Need Help with Domain Migration and URL Redirects

[BloggerTonmoy]

Hi everyone,

I need some urgent advice. I have a domain, let's call it domain1.com, that was performing really well. However, after Google's Helpful Content Update, my site's performance has dropped significantly. I've tried everything to recover it, but nothing has worked.

So, I've decided to move my site to a new domain, domain2.com, and redirect all URLs from the old domain to the new one. But I’ve never done this before, and I'm unsure of the best approach.

Here's the situation:

• My current domain, domain1.com, has over 1,000 URLs, like:
• • domain1.com/page1/
  • domain1.com/page2/
• I want to redirect these URLs to the new domain in the same structure:
• • domain2.com/page1/
  • domain2.com/page2/

My questions are:

1. What is the best way to perform these redirects? Should I set up individual redirects for each URL, or is there a more efficient method?
2. Should I keep the homepage of the old domain (domain1.com) active? I understand that if I redirect the entire domain1.com to domain2.com, I won't be able to set up individual redirects for each page. Is that correct?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[app_pilot]

Use 301 redirects for individual URL mapping. keep the old homepage active with a clear redirect message. Submit updated sitemaps to Google Search Console for both domains

 

[Nialish Ali]

Set up 301 redirects from `domain1.com` to `domain2.com` using `.htaccess` or server settings. Keep `domain1.com` active temporarily, update internal links, and monitor redirects for effectiveness.

Hi everyone,

I need some urgent advice. I have a domain, let's call it http://domain1.com, that was performing really well. However, after Google's Helpful Content Update, my site's performance has dropped significantly. I've tried everything to recover it, but nothing has worked.

So, I've decided to move my site to a new domain, http://domain2.com, and redirect all URLs from the old domain to the new one. But I’ve never done this before, and I'm unsure of the best approach.

Here's the situation:

• My current domain, http://domain1.com, has over 1,000 URLs, like:
• • http://domain1.com/page1/
  • http://domain1.com/page2/
• I want to redirect these URLs to the new domain in the same structure:
• • http://domain2.com/page1/
  • http://domain2.com/page2/

My questions are:

1. What is the best way to perform these redirects? Should I set up individual redirects for each URL, or is there a more efficient method?
2. Should I keep the homepage of the old domain (domain1.com) active? I understand that if I redirect the entire domain1.com to domain2.com, I won't be able to set up individual redirects for each page. Is that correct?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Set up 301 redirects from `domain1.com` to `domain2.com` using `.htaccess` or server settings. Keep `domain1.com` active temporarily, update internal links, and monitor redirects for effectiveness.

 

[BloggerTonmoy]

1. What is the best way to perform these redirects? Should I set up individual redirects for each URL, or is there a more efficient method?
   
   You can set up a wildcard redirect to efficiently handle all URLs at once instead of doing individual redirects. This way, every URL from domain1.com will automatically point to the corresponding URL on domain2.com. It’s a lot less work and keeps the structure intact.
   
   
2. Should I keep the homepage of the old domain (domain1.com) active? I understand that if I redirect the entire domain1.com to domain2.com, I won't be able to set up individual redirects for each page. Is that correct?
   
   No need to keep the old homepage active. You can safely redirect the entire domain1.com to domain2.com without losing the ability to set up individual redirects. The wildcard method will handle all pages correctly, including the homepage.

Thank you. this is helpful.

Use 301 redirects for individual URL mapping. keep the old homepage active with a clear redirect message. Submit updated sitemaps to Google Search Console for both domains

Wildcard Redirects may work best, if I'm not wrong ?

 

[tazarbm]

What is the best way to perform these redirects? Should I set up individual redirects for each URL, or is there a more efficient method?

you can do it at .htaccess level, I know it's possible because someone has shared the code here on the forum (although, I assume you can google it or ask chatGPT for the right code). You can look it up on the forum, I'm pretty sure the code is still here

1. Should I keep the homepage of the old domain (domain1.com) active?

I assume you don't need domain 1 anymore, so I would redirect its homepage too, to the homepage of domain 2...

I understand that if I redirect the entire domain1.com to domain2.com, I won't be able to set up individual redirects for each page. Is that correct?

I'm not sure, but I think that if you redirect at .htaccess level then this will be the main redirection that will occur, all other redirections you'll make in the future might not go through.... But like I said, I'm not 100% sure about this part, so wait for better replies

 

[MissioneR]

It is important to ensure that the 301 redirects point directly to Domain 2. Additionally, update the backlinks, utilize Google Search Console's Change of Address tool, submit the updated sitemaps, and monitor Domain 2's performance to guarantee a smooth transition and preserve SEO value.

 

[MF Group]

Use 301 redirect with htaccess. No need to active home 1 and resubmit the site map in GSC.

 

[mashrabi007]

1. Set Up 301 Redirects: Configure 301 redirects to direct users and search engines from your old domain to Domain 2.

2. Update Backlinks: Reach out to sites linking to your old domain and ask them to update their links to Domain 2.

3. Use Google Search Console: Utilize the Change of Address tool in Google Search Console to inform Google of the domain change.

4. Submit Updated Sitemaps: Provide Google with updated sitemaps that reflect Domain 2’s new structure.

5. Monitor Performance: Track Domain 2’s performance and search rankings to ensure the transition is successful and your SEO value is preserved.

 

[BloggerTonmoy]

3. Use Google Search Console: Utilize the Change of Address tool in Google Search Console to inform Google of the domain change.

4. Submit Updated Sitemaps: Provide Google with updated sitemaps that reflect Domain 2’s new structure.

5. Monitor Performance: Track Domain 2’s performance and search rankings to ensure the transiti

Thanks for your suggestion . But If i just redirect the domain1 to domain2, then won't the link juice will pass?

I'm just planning to redirect all the domain1 urls to domain2 urls. !

 

[BloggerTonmoy]

It is important to ensure that the 301 redirects point directly to Domain 2. Additionally, update the backlinks, utilize Google Search Console's Change of Address tool, submit the updated sitemaps, and monitor Domain 2's performance to guarantee a smooth transition and preserve SEO value.

I just want to redirect the domain1 urls to domain2 urls. Won't I have the link juice?

 

[hideath]

Thanks for your suggestion . But If i just redirect the domain1 to domain2, then won't the link juice will pass?

I'm just planning to redirect all the domain1 urls to domain2 urls. !

I just want to redirect the domain1 urls to domain2 urls. Won't I have the link juice?

Most of the link juice will pass, it might take some time (2-3 weeks +-) for the redirect to take full effect,
And you need a wildcard redirect as pointed out per many users,

Just use the code below for htaccess file and it should do the work for both www & non-www versions:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain1\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.domain1\.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://domain2.com/$1 [R=301,L]

replace domain1 & domain2 and you're good to go,
restart LS or OLS if you're using it

 

[Peter Ngo]

Are you using Wordpress? If yes, just installl Redirection plugin, and config the "site move" feature.

 

[Ding Dong]

Wildcard Redirects may work best, if I'm not wrong ?

Since you want to maintain the same URL structure on the new domain, you can use a wildcard redirect in your .htaccess file (for Apache servers) or nginx.conf (for Nginx servers). This will allow you to redirect all URLs from domain1.com to domain2.com while keeping the same structure.This method redirects all pages from domain1.com to domain2.com while preserving the individual page paths (/page1/ to /page1/).
If you use a wildcard redirect, the old homepage (domain1.com) will automatically redirect to the new homepage (domain2.com). You won't need to keep the old homepage active unless you have a specific reason to do so. If you want to redirect all URLs individually but keep the homepage of domain1.com active, you'll have to exclude the homepage from the redirect rule.

 

[Nikolaos]

Hi everyone,

I need some urgent advice. I have a domain, let's call it domain1.com, that was performing really well. However, after Google's Helpful Content Update, my site's performance has dropped significantly. I've tried everything to recover it, but nothing has worked.

So, I've decided to move my site to a new domain, domain2.com, and redirect all URLs from the old domain to the new one. But I’ve never done this before, and I'm unsure of the best approach.

Here's the situation:

• My current domain, domain1.com, has over 1,000 URLs, like:
• • domain1.com/page1/
  • domain1.com/page2/
• I want to redirect these URLs to the new domain in the same structure:
• • domain2.com/page1/
  • domain2.com/page2/

My questions are:

1. What is the best way to perform these redirects? Should I set up individual redirects for each URL, or is there a more efficient method?
2. Should I keep the homepage of the old domain (domain1.com) active? I understand that if I redirect the entire domain1.com to domain2.com, I won't be able to set up individual redirects for each page. Is that correct?

Thanks in advance for your help!

301 redirects should be used and it's the easiest way to do this.

 

[Linkzo]

I would recommend complete redirect to domain 2 ,cause in that way all the pages be re-directed and you can gain back the ranking in some time.

 

[BloggerTonmoy]

Most of the link juice will pass, it might take some time (2-3 weeks +-) for the redirect to take full effect,
And you need a wildcard redirect as pointed out per many users,

Just use the code below for htaccess file and it should do the work for both www & non-www versions:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain1\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.domain1\.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://domain2.com/$1 [R=301,L]

replace domain1 & domain2 and you're good to go,
restart LS or OLS if you're using it

Thank you.. I followed this one and it's working. But the only issue I'm getting is The New Domain homepage is showing canonical issue on Google Search Console . Is there any way I can fix this one ?

https://prnt.sc/hOHDAfydfgbF

 

[BloggerTonmoy]

Are you using Wordpress? If yes, just installl Redirection plugin, and config the "site move" feature.

Thanks . I will do this on next project. For now I have done via Wildcard redirection method !

 

[hideath]

Thank you.. I followed this one and it's working. But the only issue I'm getting is The New Domain homepage is showing canonical issue on Google Search Console . Is there any way I can fix this one ?

https://prnt.sc/hOHDAfydfgbF

make sure to replace all of the domain urls in the database,
you can use some plugin like "simple search replace" to do so,
clear the cache afterwards and everything should work fine

 

[BloggerTonmoy]

make sure to replace all of the domain urls in the database,
you can use some plugin like "simple search replace" to do so,
clear the cache afterwards and everything should work fine

Just a quick question, Do you think I need to change the content of homepage to get quick indexed ? Or it's okay to give it few more times ? My inner pages are getting indexing but not the homepage !

 

[hideath]

Just a quick question, Do you think I need to change the content of homepage to get quick indexed ? Or it's okay to give it few more times ? My inner pages are getting indexing but not the homepage !

it wouldn't really make a difference,
submit the page in GSC to get it recrawled faster or just give it some more time