Hello,
This question is primarily about submitting a site-map with google / “indexing” our website with google(?) so that it correctly appears as the first search for our business website.
We have previously used Square Space for our website, www.beilbys.com, since 2018 - however Square space is quite incompatible with our industry (furniture retail in Australia, particularly South Australia). The domain “www.beilbys.com” is still valid until 2023, and I have switched off auto renew, as I have done with our square space website.
I’ve purchased the domain www.beilbys.com.au, to capture the Australian market, as we are a localised, Australian business, and that website is live, and we are using Shopify instead which allows for much better presentation of our products, and the overall site looks much better than previously using square space. (Especially on mobile phone view, the background image would cut out and distort, on square space).
I am having great difficulty with Google Search still showing our dead Square Space website as the first link to our business website. Even when I have turned the site to private. I have now just hidden all the pages and changed the background to “we have moved” with a link to our new website.
I understand I cannot delete “robots.txt” from square space, as suggested by google - but it says I should prepare a sitemap or request an index for my new site? I have no idea what any of that means and none of the google explanations seem to provide any clarity.
Could anybody help by explaining how I can stop our old squarespace website showing on google and instead have our new website, www.beilbys.com.au showing up as the first result for our business?
Thank you!!