Seo Guide: How To Change Your Domain Name Without Losing Your Rankings
Changing the domain name of your website can have a serious impact on SEO and organic traffic and generally it is not advised from SEO perspective. This is because each domain name is linked with several metrics , characteristics and above all the hyperlinks. In this SEO Guide we will explain the risks of transferring from an old domain to a new one and we describe in detail the steps that one should take in order to minimize the losses of search engine traffic.
Disclaimer: The changes below require you to have basic understanding of the various web technologies and they can heavily affect your SEO status. It is strongly recommended not to proceed to any of the below updates unless you are tech-savvy and you know what you are doing.
How To Make A Backup Of A Website
To ensure a smooth process when you switch domain names, its sensible to make a backup of your website, in case anything should happen.
If you use our Stellar Plus and Stellar Business Shared Hosting Plans, you can take advantage of our exclusive tool AutoBackup, where your website data is automatically backed up. This means that you can download your backups locally, which means that youll be ready when it comes to switching domain names.
Depending on which service you used to make your website, there may be alternative ways to make a backup. Here are some articles that you may find useful:
Consider setting up automatic website backups. This will save you time and effort, should you need to restore your website in the future.
Other Points To Keep In Mind
Changing your domain name also has an impact on the following areas:
- If you want a new domain name and you use a specially designed programme such as a web analysis tool or a CMS extension, you should bear in mind that these also should be set up in relation to the new internet address. The same goes for users whose website uses an adserver.
- Internal links should be fully integrated into the domain structure
- Give the operator a list of all the websites that host backlinks to your web presence and inform them of the new URL of the linked posts.
- Remember to change your e-mail addresses so that they correspond with your new domain. Update all information and any mention of your e-mail contact and internet address .
If you decide to go ahead with changing your domain name, you first need to concentrate on adjusting your websites server otherwise your web presence wont be accessible via the new address at all. In many cases, your search machine ranking will also be transferred to your new address during a domain name change if your old domains search engine optimisation techniques were profitable and rated positively by Google, your good placement can be transferred to the new domain in the long term.
- 08.06.17
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How To Change Domain Name Registrar How To Transfer A Domain Name
How to Change Domain NameRegistrarHow to Transfer a Domain Name
Are you getting the service that you require from your domain registrar? Actually, thinking about it for a minute, it might be a better question to ask, do you even know what services are available? Are you aware that you can shop around and get better prices, more features and far better customer service?
Guess what? All domain registrars are not the same.
Okay, lets back up a minute. Way back when the internet was young all domain names were handled by Network Solutions, Inc. In those dark, evil days you had no choice. It didnt matter what you thought of the process, it was unimportant that you were not getting service and the price, well, was a standard high fee.
A few years ago the government decided that Network Solutions would no longer be a monopoly. The government wanted to do this to deregulate the industry and encourage competition, and also perhaps to spur a little bit of growth into this thing called the internet.
Okay, so now you do have a choice. In fact, there are well over a hundred different domain registrars at last count. They seem to be springing up all over the place, and the level of support and service, as well as the price, seems to vary greatly.
You may not know it, but you can change domain registrars at any time. Its actually not very complicated at all.
Here are some of the questions that you may have regarding domain transfers.
How much does it cost?
What are the disadvantages?
How To Change Domain Name On Existing Website Url: Step By Step
July 13, 2020 by
If the internet were like real estate, then domains would be the individual lots or parcels of land where you build your buildings, which are the websites.
Up and moving a building may not be a feasible option in the real world. Luckily its entirely possible in the virtual world.
Whether its due to a business name change or just want to use a different domain, changing the settings can be scary. When your entire website is built upon the domain, considering to attempt to change your domain name yourself might seem a little out of your league.
Fear not, for we have the easy guide to change the domain name on an existing website. And on some of todays most popular website platforms.
- Squarespace
- Shopify
Before we dive into the steps to take for each platform, lets begin with a pre-flight checklist. Or rather, a pre-domain switch checklist. It is an excellent document to make and keep on file in case of emergency and also for reference.
Also Check: How To Transfer My Domain From Wix To Shopify
A Warning Before You Change Your Main Domain In Cpanel
cPanel was originally designed assuming that a new primary domain would mean a new site. Its easy to change your primary domain, but please note cPanel software only changes the primary domain as listed in certain places in cPanel and not within the site files.
If you have an already existing site using modern site building software like WordPress, changing the primary domain will leave the old site files in place and likely break your site until you troubleshoot and update your WordPress installation.
If you are new to cPanel, you may be surprised by just how much you will need to manually edit. We cover what does and does not automatically change below, but if youre new to cPanel the breakdown is not intuitive. Take your time, make backups beforehand, and only change your primary domain if you need to.
Your old primary domains site files will be in the same place as the new primary domains site files will go. If you want to create a new site, you must move or remove those old files.
Why Change Your Domain Name
In many cases, changing WordPress domain name is inevitable. The most common scenarios are:
- Rebranding you want to rebuild your companys image with a new brand name. Here, a new domain reflects your rebranding strategys consistency. Some prominent brands like Twitter applied this marketing strategy very successfully.
- Domain Extension Change if you currently running a website on a subdomain like mywebsite.wordpress.com, or youre using a less popular extension like .mobi or .shop which doesnt resonate well with your audience, swapping to a different extension can be a great idea!
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Create A New 404 Error Page For Your Old Site
A broken link might not sound too exciting, but there are a lot of ways to use a 404 error page creatively. In this scenario, you can make a new 404 page for your old site that tells people youve moved to a new location. This will teach lost visitors about your new domain quicker, because otherwise they would likely try to go to your old domains homepage in order to find what they are looking for.
Can I Change The Main Domain Name Associated With My Hosting Account
Hosting ListManageChange Main DomainAccount ActionsPlease pay attention to the following during the domain name change
Reseller Hosting plan
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Communicate With Your Clients
Its vital to prepare your clients for the change. Whether you choose to change your domain name after purchase, or months later, assess every point of contact email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and be sure to regularly communicate before the big switch.
Tell them why youre changing, engage with them. This will help to calm your loyal customers and keep them trusting you as a brand.
Update All The Things
Doing a full rebrand requires updates of:
- Google My Business Profile, social media profiles, and other significant sources of traffic
- internal documents
- product packaging
- signage
You wont get everything overnight. Thats ok. This takes time. Think of it more as a treasure hunt – see how many of your employees can find places that have your old domain!
There you have it. Good luck with your domain name makeover!
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What Does And Does Not Automatically Change
Before we proceed with instructions on how to have your main domain changed, it is important that you understand what does and doesnt change. The following items are affected when you change your primary domain: email, website files, subdomains, and your search engine rank.
- Previous Domain Name: The previous main domain name on the account will be removed. If you still needed that previous main domain, you will need to log into your cPanel and add it as either a parked or addon domain name. Once the domain name has been changed, you will log into your cPanel via https://domainB.com/cpanel instead of https://domainA.com/cpanel.
- Subdomains: All of your subdomains.domainA.com will turn into subdomains.domainB.com. For example, sales.domainA.com will now be sales.domainB.com.
- Search Engine Rank: If you are changing your websites domain name, keep in mind that this could affect your rank in search engines. Google recommends that you set up a 301 redirect especially when keeping the old domain, which lets search engines know the website is permanently moving.
- Email: All of the email accounts created for domainA.com will turn into domainB.com accounts. will now be . If you still needed then you will need to add domainA.com to your cPanel again as either a parked or addon domain name and recreate the email account.
How To Change Your Domain Name Without Losing Trafficshare
As a small business owner, you may need to change your domain name for any variety of reasons. You may change your business name and, as a result, need to update your website, or you may be rebranding a product or service. Either way, there is a right and a wrong way to change your domain name.
Unknowingly, some business owners just purchase a new domain and build a new website. Unfortunately, this can have a disastrous consequence on the traffic and sales to your site as well as damage customer relationships.
Youve worked too hard to build your business and you shouldnt lose everything just because you need to update your domain name. Were going to walk you through some of the business and technical considerations to take into account in order to avoid unnecessary problems.
Lets discuss how you can make the change correctly.
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What To Consider When Changing Your Domain Name
A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, but if you dont know its name how the hell are you going to Google it? Your companys name is the number one representation of your brand and the first thing customers associate with your business. Your websites URL domain name is no exception to this. With that being said, there are many reasons you may be considering a website domain name change. Whether you are changing your company name, looking to institute a new branding strategy, or adding target keywords in your URL name, it can be extremely beneficial to change your domain URL.
However, there are many factors to keep in mind before making the jump. If not implemented properly, a domain name change can cause unnecessary harm to your site. The change can negatively impact SEO, which can be a long, expensive road to repair the damage done. By being proactive and carrying out the below SEO, PPC, and social media suggestions early, your website can successfully grow and benefit from a domain name change.
How To Buy Your New Domain
Now that you know how to decide on a new domain name, youre less likely to change a purchased domain name later on down the line. So, lets move on to registering your domain!
Get started and search for your domain name right here at Namecheap. And, if youre looking to purchase website hosting and domain together, we offer an all-in-one package deal where you can save money.
Discover our dedicated page on the price of domain names, where you can take a look at our best prices for up to ten years.
Once you have your sparkly new domain name, its time to make sure that youre ready to prepare all the content youd like to take from your old website to your new one.
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Register The New Domain Or Purchase An Old Domain
The first thing that you have to do is to acquire a new domain. Note that since the TLD of the domain is often used as a GEO location signal, using a new TLD can affect your rankings.
Also be extra careful when you purchase an aged domain. There is always the risk that the given domain is banned by one of the major search engines. Do a bit of research on the history of the domain, check the previous WHOIS records, check if the domain has any indexed pages on the search engines, use Archive.org to see how the website used to look in the past etc. Also add the new domain in Googles & Bings Webmaster Tools in order to see their statistics and check whether you have received any warnings about those websites. If you believe that the domain has been banned due to spamming, filing a reconsideration request can be a good idea before you transfer your website.