring a smooth domain change process cannot be overstated, as it facilitates domain management and migration.
In addition to Google, it is crucial to inform other search engines about the domain name change to maintain SEO rankings and avoid being treated as a new website.
Statistics for SophieKessner.com
Google Search Console Analytics for SophieKessner.com November 2023 – November 2024
Google Search Console requires at least 30 days worth of data to start reporting accurately so currently we do not have any measurements for the new domain name sassandseo.com but what we can show is the drastic changes in domain authority for sassandseo.com after only a few days post name change.
We made the official domain name change using Kinsta.com as our hosting platform on October 30, 2024 following all the appropriate steps outlined is this article.
On October 31, 2024 our domain sassandseo.com wasn’t ranking for anything with a score of 0 across the board as shown below.
Just 2 days later on November 2, 2024 we can see a big jump in our domain authority on sassandseo.com leveraging our previous domain traffic and authority jumping all the way up to a domain authority of 24. The old domain, SophieKessner.com, played a crucial role in this transition by retaining its SEO value and backlinks.
sassandseo.com domain authority November 2, 2024
Changing a website’s domain name is a significant move as it serves as the website’s identity and affects SEO rankings which is why changing your domain name shouldn’t be taken lightly and is just as serious (in the world of SEO) as changing your legal name in life.
Steps We’ve Taken To Ensure A Smooth Transition To Our New Domain Na
Changing a website’s domain involves careful planning and execution to retain content and SEO rankings.
- Website Backup.
- Have a copy of all the URLs of the website.
- Have a copy of all the Existing Redirects.
- Add new domain to the domain list of the existing domain in Kinsta.
- Make the new domain as the primary domain.
- Ensure that all domain settings are correctly configured to manage redirects and update nameservers as needed.
- Check the search and replace of old domain to new domain in the process of making it as the primary domain.
- Apply redirect on the old domain to the new domain. Use this rule: (olddomain.com – ^(.*)$ – https://newdomain.com$1) from kinsta.com for the smoothest transition
- Force https to have https on the new domain.
- Update existing WordPress URL and Site Address (old to new).
- Update Google and Bing web address.
- Check and Submit new Sitemap files.
- Update Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
- Update Social Links.
- Check Robots.txt file for any misconfigurations.
- Check all the pages for technical errors and content errors.
- Check all the pages for duplicate and wrong redirects. Add redirects manually if needed.
- Check all the pages if indexed properly.
- Check the internal and external links of all pages.
We’ll continue update this article and track our progress over the next few months to provide more real time data and show the benefits of the name change.
Modifying DNS Records and Redirects
Modifying DNS records and setting up redirects are crucial steps in the domain name change process. These steps ensure that your website’s traffic is redirected to the new domain, and search engines are informed of the change.
Update Your DNS Records
Updating your DNS records is necessary to point the new domain toward the existing website. This can be done through the registrar’s control panel. You will need to set up an A record that points the domain name toward the site’s IP address. This process may take some time to propagate globally, so it’s essential to plan ahead.
To update your DNS records:
- Log in to your domain registrar’s control panel.
- Locate the DNS management section.
- Create a new A record that points to the IP address of your website.
- Save the changes and wait for the DNS propagation to complete.
By updating your DNS records, you ensure that visitors who type in your new domain name are directed to your website without any issues. This step is fundamental in making sure your new domain is live and accessible.
Set Up a 301 Redirect from the Previous Domain
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines that the domain is moving to a new address. This is essential for preserving your website’s search engine rankings and ensuring that users are redirected to the new domain.
To set up a 301 redirect:
- Log in to your website’s control panel or FTP client.
- Locate the .htaccess file or the redirect settings section.
- Create a new 301 redirect rule that points the previous domain to the new domain.
- Save the changes and test the redirect to ensure it’s working correctly.
Setting up a 301 redirect helps maintain the SEO value of your previous domain by transferring it to the new domain. This way, you can retain your search engine rankings and ensure a seamless user experience.
Informing Search Engines and Analytics
Informing search engines and analytics tools of the domain name change is crucial for preserving your website’s search engine rankings and ensuring that your analytics data is accurate.
Update Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a powerful tool that helps you monitor and maintain your website’s presence in Google search results. To update Google Search Console:
- Log in to your Google Search Console account.
- Select the website property that corresponds to your previous domain.
- Click on the “Settings” icon and select “Change of address.”
- Enter the new domain name and confirm the change.
- Verify the new domain name by following the instructions provided by Google.
Updating Google Search Console ensures that Google is aware of your domain change, which helps in maintaining your search engine rankings and indexing your new domain correctly.
