A Better Way To Retain Ranking After A Change In Domain Name

There comes a time when some websites need a new domain name. It could be because the website needs to be rebranded or that its subdomains have already outgrown the present website. There could be several more reasons why a website needs a new domain. Whatever reason you may have, getting a new domain name imposes the problem of losing your current website’s Google ranking.

If your current well ranked website need a domain name, it is important that you find ways to retain its Google ranking. Basically it is just the same website, only the URL is changed. But unluckily Google doesn’t recognize it as a little change alone. Google will look at your website as a new one, thus, it will give your website a lower rank and most probably toss it on the Google sandbox again.

It is frustrating to know that your once high ranked website is thrown back to the sandbox just because of the change in URL. If this happens, you have to start all over again, spending sleepless nights building links and finding ways to get more traffic. But this can be remedied with the use of redirect.

Permanent Redirect Or Temporary Redirect?

To retain your website’s Google ranking even after the change in domain name, you need to use redirect. Most webmaster opt to use the 301 permanent redirect. This means that the old domain will be redirected to the new domain. This also informs the search engines about the new URL. This way the search engines will already disregard the old URL and updated their index with the new correct URL.

Although this will help your website retain its ranking, there are cases wherein the 301 permanent redirect is not the best choice. The new pages do not automatically assume the positions of the old ones in Google. This means that the new pages will still be undergoing the aging filter.

It seems that the 302 temporary redirect is a better option for some websites. By using this redirect, the current URL remains in the Google index. This means that the pages will retain their ranking on the search results. It will appear as if the pages are still there and nothing has changed. Although when someone clicked on the listing, he will be taken to the new URL. The technique is to keep the old URL in Google listing until such time that the new URL has already acquired high ranking of its own.

Maintain your website ranking by redirecting the old website to the new domain name. Need an expert’s help in achieving an even better ranking on the search engines? Please see our Search Engine Marketing Services or you can apply for our Free Website Analysis.