I've changed URLs and I'm not happy

Hi,

I hope you can help!

I've ditched my old site and domain www.mattbairdsounddesign.com.  And have started afresh with www.mattbairdsound.com which is looking great.  The only trouble is that my old, dead site comes up on google not the new one.   What can I do?

Thank you,

Matt

Have you got both domains on Google search console? It's an important thing to do, and it does have the utility of informing Google that your website has moved to a new domain. That would solve this issue for you.

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9370220?hl=en#:~:text=Use the Change of Address,site to your new site.

Hi @MattBairdSound If the site at the new domain is intended to fully replace the site that was at the old domain there are a couple of important things to do (some of which you may have already done).

• Add the old domain as a secondary domain to the main, new site. This means any hits to URLs with the old domain will be redirected to the new site.
• For any pages where the URL slug has changed from the old site to the new one, make sure there's a URL Redirect rule in places to the user (and Google's crawlers) get to the correct place.
• Verify ownership of both the old domain and the new one in Google Search Console.
• Once you have Google Search Console properties verified for both, complete the Change of Address form in Search Console to notify Google that your website has moved from the old domain to the new one. You'll have to wait a few weeks for Google to register this change, recrawl the new domain, and start showing updated results in the index.

It can be a slow process – I've seen it take a few weeks. That's why you want to set up the secondary domain and redirects in the meantime so the old results Google still displays get users to the right place.

LMK if you need help implementing any of this.

- Ed 

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

Resource: Squarespace SEO Checklist: 2023 Update

Thanks so much for your help guys!  I'll try these and let you know how I get on.  Thank you!  

Hi guys,

The good news: I've registered with Google Search Console, verified ownership of my old and new domains. Thank you!

The bad news: I've been unsuccessful in setting up the redirect!

Google Console is saying it can't fetch the page www.mattbairdsounddesign.com. This makes sense as the old website has expired. I've added the following URL mapping to my new site in Squarespace:

www.mattbairdsounddesign.com -> www.mattbairdsound.com 301

But it doesn't seem to be working. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

M

13 minutes ago, MattBairdSound said:

The bad news: I've been unsuccessful in setting up the redirect!

Google Console is saying it can't fetch the page www.mattbairdsounddesign.com. This makes sense as the old website has expired.

You can only redirect the old domain if you still have control of it. If you have control (or can regain control) you can add the old domain to your new site (as a secondary domain) and then set up redirects from there.

However, if you don't have control of the old domain, you must patiently wait a few weeks until Google update their records.

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Ok, I'm getting a clearer picture now.

I actually do have control of the old domain, just not the old site as it has expired.  So it sounds like you might be able to help me do my re-direct? 

I believe I have successfully added the old domain as a secondary domain. Am I right in thinking that putting the below code into Settings> Developer Tools> URL Mappings, should do the trick?

https://www.mattbairdsounddesign.com -> https://www.mattbairdsound.com 301 

25 minutes ago, MattBairdSound said:

I believe I have successfully added the old domain as a secondary domain. Am I right in thinking that putting the below code into Settings> Developer Tools> URL Mappings, should do the trick?

https://www.mattbairdsounddesign.com -> https://www.mattbairdsound.com 301 

You won't need a redirect if the URL structure is the same on both sites. ( The redirect quoted above won't do anything anyway 🙂).

For example, if the About page has the URL slug /about, and the Contact page is /contact, and so on) then you won't need a redirect. Pages with the same URL will simply load using the new domain.

OK thank you that is helpful. So...

I've changed my URL redirect code to:

www.mattbairdsounddesign.com/features-1 -> www.mattbairdsound.com/film 301

Which feels like it should work.  But it isn't working. Any idea why?

40 minutes ago, MattBairdSound said:

it isn't working. Any idea why?

The domain mattbairdsounddesign.com isn't currently connected to a website. This will need to be connected to the website first.

Hi Paul,

Thanks you.  Yes it sure seems that way, but when I try to connect it to my website I get the below message (see attached screenshot)  saying it is already connected.  Any ideas?

Quote

but when I try to connect it to my website I get the below message (see attached screenshot)  saying it is already connected.  Any ideas?

This indicates that the domain is already connected to the website.

Please give use screenshot of what you see at Settings Domains. It will begin with something like the following.

No problem. What does this screenshot tell you?