Page-level redirects for a deactivated page / Maintain SEO ranking for sub-domains

Site URL: https://www.meetra-germany.com/

Hi, 

Because of a rebranding, I've built a new Squarespace site (www.hallogermany.com) and would now like to redirect my old domain (www.meetra-germany.com) to the new page. Some of the sub-URLs have changed, so I understood it would be best to have a page-level 301 redirect and submit the new sitemap to Google to keep my good ranking for these sub-domains. Now, here is where I'm lost: 

I've submitted a detailed list for 301 redirects in the URL mapping. Now I need to deactivate the old pages in order to activate all 301 redirects. However, Squarespace requires me to assign a landing page as long as the site is active, meaning at least one of the old pages needs to stay live and will be recognized as the landing page. Now, how can I set-up active page level redirects for the entire site and make sure that none of the old pages show up on Google? 

Squarespace suggested me to make the old domain my secondary domain. In this case however, I would not be able to submit page-level 301 redirects, meaning I would loose my Google ranking. Is that right? Or did I get this wrong? 

Do you have any pointers for me on what I got wrong or how this could be solved? 

I hope my question is understandable and would really appreciate your help on this. I've been stuck with this issue for some time and am unable to find the answer I'm looking for. 

Big thanks! 

Jana

Hi @JanaK - congrats on the new website. Changing domains and maintaining search rankings/visibility is definitely tricky so I understand the confusion.

Based on the info you shared and taking a quick look at the two sites, I think linking the old domain to the new site as a secondary domain is smart. You have a decent number of backlinks out there on the internet pointing to meetra-garmany.com URLs, and the best way to keep that traffic (and nudge Google to update the rankings) is to link meetra-germany.com as a secondary domain and then either ensure there are pages on the new site with the same URL slug as before, OR use the URL mapping tools to set up some 301 redirects.

There are several other strategies you can pursue here as well, including using Google's "Change of Address" tool to notify the search engine that the website has moved to an entirely new domain. If you'd like, we can get on a call to review some of these steps together - there's a link on this page to book a free consult if you're interested.

Hope that helps,

Ed

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Blue Hills Digital
Support with website optimization, SEO and finding a digital marketing strategy that works.

Latest resource: Squarespace and Google Analytics: a Step-by-Step Guide

10 minutes ago, edharris said:

Hi @JanaK - congrats on the new website. Changing domains and maintaining search rankings/visibility is definitely tricky so I understand the confusion.

Based on the info you shared and taking a quick look at the two sites, I think linking the old domain to the new site as a secondary domain is smart. You have a decent number of backlinks out there on the internet pointing to meetra-garmany.com URLs, and the best way to keep that traffic (and nudge Google to update the rankings) is to link meetra-germany.com as a secondary domain and then either ensure there are pages on the new site with the same URL slug as before, OR use the URL mapping tools to set up some 301 redirects.

There are several other strategies you can pursue here as well, including using Google's "Change of Address" tool to notify the search engine that the website has moved to an entirely new domain. If you'd like, we can get on a call to review some of these steps together - there's a link on this page to book a free consult if you're interested.

Hope that helps,

Ed

--

Blue Hills Digital
Support with website optimization, SEO and finding a digital marketing strategy that works.

Latest resource: Squarespace and Google Analytics: a Step-by-Step Guide

Hi Ed, 

Thanks for the quick reply and for taking the time to look at my site. This has helped me a lot! I guess I'll move the domain then and make it a secondary domain. So is there a way to set-up 301 redirects for a secondary domain? 

I'd be happy to book a consultation and will take a look at it later. 

Thanks, 

Jana