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Do we lose Backlinks and Domain Authority of URL when we change domain Name?
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Have 1 performing domain (Monthly - 4M visitor ) now we want to change domain name ( Brand name like SEOMOZ to Moz ). I have general knowledge about domain changing prevention tips like 301 redirection and other thing.
My concern is about backlinks and DA. How can I prevent any lose from SEO Point of view. (backlink lose)
Do I need to change all backlink form source or redirection is enough to get all reference traffic from that backlinks?
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Do we lose backlinks and domain authority when we change domain name?
Assuming your site structure, file and folder names, and content remain the same and you do 301 redirects then no, you would not lose backlinks and domain authority. You should also:
- benchmark key metrics (for example, site speed and rankings);
- update internal links (don't forget about your non-html pages as well);
- check for and fix and redirect chains;
- tell Google (via Search Console) that your domain name has changed;
- set up new properties in GSC (www, non-www, http, https), set your preferred profile and geography, and eventually merge profiles into a set;
- transfer your disavow file in GSC;
- track 404 errors (that could indicate you've missed some files) and customize your 404 page to help visitors that encounter them as a result of your domain name change;
- update any external URLs with UTM codes that point to your site (UTM codes get stripped with redirects);
- update your domain name in Google Analytics;
- update your sitemap and add to GSC as well as your robots.txt file;
- I usually update major sites that point to me as well, things like Google Maps, local data aggregators, and social media sites; and
- check your traffic, rankings, and GSC daily for a while so you can react quickly if something's amiss.
Unfortunately, it is rarely the case that only your domain name changes in which case you'll need to a page-by-page mapping. Don't forget about images and PDF files that may be indexed separately from HTML pages.
Check out this slide presentation (https://www.slideshare.net/bastiangrimm/migration-best-practices-smx-london-2018) from SMX London 2018. It was recommended by John Mu at Google and is really useful.
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