Redirecting a domain sounds simple. Point A to point B. But get the details wrong and months of search engine trust can vanish in a single afternoon.
01 / NOTE
A redirect is a promise to search engines.
When you set up a redirect you are telling Google, Bing and every other crawler that the content they trusted at one address now lives somewhere else. A 301 redirect specifically says “this move is permanent.” That distinction matters because search engines treat permanent moves differently from temporary ones.
A 301 passes the vast majority of the original page’s ranking signals to the new URL. Google has confirmed that 301 redirects transfer full link equity. A 302, by contrast, tells search engines the move is temporary, so they may keep the old URL in the index while ignoring the new one entirely. If you are moving your domain because of a policy change, a rebrand or a business restructure, you almost certainly want a 301.
02 / NOTE
Map every URL before you touch the server.
The most common mistake in a domain redirect is sending every URL on the old domain to the homepage of the new one. This destroys page-level ranking signals. If your old About page earned backlinks, those links need to reach your new About page, not your homepage.
Before you start, crawl your old domain and export a full list of URLs. Then create a spreadsheet with two columns: old URL and corresponding new URL. Every page that has traffic, backlinks or indexed content needs its own row. Pages with zero traffic and zero backlinks can be left to return a 404 without much concern.
If you are choosing a new domain as part of this process, our names and domains tool lets you check availability and brand fit at the same time. That prevents the classic mistake of building the entire redirect map only to discover your preferred domain is taken. For guidance on picking the right name in the first place, see our guide on how to choose a domain name.
03 / NOTE
Set up page-level 301 redirects, not just domain-level.
A domain-level redirect catches the homepage and any URL that does not have a specific rule. That is the safety net. But the real work is in the page-level rules that ensure each important old URL points to the right new page.
On Apache servers this is done in the .htaccess file. On Nginx it goes in the server configuration block. On platforms like Shopify or WordPress, plugins or built-in tools handle it. Whatever the method, the principle is the same: one old URL, one new URL, one 301 status code.
Test every redirect before you make the DNS change. Use a tool like httpstatus.io or curl from the command line. You want to see a single 301 hop from old URL to new URL. If you see a 302, or a chain of redirects (301 to 301 to 301), fix it before going live. Redirect chains dilute ranking signals and slow down page load for users.
04 / NOTE
Update Google Search Console the same day.
Add your new domain as a property in Google Search Console and verify ownership. Then use the Change of Address tool, found under Settings, to formally notify Google that you have moved. This is not strictly required for the redirect to work, but it accelerates the transition.
Keep the old domain property active in Search Console for at least 180 days. You will use it to monitor crawl errors, watch for pages that were missed in your redirect map and confirm that Google is processing the 301s correctly. The Index Coverage report will show you if any old URLs are stuck in the index.
05 / NOTE
Expect a dip. Then watch the recovery.
Almost every domain migration causes a temporary drop in organic traffic. This is normal. Google needs time to recrawl the old URLs, follow the redirects and update its index. For a small site under 500 pages this usually takes two to four weeks. For a larger site it can take eight to twelve weeks.
During this period, do not panic and start changing things. The worst thing you can do during a migration is make a second round of changes before the first one has settled. Monitor your Search Console data daily for the first month, then weekly after that.
If traffic has not recovered after 12 weeks, that is the signal to investigate. The most common culprits are redirect chains, pages that were missed in the mapping, or canonical tags on the new domain that still point to the old one. Our domain migration checklist covers what to look for at each stage.
06 / NOTE
Fix the things search engines cannot fix for you.
Redirects handle search engine crawlers. But there are signals that 301s do not update automatically. Your Google Business Profile, social media bios, email signatures, directory listings and any hardcoded links on partner sites will all still point to the old domain.
Make a list of every place your old domain appears and update them manually. Prioritise any profiles that drive referral traffic: your Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, industry directories and any sites where you have a contributor bio or guest post.
If your brand identity is changing alongside the domain, our brand library lets you generate updated assets in one place so you are not scrambling to update logos and social banners across twenty platforms individually. And if you are unsure whether a full rebrand is the right move, our piece on what brand identity actually is can help clarify the scope of what you are changing.
07 / NOTE
Hold the old domain for at least twelve months.
Do not let the old domain expire the moment your redirects are working. Backlinks pointing to the old domain will continue to arrive for months, sometimes years. As long as the old domain is active with its 301 redirects in place, those links pass value to your new domain.
The minimum recommended holding period is twelve months. If the old domain has a strong backlink profile, consider holding it indefinitely. The annual renewal cost is trivial compared to the SEO value of those inbound links.
If you are going through this process because of the recent .com.au eligibility changes, you may need to consolidate several domains into one. Our guide on consolidating multiple domains covers how to pick a winner and redirect the rest. If you are considering leaving .com.au entirely, we also cover the trade-offs of moving from .com.au to .com.