Changing DNS -- SEO implications?

[stephen_reply]

Hey Moz,

We're migrating an old site on an old server over to a new server/DNS. The plan is to keep the same URL structure and reuse our existing URL's. As long as we make minimal changes to each page's content, we should be able to update our DNS entry and get all the pages recreated and assigned to their correct URLs without any reduction in SEO rankings. Is this correct?

This site gets a lot of organic traffic and ranks highly on some challenging keywords, so it's key that we retain our rankings as much as possible.

I've read that it's wise to lower the DNS time-to-live to one hour, about a day before the move, to help Google crawl the DNS a little quicker.

Are there any other recommendations you guys can offer or past experiences?

[MattJD]

Can you 301 from the DNS in HTTP or would you do an .htaccess

[RyanKent]

While the Bruce Clay link seems solid, I believe it is also quite dated. Steps 1 and 2 usually happen within minutes, not days. I have moved multiple sites between hosts without performing those steps and have not experienced any issue. I have also used tools to validate the results which use checkpoints from around the world and the transition happens very smoothly, very quickly.

If you have a static site which does not depend on User Generated Content (i.e. forums, etc.) the process is as easy as copying the old site to the new location, verifying the move, then updating the DNS records and 301'ing the old site to the new location. If anyone has a different experience from this year, I would love to hear additional feedback.

[AU-SEO]

If all things end up be exactly the same your biggest risk is resetting your domains trust with Google. In theory a new website's owner may not run the website with the same credibility as the former owner... It is a risk to wear if you can justify the speed improvements cost differences etc...

The above being said it is something that happens on the net quite often. If your new structure will effectively be an improvement to users and you map everything correctly you should be o.k.

Here are some steps I have used before taken from the Bruce Clay Website:

Source: http://www.bruceclay.com/seo-tech-tips/techtips.htm

How to move a site to a new host

If you are moving your site to a new IP address or ISP this procedure will help minimize the downtime and confusion during DNS propagation.

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1. Set up the DNS on your new host to point to your existing (old host) site first. This is an important first step.
2. Now change the TLD (top level domain) information at your domain registrar to point to this new site DNS. Your old site should still show by either by IP or domain name. This step results in "propagation" which commonly takes 72 hours to update servers world-wide, so do not proceed with step 3 for about four days.
3. Copy your existing site to your new site and validate that all files have transferred and the links work.
4. After allowing 4 days for the DNS to be fully propagated, point your new DNS to your new site. Make sure that your old site mailboxes have been emptied before you change any DNS info at this time. Once this DNS change occurs you cannot get to your old mail.
5. If everything has been validated you should now also point the old DNS to your new site. This is a safety issue in case there is a lingering propagation error.
6. Search Engine rankings or bookmarked pages should transfer to your new site with a 301 redirect.

After everything has been checked you should be able to delete your old site after a sufficient amount of time has passed (not more than 3 months). Note that Google does cache the old DNS address information and until they verify that the site has moved and store the new DNS information they may not visit your new site. The 301 will assist in this area.

If you are moving from an IIS server to Linux (Apache) you should validate your formmail scripts, and any items that may not be cross platform compatible. If you are moving from Linux to IIS then your .htaccess file will not be compatible as well as the ability to CHMOD permissions. Validate all functions with your ISP Administrator (some of the following steps may need to be redone on your new server).

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