Using Google's Change of Address Tool to Reduce SEO Risks When Changing Domains

Friends who do SEO know that after changing a domain name, it's essential to set up a 301 redirect for the old domain to reduce the SEO impact of the URL change. Google has now launched a Change of Address tool, making it easier to modify and migrate domains.

Introduction to the Change of Address Tool

Use the Change of Address tool when migrating your website from one domain or subdomain to another: for example, from example.com to example.org or example2.com. This tool informs Google of your change and helps reflect the migration from the old site to the new site in Google search results. Simply put, if you want to change from a previous domain like baidu.com to google.com, you can use this feature. Google will prioritize switching the indexed data of your old domain to the new domain in its database, which is faster than a 301 redirect.

Specific Usage Method

Step One: Preparations

First, after changing your website's domain, you need to set up a 301 redirect for the old domain. For the 301 redirect method, you can refer toLNMP One-Click Package Nginx 301 Force Redirect to HTTPS Tutorialthe code inside, modifying the configuration file of the old website to point to the new website (for nginx).

server {
listen 80;
server_name 老域名;
return 301 https://blog.naibabiji.com$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name 老域名;
return 301 https://blog.naibabiji.com$request_uri;
}

Step Two: Using the Change of Address Tool

Before using the Change of Address tool, ensure you haveSearch Consoleadded and verified both the old and new domains, and that both domains are under the same Google account. Then openGoogle Change of Address Tooland follow the instructions provided in the tool. After verification, Google will begin processing your migration request.Simultaneously, Google requires you to maintain the redirects from the old site for at least 180 days. If after 180 days you can still see data from the old site in Google search, you need to keep the redirects longer. After the 180-day period, if the old site still exists and is crawlable, Google will not recognize any relationship between the old and new sites and will treat the old site as an unrelated website.

Canceling a Change of Address Request

If you decide not to change the domain, you can submit a cancellation request within 180 days. Alright, that's the introduction to Google's Change of Address tool. Friends planning to change domains can make full use of this tool to migrate traffic and authority from the old site to the new one. For a detailed introduction, visit https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9370220