Search Console Change of Address Tool
If you are changing a website’s domain name, you can use Google’s address change tool to identify the new site address.
Transferring the authority from the old site to the new one and showing Google that the site’s address has changed is a helpful factor for minimizing traffic loss during the domain change process.
How to Change a Domain Name With Search Console?
1. Go to Settings > Address Change from the console panel (or click on this link directly).
2. On the address change page, select the domain name to which you want to redirect. (The new domain must have to Search Console account.)
3. When you click the ‘Verify and Update’ button, if the old domain hasn’t been redirected to the new domain with a 301 status, the following warning screen appears. A 301 redirect is a required step for this action.
4. After the 301 redirect is set, all steps are completed, and Search Console displays the following screen below, indicating that the address change process is complete.
Change of Address Tool Usage Details
- To carry out the migration, you need to be the account owner for both the old domain and the new domain in their respective Search Console accounts.
- Use the migration tool for domain (example2.com) and subdomain (abc.example.com) changes, not for different subfolders (example.com/abc).
- Keep the redirects in place for 180 days and maintain the old domain for at least 1 year (to prevent it from falling into the hands of another user).