Changing your domain name without losing Google

You can change your business's domain name and keep most of what the old one built up with Google, but only if the old domain keeps working and forwards every page to its match on the new one. The four parts are: page-by-page permanent redirects, keeping the old domain registered for years, telling Google through Search Console's change of address tool, and updating every listing that points to the old address. Expect a period of wobble while Google catches up; nobody can promise it will be short.

First, decide whether you need to change

Changing domains is real work and carries some risk. Good reasons to do it:

You changed your business name, and the old domain no longer matches.
The old domain is hard to spell or say on the phone.
You are combining two businesses or two websites.
You lost control of the old domain and cannot get it back.

Weaker reasons: wanting a shorter version of the same name, or a different ending, when customers already know the current one. If you are unsure, changing your domain name: when it's worth it helps you weigh it up.

Why Google needs help with a move

Google knows your business through its old address. Your pages are listed under it, other websites link to it, your Google profile points to it, and customers have bookmarked it. A new domain starts with none of that. The redirects are how you hand it over: each one tells Google "the page that used to be here now lives there, for good".

Without redirects, the new domain is a brand new site as far as Google is concerned, and everything the old one earned is left behind.

Step 1: map every old page to a new page

Before anything changes, make a list. On the left, every page address on the old site. On the right, where that page will live on the new domain.

To find all the old addresses:

Look at your site's menu and footer, and click through every page.
Check your sitemap, usually at olddomain.com/sitemap.xml.
In Google Search Console, under Pages, look at the list of indexed pages.
In the Search Console Performance report, open the Pages tab to see which ones get visits from Google. Those matter most.

If the page structure stays the same, the mapping is simple: olddomain.com/roof-repair goes to newdomain.com/roof-repair. If pages are being renamed or merged, write each one down. Every old page should go to its closest match, not to the home page.

Step 2: set up permanent redirects

Each old address should send visitors and Google to its new address with a 301 redirect, the code that means "moved permanently". How you do it depends on where the old domain lives:

On hosting with an old site, redirects can be set up in the server settings or with a plugin, page by page.
With a domain company's forwarding feature, check that it forwards each page to the same path on the new domain and uses a permanent redirect. Some forwarding options only send everything to the new home page, which loses the page-to-page match.
On a website builder, most have a redirects section in the SEO settings where you enter old and new paths.

Then test. Type ten old addresses, including deep pages, and check each one lands on the right new page. Old page addresses: why forwarding them matters covers testing in more detail.

Step 3: tell Google with the change of address tool

Search Console has a tool made for this move.

Add and verify both domains in Search Console: the old one and the new one.
Make sure the redirects are already working, especially on the old home page.
Open the old domain's property, go to Settings, and choose Change of address.
Pick the new domain from the list and follow the checks. The tool tests that your redirects work before it accepts the move.

This does not replace the redirects. It tells Google to expect the move and to treat it as one, which helps it transfer things across more smoothly.

Also submit the new site's sitemap under Sitemaps in the new property.

Step 4: update everything that points to the old domain

Google weighs what the rest of the web says about you. Change the website address on:

Your Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect and Bing Places.
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and any other social profiles.
Directories: Yelp, BBB, Angi, your trade association, the chamber of commerce.
Suppliers, manufacturers or partners who list you as a dealer or installer.
Your email signature, invoices, quotes and printed materials as you reorder them.

For links on other sites you do not control, a polite email asking them to update the address is often all it takes.

Step 5: do not forget email

If your business email uses the old domain, such as [email protected], it is tied to that domain's settings. Changing websites and changing email addresses are separate jobs. Plan the email change on its own, set up forwarding from the old addresses to the new ones, and keep the old domain's email settings untouched until you are sure. MX records: why changing your website can break email explains what to leave alone.

What to expect afterwards

In the weeks after a move, it is normal to see both domains in Google for a while, the old one dropping as the new one appears. Visits from Google may dip and recover. How long that takes varies, and it depends on how cleanly the redirects were set up. The things you can control are the redirects, the change of address, and updated listings. The rest is Google's timing.

Watch two things:

In Search Console for the new domain, the Pages report should show pages getting indexed over a few weeks.
Your actual enquiries: calls and form messages. That is the number that tells you whether customers are still finding you.

What to do this week

Write the list of every old page and its new address.
Add both domains to Search Console.
Set up page-by-page 301 redirects and test at least ten of them.
Run the change of address tool from the old domain's settings.
Update your Google, Apple and Bing listings, then the directories.
Put the old domain on auto-renew for several years.

If you are changing your name and your site at the same time, you can see your new site rebuilt first, with the old page addresses mapped across before the switch.