Changing your Domain

There are many reasons as to why you may need to change your domain, whether its a company rebranding or you're switching to something new, but regardless of the reasons, there are a few things you should be aware of.

SEO

The SEO impact of changing your domain should be insignificant, if managed correctly.

When changing a website's domain, we perform what's known as a Domain Migration . When we cary out the Domain Migration , we automatically setup 301 redirects for all aliases on your previous domain to the respective alias on the new domain.

For example, ' original-domain.com/about ' would be redirected to ' new-domain.com/about '.

This ensures that all internal and external links continue to arrive at the correct page on the new domain.

According to Google's John Mueller, the power of your links is no longer reduced by performing a 301 redirect. This means the domain migration should, in theory, not affect your SEO.

If your old domain is with a 3rd party provider, you must setup the 301 redirects yourself. Failure to do so may negatively affect your SEO, as Google will see your website as a brand new one.

Where's your web address listed?

If you're using outside channels to direct traffic to your website, eg. you have your web address on your Facebook page, you need to update the address there.

The main areas to consider are:

Google Analytics

Not updating your Google Analytics tracking could result in a loss of traffic data.

Directories

If you've got a 301 redirect setup, those landing on your site via a directory will still land on your website, but without a redirect they'll see a 404 page. So make sure you've updated any directories your website is registered with.

Google Search Console

Register and Verify your new domain with Search Console. Doing so can help you understand how Google views your site and optimise its performance in search results.

Social Media Accounts

With the ever growing popularity of Social Media, customers may be finding your Facebook page before your website. Because of this, it's important to make sure you've got the correct URL on your Social Media profiles.

Your Email Signature

Many people will look at your email signature for contact details. Keep your signature updated with the new web address.

Offline Marketing

Without a 301 redirect on your old domain, it's crucial that you get your Van Signage, business cards and any leaflets updated so your customers aren't directed to a broken page.

Email Addresses

It's likely that your business email addresses are on the same domain as your website.

For example, your website is www.toolkit.uk and your email address ends in @toolkit.uk

For consistency, we recommend changing your email addresses as well as your web address.

Contact our Support Team about changing your email addresses.