Site migration/ CMS/domain site structure change-no access to search console
-
Hi everyone,
We are migrating an old site under a bigger umbrella (our main domain). As mentioned in the title, We'll perform CMS migration, domain change, and site structure change. Now, the major problem is that we can't get into google search console for the old site. The site still has old GA code, so google search console verification using this method is not possible, also there is no way developers will be able to add GTM or edit DNS setting (not to bother you with the reason why). Now, my dilemma is :
1. Do we need access to old search console to notify Google about the domain name change or this could be done from our main site (old site will become a part of) search console
2. We are setting up 301 redirects from old to the new domain (not perfect 1:1 redirect ). Once migration is done does anything else needs to be done with the old domain (it will become obsolete)?
3.The main site, Site-map... Should I create a new sitemap with newly added pages or update the current one.
4. if you have anything else please add:)
Thank you!
-
If your architecture is changing, (e.g: from non-www to www, then from HTTP to HTTPS) - just be careful that your developer's logic doesn't start 'stacking' redirect rules
You want to avoid this:
A) user requests http://oldsite.com/category/information
B) 301 Redirect to - http://newsite.com/category/information
C) 301 Redirect to - https://newsite.com/category/information
D) 301 Redirect to - https://www.newsite.com/category/information
Keep your redirects **strictly origin to final destination, and you'll probably be ok! **In the case of my example the redirect should go straight from A to D, not from A to B (hope that makes sense)
Install this Chrome extension so that you can see redirect paths in your Chrome extension buttons menu. It's very, very handy for testing redirects
-
Thank you for a detailed response.
It's a second scenario. Domain/hosting will stay stays for old domain and all redirects will point to relevant destination pages in our main website. We already performed a massive hybrid migration (main site ) that delivered a CMS change, site structure/URL change and content cut without losing any traffic (we actually gained north of 30% increase in post-migration period). Migration was done over 3 month period and it was done right. This time, the project was conceived and nearly finished in the bubble and got into my attention way too late.
-
You wanna' be really careful here. From the sounds of it you had a collection of 'web pages' under an old umbrella site (which contains loads of other stuff too) and you are 'extracting' those web pages and turning them into a new website. For most intents and purposes, a domain 'is' a website
If the old site is staying live with other stuff still on it, and only part of it is migrating - obviously you DON'T want to tell Google that the whole umbrella site is 'becoming' a much narrower site on a new domain. That's inaccurate information, and will kill off the main site's performance
Another issue. Currently your 'site section' which will become its own site, is receiving SEO authority through the main domain's backlinks, then transferred through the internal link structure. If the old site is staying live, most of it won't be redirected to the new 'extract' site. The internal linking from the main site will also be gone, which means a performance reset for those section of URLs is quite darn likely
There is some potential, that I got this exactly the wrong way around. Maybe you are saying that a previously external site is coming 'under' the big umbrella. That would be much easier to deal with!
In this second scenario, yes I'd recommend telling Google that one whole domain is becoming part of another domain using the domain migration tool within search console. I have seen migration projects succeed without this, but I've also seen Google's algos throw wobblies so... Yeah, I'd say do it to be safe
The old domain needs to still exist, with a hosting package - in order to perform your redirects. Redirects are handled by the .htaccess or web.config file(s) and they need hosting to live on. Without it, all your redirects will die. If you don't keep the redirects live for 6-12 months, prepare to lose some SEO authority as it won't have all translated across by then
Your new pages, regardless of whether they are on an external or internal domain, should be listed in an XML sitemap. Wherever they are moving to, that domain's XML sitemap needs to have the newly spawned URLs in
Hope that helps
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Migrating Subfolder content to New domain Safely
Hello everyone, I'm currently facing a challenging situation and would greatly appreciate your expertise and guidance. I own a website, maniflexa.com, primarily focused on the digital agency niche. About 3 months ago, I created a subfolder, maniflexa.com/emploi/, dedicated to job listings which is a completely different niche. The subfolder has around 120 posts and pages. Unfortunately, since I created the subfolder, the rankings of my main site have been negatively impacted. I was previously ranking #1 for all local digital services keywords, but now, only 2 out of 16 keywords have maintained their positions. Other pages have dropped to positions 30 and beyond. I'm considering a solution and would like your advice: I'm planning to purchase a new domain and migrate the content from maniflexa.com/emploi/ to newdomain.com. However, I want to ensure a smooth migration without affecting the main domain maniflexa.com rankings and losing backlinks from maniflexa.com/emploi/ pages. Is moving the subfolder content to a new domain a viable solution? And how can I effectively redirect all pages from the subfolder to the new domain while preserving page ranks and backlinks?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | davidifaso
I wish they did, but GSC doesn't offer a solution to migration content from subfolder to a new domain. 😢 Help a fellow Mozer. Thanks for giving a hand.0 -
Search Console - Best practice to fetch pages when you update them?
Hi guys, If you make changes to a page e.g. add more content or something is it good practice to get google to fetch that page again in search console? My assumption is this way, Google can review the updated page quicker, resulting in faster changes in the SERPs for that page. Thoughts? Cheers.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | wozniak650 -
Google Search Console Tools Sitelinks
Question. If you wanted to use the Google Demote this sitelink URL - will another sitelink appear to replace it? There is a sitelink I feel doesn't belong and hoping another one that is beneficial appears. I understand Google has control of what appears. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/47334 Thanks.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Kdruckenbrod0 -
We are redesigning our existing website. The domain is staying the same, but the sub-structure and page names are changing. Do I still need to do 301s?
We are redesigning our existing website. The domain is staying the same, but the sub-structure and page names are changing. Do I still need to do 301 redirects or will search engines know to remove the old 404 pages from the SERPs? We are redesigning our existing website. The domain is staying the same, but the sub-structure and page names are changing. Do I still need to do 301s?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | GrandOptimizations0 -
Redirecting just the homepage of a site to another domain- good/bad idea?
TLDR: As part of a corporate rebranding/restructuring, my parent company is asking me to redirect just the homepage of our website to another page on their website. How will this affect rankings of all of the other pages on our site? I work for an organization (XYZ Corp) that is owned by another company (Big Conglomerate). XYZ Corp's main function is building custom skinned microsites for marketing purposes that live on our domain in a traditional directory structure (no subdomains). This morning, I get a request to redirect XYZ Corp's homepage to live at bigconglomerate.com/xyzcorp. But all of our original microsites are to remain as is. Technically, I know how to accomplish this redirection. My question is- should I? Or should I fight this? I searched previous Q&A's, but wasn't able to find someone else who was concerned about losing search rankings for sub-pages due to losing their website's homepage. A few more details- The microsite pages are not linked to from the homepage. The microsites do not link back to the homepage. We cannot move the microsites to bigconglomerate.com because everything that lives there is a cookie cutter CMS page. This is my first question ever, please go easy on me! Thanks, --Mark
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | bigwheeler0 -
What on-page/site optimization techniques can I utilize to improve this site (http://www.paradisus.com/)?
I use a Search Engine Spider Simulator to analyze the homepage and I think my client is using black hat tactics such as cloaking. Am I right? Any recommendations on to improve the top navigation under Resorts pull down. Each of the 6 resorts listed are all part of the Paradisus brand, but each resort has their own sub domain.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Melia0 -
What are the different tactics for getting ranked/ included in Google finance searches such as http://www.google.com/finance/company_news?q=NASDAQ:ADBE
I don't know what ranking factors they are using for this feed. The results vary greatly from a search done at google.com or google.com/news and google.com/finance I'm working with a website that regularly publishes finance-related news and currently gets traffic from google finance. I'm wondering what we can do to optimize our news articles to possibly show more prominently or more often. Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | joemascaro0 -
What is the Ideal Structure for User Generated Product Reviews on My Site?
I apologize for the lengthy post, but I need help! Here is my current structure for product reviews: My product pages displays a set number of user product reviews before displaying a link to "see all reviews". So: http://www.domain.com/product/product-page Has product details, specs (usually generic from manufacturer) and 5 user product reviews. If there are more than 5, there is a link to see all reviews: http://www.domain.com/reviews/product-page?page=1 Where each page would display 10 user product reviews, and paginate until all user reviews are displayed. I am thinking about using the Rel Canonical tag on the paginated reviews pages to reference back to the main product page. So: http://www.domain.com/reviews/product-page?page=1 http://www.domain.com/reviews/product-page?page=2 http://www.domain.com/reviews/product-page?page=3 Would have the canonical URL of: http://www.domain.com/product/product-page Does this structure make sense? I'm unclear what strategy I should use, but currently the product review pages account for less than 2% of overall organic traffic. Thanks ahead of time!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Corp0