Huge organic traffic drom after a perfect domain migration. What to do?

[Dennis1992038]

Hi,

I already asked the question on different places. But so far nobody could help me. 
Hope someone can help me out. If possible.
I migrated my website https://vihara.nl to https://meditatieinstituut.nl and lost about 80% traffic (see printscreens). It's over more than a month ago now and there is no sign of getting it back up.

Maybe there is nothing to do and
1. I have to be patient and traffic comes back in a few months. 
or
2. There is nothing to do and I've lost everything I've build up in the last years. Start over again to get the rankings back.
or maybe, maybe
3. I just forgot something that I still need to do to get the rankings back up. Or there is something I did not think of...

This is done:

• The website is migrated 1 on 1. No changes in content, url, code, etc. Everything is exactly the same as on the previous domain.
• 301 redirects whole domain (via htaccess a bulk redirect). All the old pages, without exceptions, lead to the exact new page.
• The new domain is running from CDN (Cloudflare) with the same settings as the previous domain.
• SSL is installed in the exact same way.
• Domain migration set up in Search console (working).
• Uploaded new sitemap (working).
• Updated internal links.
• Changed the most important external links (where I could get contact after reaching out)
• In meanwhile received some new external links and also posted new content

Anybody knows what to do? Or do I just have to be more patient and will it come back in a few months by itself?

Looking forward to suggetions.

Thanks!

Gerjan

Migratie-Meditatie-Instituut-2048x786.jpg verloop-sinds-de-start-2048x355.jpg

[BlueprintMarketing]

Hi Dennis

yes I was able to see everything inside Search Console’s It look to me like everything has been correctly. I am honestly kind of stumped as to why the 301ed domain shows more index links. The only thing I can think of is that the site map was submitted to Search Console and that the search and replace was recently done so those URLs were still on your  hosted site.
Google will take up to 4 to 5 months make  the move.

it should be much quicker after you’ve done the search and replace on the URLs.

I would also upload the old  XML site map to your new website & submit it to your Google Search Console.

I am happy to take a look at your Hosting Infrastructure and see if something is awry there I cannot find anything using quite a few different tool sets and looking at your Google Search Console. It seems to me that this should’ve been done much faster by Google.

I will bring it up to  Googles John Mueller in a Twitter talk I am going to have with him next week.

all the best,

Tom

[Dennis1992038]

Thank you Thomas, I removed you and added you again. Did you receive the invite?

[BlueprintMarketing]

I **would still upload the old sitemap to the new domains website. **

can I ask you send me the search console Invite  again?

** I can’t seem to find it & can’t get into GSC**

** TZickell@blueprintmarketing.com**

**you want a page to page 301 & you shoul only uSE on index if needed  **
“the noindex rules in the pages are gone, since they are redirecting to the new domain. So maybe I need to delete the sitemap in the old domain?   On the other hand, since al the pages are redirected and I also filled in the migration form in Search Console, it should not be a problem the sitemap is still there right?”

See https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6033088?hl=en

• Sitemaps: Submit the two sitemaps you saved earlier from the mapping. Initially, the sitemap containing the new URLs would have zero pages indexed, while the sitemap of the old URLs would have many pages indexed. Over time the number of pages indexed from the old URLs sitemap would drop to zero with a corresponding increase of indexing of the new URLs.

I posted the translated URL

t_he URL_

https://meditatieinstituut.nl/domein-migratie-vihara-nl-naar-meditatieinstituut-nl/
Domain migration meditationinstitute.nl to meditationinstitute.nl
April 16, 2020 we have moved our entire website meditatieinstituut.nl to this domain, meditatieinstituut.nl.

What have we done?

The website has been transferred one to one. No changes in content, url, technology, etc. Everything has remained the same.
301 redirects total domain (via htaccess bulk redirect). All old pages, without exceptions, end up on the exact same page.
The new domain runs from CDN (Cloudflare) with the same settings.
SSL is installed exactly the same way.
Domain migration in Search console set correctly.
New sitemap uploaded (and working).
Internal links updated.
The most important external links that I have influenced or have adjusted.
In the meantime already received some new external links and made some new content.

The sad result in organic traffic, so far:

We dropped from nearly 300 visitors in one day to about 40 visitors.

And we had such a nice line since the beginning:

Now Google says in "Search Console Help" that you get a notification in Search Console for 180 days that your domain is being transferred. This may also indicate that it may take 180 days for all authority to continue. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9370220?hl=en

“If critical pre-checks pass, all sites being migrated from or to will display a notification in Search Console that the move is in progress. You will see these notifications for 180 days. ”

The sequel
We hope to be able to quickly show a new print screen in which the traffic is back to the old level, from there a new upward trend.

Since Google also indicated a long time ago that with a 301 redirect, 100% of the authority is now being forwarded, it is plausible that the entire authority will eventually also be forwarded.

If you notice something that we have forgotten in the migration process, or if you know something that could speed up the passing on of authority, please let us know!”

[Dennis1992038]

PS. I also resumed Cloudflare for the domain. Since it did not have any influence and it was paused about 2 weeks ago now.

[Dennis1992038]

Hi Thomas, just gave you access to GSC and sent you the mail below:It is really strange Google indexed even more of the old url’s. Really sharp from you, you noticed this. I did not see that myself.I was thinking, maybe this is because of the old domain in Search Console still contains the sitemap with al the url’s.But the noindex rules in the pages are gone, since they are redirecting to the new domain.So maybe I need to delete the sitemap in the old domain?On the other hand, since al the pages are redirected and I also filled in the migration form in Search Console, it should not be a problem the sitemap is still there right? This should make Google clear which pages are migrated so it can sent all the authority to the new domain and individual pages, right?I just gave you access to the Search Console for both the domain vihara.nl and meditatieinstituut.nl.Would be great if we can find an issue. But sadly I think everything is done right but it’s in the hands of Google now, and hopefully it will be better within the 180 days…On this page I've added some information about the migration progress. So when there are changes I will add this to this page. It's in Dutch but you can translate this.Thanks again for thinking with me.Gerjan

[BlueprintMarketing]

Hi Dennis,

thank you so much I really appreciate you giving me access to your search console I will give you an update in a couple of hours if that works?

I am starting to believe that it could be an HT Access file issue that should be the correct one for migrating domains

I can see you're now using cloud flare to redirect all of the possible domains I would recommend turning your back on for the main domain as well. You are correctly redirecting all your domains  I checked with https://httpstatus.io/  you can see the results in the image below.

Large image https://i.imgur.com/6soPAEN.jpg

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^oldsite.com [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.oldsite.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://newsite.com/$1 [L,R=301,NC] 

RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^vihara.nl [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.vihara.nl [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://meditatieinstituut.nl/$1 [L,R=301,NC]

citing https://ahrefs.com/blog/301-redirects/

we can definitely push any of the old sites over with Cloudflare redirection system that I know works every time. I can tell from clicking on your URLs inside Google that they are redirecting but what's strange is that they have increased in the amount of URLs indexed since I last looked. Please look at my answer below or at this photo https://i.imgur.com/UZqSfHh.png

I will update you in 2 to 3 hours max giving you information on what I can figure out is doing this. I would recommend locking everything down with cloud flare even if you have had an issue with one of their IP's I'm sure will be gone by the time you turn it back on this way the HTTPS and www.

http://vihara.nl
https://vihara.nl
http://www.vihara.nl
https://www.vihara.nl

they must match

http://meditatieinstituut.nl
https://meditatieinstituut.nl
http://www.meditatieinstituut.nl
https://www.meditatieinstituut.nl

essentially the four domains will all line up.

Because when I drop site:https://meditatieinstituut.nl"  into Google I still get exactly 440 indexed URLs and the other domain has increased over 100 URLs in Google's index https://i.imgur.com/kdbrq7q.png

I look forward to updating you and I will look for your email.

Sincerely,

Tom

UZqSfHh.png 6soPAEN.jpg kdbrq7q.png

[BlueprintMarketing]

Hi Dennis,

I apologize it's taken me so long to get back to you

"Are you sure this is needed? The old sitemap contains the same url's, since the url's did not change. So I think it's not needed right?"

** I believe it is wise to put your old domains site map with your new domain because technically the URL did change because the domain changed**

"temporary paused Cloudflare"

** Thank you for explaining that you temporarily caused CloudFlare that makes a lot more sense to be frank with you I doubt that CloudFlare will hurt your site in any way shape or form even if it had a blacklisted IP address it's a reverse proxy so all the IP's are constantly changing. It might be that somebody did something negative with one of the four IP addresses that it signs to your website and I'm certain that CloudFlare would clean it up pretty quickly however it never hurts to remove another piece of technology and see if it's causing the problem.**

Yes, this is a little disturbing. I would expect that vihara.nl shouldn't be indexed anymore. The rankings are gone, but most pages are still indexed.

** It is an extremely clear sign that the site is not redirecting properly. They should no longer be in Google's index or Google should be made aware of this domain change one more time if you can do that?**

site:vihara.nl

** Bigger photo https://i.imgur.com/UZqSfHh.png**

It only contains these rules, to redirect every single page while only changing the domain:

#Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://meditatieinstituut.nl/$1 [R=301,L]

** I believe that the issue with the redirects may come from the www. or www. still not redirecting. From what I can tell the HT Access file should be when I have placed in below you can check it here. https://ahrefs.com/blog/301-redirects/**

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^vihara.nl [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.vihara.nl [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://_meditatieinstituut_.nl/$1 [L,R=301,NC]

_"Vimexx.nl > I don't think it's the best but it's quit good. It's the same as the previous site vihara.nl, so I expect it doesn't make it worse than it should be."
_ **It does not have to be the best most expensive hosting just a quality web host. 
They are worth quite a bit when it comes to troubleshooting and configuration. In my experience
 maybe look for another one around the same price that it has better reviews?
 I apologize I don't know what "Vimexx.nl is referring to another domain that you own?** 

Yes, I did a find and replace for vihara.nl to meditatieinstituut.nl. So even the images and everything are changed to the new domain.

Nice work that is very important.

** I think there is something missing that we are not able to put our fingers on I apologize I did not see this earlier and have not seen your search console or been able to index the domain. I will do that in the next couple of hours.**

 **respectfully,** **Tom**

UZqSfHh.png

[BlueprintMarketing]

Thanks EGOL!

[Dennis1992038]

• Your current robots.txt file does not contain your new or old site map I found your new site map but I cannot find your old site map.

Are you sure this is needed? The old sitemap contains the same url's, since the url's did not change. So I think it's not needed right?

in addition, you are currently not using Cloudflare for using Apache which shows me the site is clearly not going through Cloudflare

I temporary paused Cloudflare to see if this might have a positive effect. Because I've read somewhere you can be on a Cloudflare IP that is blacklisted because some other site on the same IP did some blackhat work. But I think the change is very little and it's already a week ago and I don't see any effect after pausing it.

drop this into Google "site:https://meditatieinstituut.nl"  440 indexed URL
drop this into Google "site:https://vihara.nl"  406 indexed URLs

Yes, this is a little disturbing. I would expect that vihara.nl shouldn't be indexed anymore. The rankings are gone, but most pages are still indexed.

I would like to see your HTAccess code

It only contains these rules, to redirect every single page while only changing the domain:

#Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://meditatieinstituut.nl/$1 [R=301,L]

I would like to know if you are working with a good hosting company

Vimexx.nl > I don't think it's the best but it's quit good. It's the same as the previous site vihara.nl, so I expect it doesn't make it worse than it should be.

as well as what you used to do a search and replace of your URLs?

Yes, I did a find and replace for vihara.nl to meditatieinstituut.nl. So even the images and everything are changed to the new domain.

you should also get your backlinks updated

Yes, I have done this with the most important links pointing to vihara.nl. Many of them are updated now. Some I did not receive a reply.

So thank you for your great reply! I'm really happy you took the time to lookup all the things that could help. Unfortunate I don't think there is something that can make a big change.
I hope that when vihara.nl gets less indexed, the authority goes to meditatieinstituut.nl. I really think it is somehow an authority problem. Everything seemed to be redirected and migrated instead of the authority, somehow...

[Dennis1992038]

Thank you soo much Thomas. I just now see your reply (somehow I saw the notification my question was unanswered, while it wasn't.

I will check al your recommendations and come back to this. Also I will give you access to the search console. Will sent you a DM after I checked your suggestions.

[EGOL]

Wow!   Tom, that was a very generous and expert response.

Nice work!

[BlueprintMarketing]

I apologize I just spent approximately 60 minutes plus writing this out looking at the issues you have in my laptop was unplugged the battery died and I'm back to square one. What I will tell you is I can help me with this need to give me access to search console and allow crawlers your site.

Your current robots.txt file does not contain your new or old site map I found your new site map but I cannot find your old site map  check it for a bad bite order mark or BOM

• https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/best-practice/common-robots-txt-mistakes/
• https://www.distilled.net/resources/free-web-based-robotstxt-parser/
• https://opensource.googleblog.com/2019/07/googles-robotstxt-parser-is-now-open.html

Disallow: /wp-admin/
Allow: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

##  top site map should be old XML vihara

Sitemap: https://meditatieinstituut.nl/vihara-sitemap_index.xml
Sitemap: https://meditatieinstituut.nl/sitemap_index.xml

in addition, you are currently not using Cloudflare for using Apache which shows me the site is clearly not going through Cloudflare a reverse proxy which modifies the headers  they would've been rewritten like this https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200170986-How-does-Cloudflare-handle-HTTP-Request-headers-

HTTP/1.1 200 OK

Date: Thu, 21 May 2020 12:25:15 GMT

Server: Apache/2

Vary: Accept-Encoding,Cookie,User-Agent

Upgrade: h2,h2c

Connection: Upgrade

Last-Modified: Thu, 21 May 2020 11:33:56 GMT

Accept-Ranges: none

Cache-Control: max-age=521, public, public

Expires: Thu, 21 May 2020 12:33:56 GMT

Referrer-Policy:

X-Pingback: https://meditatieinstituut.nl/xmlrpc.php

X-Powered-By: W3 Total Cache/0.13.3

Pragma: public

Content-Length: 137745

Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8

• http://bseo.dev/WXRAtI
• http://bseo.dev/cM1gCX
• http://bseo.dev/iOr2qC
• http://bseo.dev/8XLDtp
• drop this into Google "site:https://meditatieinstituut.nl"  440 indexed URLs
• drop this into Google "site:https://vihara.nl"  406 indexed URLs

in addition, if you would like to set up the old domain to redirect to the new domain and none of the URLs or change just follow these simple instructions it will work like a one-to-one match I would like to see your HTAccess code

https://medium.com/@natterstefan/redirecting-one-domain-to-another-with-cloudflare-66bd1c88bfae

I would like to know if you are working with a good hosting company as well as what you used to do a search and replace of your URLs?

Check your URLs using WP CLI or better search and replace better yet do a complete check on both sides the migration could've happened perfectly using WP Migrate DB Pro because it now migrates themes images and files it is an expensive tool the best in the industry at what you're doing

https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-migrate-db-pro/

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9BAtQEN-vvsJ:https://meditatieinstituut.nl/&hl=en&gl=us&strip=0&vwsrc=0

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9BAtQEN-vvsJ:https://www.vihara.nl/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

if you would be kind enough to send me screenshots of the configuration of your website or if you just want to speak with me click on my photo and give me a ring I am more than happy to tell you a lot more than I have time to write down for the second time here. I'm sorry that this is a very compact version of what I want to talk to about but it took me a long time to write out everything the first time and then of the power failed.

please look at URLs to them are PDFs to them are CSV's I would like to import your site into Pantheon,  servebolt, Pagely or if you're looking to spend under $30 a month https://pressidium.com/

you should also get your backlinks updated with an outreach tool called https://pitchbox.com  it is superb for link outreach and would help you site migrations.

sincerely,

Thomas

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