I’m looking for some advice on switching domains for my survey/giveaway website.
I purchased a website that gets around 1,500 in traffic and makes a few hundred in Adsense. The previous owner had rebranded the site and changed the domain which ended up hurting his SEO and traffic. Before that it was getting 10,000 in traffic on the old domain.
It’s been a few years since the rebrand but the original domain still holds a lot of authority and got way more traffic. Should I consider switching the website back to the original domain to try to improve rankings again or should I just focus on the new domain?
I’m wondering if switching back to the original domain will still be beneficial or if it will just mess up what’s happening now on the rebranded site.
As you didn’t mention how earlier the Domains were switched, from old domain to running domain, as to handle such Switch Domains scenarios and to manage the SEO part Google have a solution, you have to update the switch in domain in Google Search Console so that Google can properly index your website with a proper 301 redirect of the old domain to the new domain.
Switching Back to Old Domain
Now if you think you should switching back to earlier domain, Handling SEO to switch domains manageable, but the complication is to deal with Branding, as you have to make people aware of the name change and regain the trust.
At first before making a decision to change the from new domain to old domain check the following
- Why the last owner switched to new domain.
- List the current redirect data from old domain to new domain.
- Check for old domain direct hits.
- Look for any other data that is helpful to understand the Branding part of the old domain.
Once you have this data, compare it with new domain data and try to analyse do we need to switch to old or not.
Other Possible Reasons of Organic Traffic Fall
Fall in the Organic Traffic may not just because of Shift to new Domain, but there can be various factors like…
- Branding Factor
- Google algorithm change
- Change in trend or people behaviour
- New competitor getting more traffic for your target keywords.
- Pages are penalized by Google for violating its quality guidelines.
- Technical issue with your website.
Here are some additional tips for switching domains:
- Update the google or search engines about the Switching Domain.
- 301 redirect the old domain to the new domain. This will help to preserve your SEO rankings and traffic.
- Update your website’s social media profiles and listings with the new domain.
- Notify your subscribers and customers of the domain change.
- Monitor your website’s traffic and SEO rankings after the domain change.
Switching domains can be a risky move, but it can also be a rewarding one. If you’re careful and take the necessary steps, you can successfully switch domains without hurting your business.
