Switching Domain names

[HangTenSEO]

So I have a client that is switching their domain name. The have over 100K visitors a month.

What are things to look out for when doing the switch.

Obviously doing 301 redirects to the new domain structure?

Anything else?

 

[Eric Rohrback]

You should to do a backlink audit. Every redirect will lose a little value for the new page, so it might be worth updating the important (high value) backlinks.

301 redirects... updating backlinks/social profiles... updating destination URLs in ads (if applicable)... Update search console and update any tracking tools. I think there's more but it's early and I need more coffee

 

[Margaret Ornsby]

There are loads of things to watch out for!

One that gets lots of folks is remembering to register the www and non-www versions of a domain with Search Console. And if the domain is https, make sure you register all 4 (http and https, with www and non-www).

Also check the site settings are all aligned (preferred URL display) in SC.

On the website (if it's using a CMS), make sure the URL reflects what you've configured as the preferred display in SC.

And finally, check your Analytics domain is the same as the preferred URL display.

 

[mborgelt]

One thing I strongly recommend doing is completing the "Change of Address" procedure in GSC.