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Migration playbook

Domain migration with SEO equity preservation

Hard4 to 10 weeks

A guide for sites migrating between domains. Done right, equity transfer is near-complete within 60-90 days. Done wrong, you lose 30-60% of organic visibility for months. The difference is mostly redirect discipline and Search Console transition.

Pre-flight

Before kickoff

  • Both domains verified in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  • Full URL inventory of the source domain with traffic and link equity data.
  • Decision: full structural mirror (recommended) or restructure-while-migrating (riskier).
  • Outreach plan for top 50-100 backlinks — link updates accelerate equity transfer.
  • Communication plan for users (email, in-app, banner).

If things break

Rollback plan

  • Within first 7 days: revert DNS, remove Change of Address. Equity loss minimal.
  • After 14 days: rollback gets harder; consider proceeding and recovering rather than reverting.
  • Keep the old domain registered and accessible for at least 12 months.

Steps

Sequenced execution

  1. Step 1

    Mirror the structure on the new domain

    Deploy the new domain with the exact same URL structure as the old, content-identical. Stage and verify.

  2. Step 2

    Configure 301 redirects from old to new

    One-to-one URL mapping. No chains. Test 100+ URLs with curl -I. Verify 301 status and correct destination.

  3. Step 3

    Update canonicals on both domains

    Old domain canonicals point to new. New domain canonicals point to itself. Avoid cross-domain canonical loops.

  4. Step 4

    Submit Change of Address in Search Console

    In the old domain property: Settings → Change of Address. Verify new domain ownership first.

  5. Step 5

    Update internal references everywhere

    Email signatures, product links, social media, ad campaigns, partner integrations. Stale references slow equity transfer.

  6. Step 6

    Reach out to top backlinks

    For top 50-100 backlinks (by Domain Rating × relevance), email asking for link updates. Even 30% success rate accelerates recovery.

Expected metrics

Concrete expectations

Expected downtime
< 5 min (DNS TTL-bound)
Typical rollback window
< 7 days for low equity loss
Time to equity transfer
60-90 days
Acceptable temporary visibility drop
10-30% in first 14-30 days

After cutover

Monitoring discipline

  • Search Console performance on both old and new properties — track combined impressions and clicks.
  • Old-domain crawl frequency — should drop steadily as Google understands the move.
  • New-domain indexation count — should rise to match old-domain baseline within 60-90 days.
  • Backlink profile (Ahrefs / Majestic) — track updated vs still-pointing-old.
  • Brand search query volume — should not change significantly during the move.

FAQ

Common questions

Do I need to keep the old domain registered?

Yes, for at least 12 months — long enough for redirect equity to fully transfer, and to prevent abandonment-and-squat scenarios. Many teams keep it renewed in perpetuity as a brand defensive asset.

Does the Change of Address tool actually do anything?

Yes — it accelerates Google's consolidation of the two domains in their index. Submit it in Search Console as soon as 301 redirects are confirmed live. Without it, full equity transfer can take 30-60% longer.

What is the single biggest mistake teams make?

Chain redirects (`old.com/a` → `new.com/a` → `new.com/b`) or redirect to homepage instead of mapped page. Both bleed equity. Every old URL needs a direct 301 to its exact new-domain counterpart.

When should I avoid a domain migration?

During seasonally peak traffic, while ranking volatility is high, or within 60 days before a planned algorithm-sensitive release. Migrate during stable periods and avoid stacking multiple major changes.

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