Setting Up Domain Redirects to Move Traffic to a New Site: A Step-by-Step Guide
When you're changing websites or migrating to a new domain, one of the most important things you need to manage is how to redirect traffic from your old site to the new one. Domain redirects ensure that visitors and search engines are automatically redirected to your new site without losing traffic or SEO value. Whether you're rebranding, restructuring your website, or switching to a more relevant domain, setting up domain redirects is a critical step to maintain your online presence and performance.
This article will walk you through the importance of domain redirects, the different types of redirects, and how to set them up correctly for a smooth transition to your new website.
What Are Domain Redirects?
Domain redirects are mechanisms that automatically send visitors and search engine bots from one URL to another. Essentially, a redirect makes sure that when someone types in your old URL, they are automatically taken to the new one without encountering errors or broken links.
There are several types of domain redirects, but the two most commonly used for SEO and traffic migration purposes are:
301 Redirects: A permanent redirect indicating that the old URL has been permanently moved to a new address.
302 Redirects: A temporary redirect, typically used for pages that are under maintenance or for temporary moves.
For most website migrations or rebranding projects, 301 redirects are the preferred option, as they pass most of the SEO value from the old domain to the new one, ensuring you don’t lose rankings or organic traffic.
Why Set Up Domain Redirects?
There are several compelling reasons why domain redirects are essential when moving traffic to a new site:
1. Preserve SEO Rankings and Link Equity
When you switch to a new domain, there’s a risk of losing your search engine rankings, especially if search engines can't find or properly index your new site. 301 redirects ensure that all the SEO value (such as backlinks and page authority) from the old domain is transferred to the new one. This helps maintain your rankings and ensures that you don’t lose traffic during the transition.
2. Avoid 404 Errors
A 404 error occurs when a page is not found. If you don’t implement redirects properly, visitors who try to access your old site may be met with 404 errors. This leads to a poor user experience and can discourage visitors from returning to your site. Redirects eliminate this issue by sending them directly to the appropriate page on your new site.
3. Maintain User Experience
Your users will expect that links, bookmarks, or searches that pointed to your old website will automatically lead them to the new site. Setting up proper redirects ensures that visitors won’t encounter dead ends, helping you maintain a positive user experience and retaining customer trust.
4. Retain Traffic and Conversions
If your old site has existing traffic, implementing redirects ensures that users are seamlessly moved to your new site without disrupting their journey. This is especially crucial if your old site had established traffic channels, such as affiliate links, email marketing campaigns, or social media links, which would otherwise be broken without redirects.
Types of Domain Redirects
There are several types of redirects that you might encounter during a site migration:
1. 301 Redirect (Permanent)
A 301 redirect is used when you want to permanently redirect visitors from the old domain to the new one. It tells search engines that the page has permanently moved to a new location, passing the SEO value and authority of the original page to the new one. This is the most commonly used redirect for domain migrations.
2. 302 Redirect (Temporary)
A 302 redirect is used when the redirection is temporary. This tells search engines that the move is not permanent and they should continue indexing the original page. 302 redirects are typically used when making temporary changes, such as a seasonal update or a brief website overhaul.
3. Meta Refresh
A meta refresh is a type of redirect that occurs at the page level, often used on individual pages. While it's less common for domain migrations, it can be used as a fallback if other types of redirects aren't possible. However, it's not recommended for SEO purposes because it doesn’t pass as much link equity as a 301 redirect.
4. JavaScript Redirect
JavaScript redirects work by using a script to send visitors from one page to another. While they can be useful for certain scenarios, they are generally not recommended for SEO purposes because search engines may not properly follow these redirects.
How to Set Up Domain Redirects
Now that you understand the importance of domain redirects, here’s a step-by-step guide to setting them up on your website.
1. Prepare Your New Website
Before setting up redirects, ensure that your new website is fully ready for launch. This includes completing the design, uploading content, optimizing the pages for SEO, and testing everything to ensure that it works seamlessly.
2. Update Internal Links
Before you start redirecting external traffic, make sure that all internal links on your website point to the new domain. This helps reduce the number of redirects that will be needed and ensures that visitors will be directed to the correct pages.
3. Set Up 301 Redirects
Setting up a 301 redirect depends on your hosting environment. Below are common ways to implement redirects:
For Apache Servers (Using .htaccess File):
Access the .htaccess file: This file is located in your website’s root directory.
Add redirect rule: For each old URL, add a rule like this:
bash
Redirect 301 /old-page http://www.yournewdomain.com/new-page
You can add this for every page that needs to be redirected.
For Nginx Servers:
Access the Nginx configuration file: Typically, this is located at /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-site.
Add redirect rule:
perl
server {
listen 80;
server_name old-domain.com;
return 301 http://new-domain.com$request_uri;
}
Using cPanel:
Log into cPanel and navigate to the Redirects section.
Choose the redirect type (301 for permanent redirects) and specify the old domain and the new domain URL.
Using WordPress Plugins (For WordPress Sites):
If you use WordPress, you can use plugins like Redirection or Yoast SEO to set up your redirects. These plugins offer a simple interface to add 301 redirects without having to touch any code.
4. Test Your Redirects
Once the redirects are in place, it’s time to test them. Enter the old URLs in your browser and confirm that they properly redirect to the new site. You can also use tools like Redirect Checker or Google Search Console to verify that the redirects are working properly.
5. Update External Links
Contact any partners, affiliates, or businesses that link to your old domain and ask them to update their links to the new domain. Although the 301 redirect will handle most of the traffic, it’s a good idea to ensure that as many external links as possible are updated directly.
Monitoring and Maintaining Redirects
After setting up the redirects, continue monitoring their performance to ensure that everything is working smoothly. Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track how your old URLs are performing, and check if any errors or issues are appearing.
Also, ensure that your sitemap is updated with the new URLs, and submit it to Google Search Console to help search engines crawl and index your new domain correctly.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up Redirects
Incorrect Redirect Type: Using a 302 redirect instead of a 301 redirect can cause search engines to treat the move as temporary, meaning they may not pass SEO value to the new domain.
Forgetting to Redirect All Pages: Missing redirects for important pages could result in broken links and lost traffic.
Overcomplicating Redirect Chains: Avoid creating redirect chains, where one page redirects to another, which then redirects to another. This can slow down page load times and create a poor user experience.