Changed my domain a couple of weeks ago and Google Search ranking tanked. Any advice?

I connected my new domain and made it the primary domain - I kept the only domain connected so that anyone who tries to access the old domain will be redirected. Used Google Search Console's 'Change of Address’, it’s been a week and my Google search ranking has fallen from always being on the first page for my keywords and now it’s unfindable. What am I doing wrong here? Any advice is appreciated.

Hi @rebeccastrom,

I'm glad to help you. You've taken the right steps to change your domain while minimizing SEO impact:

• Connected the new domain and made it primary in Squarespace.
• Kept the old domain connected and redirecting to the new one.

A temporary drop in rankings and visibility is normal. Here's why:

• Google needs time to recrawl and reindex your pages on the new domain, which can take several weeks to months.
• Existing backlinks need to be updated to point to the new domain.

My Recommendation:

• Ensure all 301 redirects from the old domain to the new domain are working properly. Double check on this.
• Be patient and allow a few weeks for Google to process the change. Monitor performance in Google Search Console.
• Request sites linking to the old domain to update links and update your internal linking.
• Continue publishing high-quality, relevant content to build authority.

I hope your rankings will recover and improve over time. Let me know if you have any questions!

Best regards,
Sadul Sifat

Hi @Sifat_SEOSpace, thank you. How do I check that my 301 redirects are working properly, if both domains will point to my new domain? 

Hi @rebeccastrom,

Thank you for getting back to me.  To ensure that your 301 redirects are functioning correctly when both old and new domains, follow these steps:

1. Manual Testing:

   • Open a web browser and enter the URL of the old domain.
   • Ensure that it redirects to the corresponding URL on the new domain.
   • Repeat this for multiple pages to verify that all redirects are working.

2. Use Online Redirect Checkers:

   • Utilize tools like httpstatus.io, Redirect Checker.
   • Enter the URL of the old domain and check the response headers to confirm a 301 redirect.

If you've any further questions, feel free to ask!

Best regards,
Sifat

Please note that with the new Gemini AI search powered, A lot of sites are loosing readers. I have lost around 40% of visitors in the last two weeks. And it is becoming very difficult because Gemini AI is more and more present on Google.

On 8/30/2024 at 3:51 PM, okkio said:

I have lost around 40% of visitors in the last two weeks.

This drop is more likely due to Google's August core update.

Yes I can see that the drop started around the 15th of August. But wha tis weird is that most of my pages are still ranking high with Google. I cannot see major drop in position  with Google Search, but what I can see is that the volume of search for all my pages has been reduced drastically since the 15th of August. I have published new posts and I can see that some are ranking high already but still not a great recovery in audience. Average 30-35% less still. Hopefully with new posts it should improve. It is annoying because I publish honest reviews of product that I like and know. I am affiliate with Amazon so maybe this is the issue as I need to put disclaimers.