How to move a website without losing rankings

Oct 18, 2009

Moving a site, especially a trusted site, is a risky business, but if carried out correctly it can be done without losing rankings and PR.

This something I have recently done with our re-brand from Zoom to Coast. I have often given advice on the correct way to do this, but this is the first time I have done it myself. You, the reader can follow this in real time and see that it can be done.

I expect the rankings and PR to move over from the old URL to the new one in 2-4 weeks, but let’s see,

It is best to move the entire site so that the file structure and site content remain the same. The only thing to change would be the domain name. In this case, however, I have taken the opportunity to update the site content which has meant a slightly different approach has to be taken.

In the case of a a straight forward domain name change the procedure is as follows.

1. Set up new domain on a hosting account, preferably sharing an IP address (in the case of virtual hosting) with the existing hosting account. If on dedicated hosting, it is best if the IP address is a near neighbour. This is not essential: in fact there are circumstances where the reason for the move will be to distance yourself from a previous bad neighbourhood or to move the site to a country specific IP block.

2. Upload a copy of the site to the new domain.

3. Run a link checker such as Xenu link sleuth over the new site to check the integrity.

4. Set up 301 redirects from the old site to the new site. It is important to do this quickly before the content is indexed at the new domain otherwise it will be seen as duplicate content and would risk a penalty being issued by Google. It is fair to say that carrying out the redirects correctly would fix that issue, but best to avoid it in the first place.

5.Test redirects using a site map of the old domain.

6. Check headers to ensure redirects are 301.

7. Make a complete back up of old site.

8. Delete old site leaving any files required for redirects.

9. Monitor ranking on new domain.

For the purpose of this exercise, I will be monitoring 3 established search phrases that have been in the top 3 of Google in the time running up to the new domain: namely.

Search Engine Optimisers

SEO Suffolk

Search Engine Optimisation Suffolk

Please note:

You can use a Meta redirect set to zero. Google sees this as a 301 redirect.

Never use 302 redirects.

Don’t forget to set up new Webmaster and Analytics accounts.

CaptainSEO.

To hire me to move your site for £100, please contact me here.

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