{"id":1534635,"date":"2024-03-21T09:09:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T13:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/?p=1534635"},"modified":"2024-03-21T11:34:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T15:34:33","slug":"traffic-recovery-from-domain-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/traffic-recovery-from-domain-changes","title":{"rendered":"Traffic Recovery from Domain Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Businesses change website domains for many reasons \u2014 rebranding, acquisition, product changes, and more. While it is often necessary, a new domain reduces organic search traffic by upwards of 30% in my experience.<\/p>\n

Similar to a new URL structure, domain changes require 301 redirects<\/a>, which leak equity. I’ve seen rankings slip for months afterward. If the decline persists, a detailed audit could help.<\/p>\n

Here are my go-to tools for domain-change audits.<\/p>\n

Google Search Console<\/h3>\n

The first step is to keep the abandoned domain verified within Search Console to access historical ranking and click data.<\/p>\n

Next, after verifying the ownership of your new domain, notify Google of the switch via Search Console’s “Change of Address<\/a>” tool at Settings > Change of address<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>

Notify Google of the new domain via Search Console’s “Change of Address” tool. Click image to enlarge.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Search Console can identify which pages or folders lost the most traffic from the move. For this, open the Performance > Pages<\/em> reports for the old and new domains (each in separate tabs). By default, both URL lists are sorted by the number of organic clicks, making it easy to compare the top-performing pages.<\/p>\n

Don’t delay the research, as Search Console shows only 16 months of data. I typically access the report two, three, and four months afterward to monitor shifts.<\/p>\n

It’s a good sign if no sections, categories, or URLs decline more than others \u2014 the move likely produced no structural problems.<\/p>\n

If some areas slipped more than others, turn to the Wayback Machine.<\/p>\n

Wayback Machine<\/h3>\n

Domain changes frequently include altering the site structure, especially with acquisitions or product differences. Wayback Machine<\/a> helps identify which structural changes lowered traffic.<\/p>\n

Having noted in Search Console the URLs with material drops, compare archived versions of those pages in Wayback Machine to the new ones, ensuring:<\/p>\n