How to Change Your Domain Name Without Losing Rankings
A rebrand went through, or the business changed hands, or the name you registered in a hurry six years ago has finally worn out its welcome. Either way the new domain is decided and now somebody has to actually move the site onto it.
This is the part where people quietly panic about search rankings. The fear is reasonable, because a domain change done carelessly does real damage. Done in the right order, it is a fairly ordinary piece of work.
Short answer: Changing domains safely is mostly one job done carefully: a permanent 301 redirect from every old URL to its exact match on the new domain. Keep the old domain registered and renewing, update your internal links, submit a change of address in Search Console, and leave the redirects in place indefinitely.
Should you change your domain name?
Only if the reason is bigger than the risk. A rebrand, a legal name change, a merger, or a name customers consistently mishear on the phone are all good reasons. Wanting a slightly better keyword in the address is not. Every move costs some search performance for a while, and no method removes that entirely.
If the new name is not locked in yet, spend the time now rather than doing this twice. The trade offs are covered in the guide to choosing a domain name you will still want in five years.
What actually breaks when you change a domain name?
More than the website. Email addresses on the old domain stop working once you move mail across, printed references go stale, links other sites gave you now point at a name you no longer promote, and any service authenticated against the old domain needs updating. The site itself is the easy part.
| What to update | Why it matters | When |
|---|---|---|
| 301 redirects for every URL | Carries the value of existing links to the page that replaces it | Day of the switch |
| Internal links, menus and images | Stops every click bouncing through a redirect | Before the switch |
| XML sitemap | Tells search engines the new URLs exist | Day of the switch |
| Search Console change of address | The formal signal that the site has moved | Once redirects are live |
| Google Business Profile and directories | Keeps listings pointing somewhere that loads | First week |
| Email signatures, invoices, social profiles | The references you control yourself | First week |
How do you redirect the old domain to the new one?
One to one, permanently. Every old URL should send a 301 to the page that replaces it, never to the new home page. A blanket redirect that dumps every old address on the front page throws away the specific relevance each page had built, and it is the most common way these moves go wrong.
- Export a list of every URL on the old site, including anything with traffic or links.
- Map each one to its replacement. Pages with no equivalent need a sensible parent, not the home page.
- Build the redirects as 301s, not 302s. A 302 says the move is temporary.
- Test a sample by hand after going live, including deep pages and old blog posts.
- Watch for redirect chains, where one old URL hops through two or three stops before landing.
How long should you keep the old domain registered?
Indefinitely, if you can. At $19 a year for an Australian extension it is one of the cheapest forms of insurance you will buy. The redirects only work while you still hold the name, and old links, old business cards and old directory listings keep sending people to it for years afterwards.
One catch specific to .com.au: eligibility has to be met for the entire time you hold the licence, not just when you register. A domain that matched your old trading name may no longer relate to the business, so check the position set out in the eligibility rules for .com.au before you assume you can hold it forever. Renewal pricing for every extension is on the GoodHost domains page.
How long does it take for search results to catch up?
Weeks rather than days, and it is not a single moment. Search engines recrawl your pages at different rates, so new URLs appear gradually while old ones fade out. Expect movement up and down in the meantime. Nobody can promise you a domain change with no fluctuation at all.
The DNS side settles far faster than the search side, usually within hours. Those are two separate clocks and people often confuse them, which is why the explanation of how long DNS changes take is worth reading before you start refreshing rankings on day two, as are the other domain names guides.
What should you do on the day of the switch?
Do it on a quiet weekday morning, not a Friday afternoon. Lower your DNS TTLs a couple of days beforehand, have the new site fully built and tested, then publish the redirects and check a sample of real old URLs by hand. Keep someone available for the rest of the day.
Leave the old site’s files in place for a while rather than deleting them. If something is wrong with the redirects you want the ability to put things back while you work it out.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change my domain name without moving hosting?
Yes. The domain and the hosting are separate, so you can point a new name at the same server and keep everything else exactly where it is. You still need the redirects, the internal link updates and the Search Console notification. Staying on the same host removes one moving part on the day, which is a genuine advantage when several things are changing at once.
Do I have to change my domain if my registered business name changes?
Not immediately, but it is worth checking. A .com.au has to relate to the registrant for the whole time it is held, so a domain matching a business name you no longer trade under can become a problem at renewal. If the old name still matches a trade mark you hold or a service you provide, you may be fine. Ask your registrar rather than guessing.
What happens to my email addresses when the domain changes?
They change with it, and this is the part that catches people out. Mail sent to the old address only arrives if the old domain’s MX records still point at a live mailbox, so keep the old mail running alongside the new one for months rather than weeks. Tell your regular contacts directly instead of relying on an auto reply.
Will I lose my Google Business Profile reviews?
No. Reviews attach to the business listing, not the website field, so updating the website address on your profile does not touch them. Update it as soon as the new site is live so the listing sends people somewhere that works, and check any other directories and industry listings that carry the old address.
Can I just launch on the new domain and let the old one expire?
You can, and you will lose the value of every link, bookmark and printed reference pointing at the old name. Anyone who finds the old address gets an error or, worse, whatever the next registrant decides to put there. Holding the old name and redirecting it costs very little a year, which makes letting it go a poor trade.
Register the replacement name today even if the switch is months off, because holding both licences in one account is what makes the redirect map easy to build, and GoodHost domains will tell you in seconds whether it is still free.