The SEO juice flowing from main links to entire website pages is the most important aspect of a website’s link popularity. This means that when moving your WordPress content to a new domain, you need to take extra special care in order to not lose this all-important link juice. If you are also moving your WordPress content to a new domain, this article is for you. Whether you are opting for professional website SEO services or doing the whole leg work alone, consider these tips for keeping your link popularity and search engine optimization (SEO) when making the big switch.
Backup your entire WordPress website:
It is critical since you will be completely changing your file structure, URL, and domain. You will want to have a solid foundation to revert back to in case anything goes awry during the process. Many people make the mistake of not backing up and have to start from scratch, which as you can imagine is a huge pain. There are many great plugins for WordPress that will automate the backup process for you so that you can focus on other aspects of the move.
Clean up your new domain:
In case your new domain has some past baggage that you want to distance yourself from, it is a good idea to take some time to clean up your new domain before you start the transfer process. This includes using Google’s disavow tool to get rid of any bad links associated with your new domain. Moreover, also check whether the domain has some Google penalties that need to be lifted. If you have an HTTPS certificate, now is also a great time to install it on your new domain as it will give you a little boost in the SEO department.
Use the Duplicator WordPress plugin:
For moving the content from your old domain to the new one, the Duplicator WordPress plugin is your best bet. It is a free plugin that does an excellent job of migrating your content without losing any data or information in the process. This plugin will ease the job of backing up and migrating your content as it will do all the hard work for you.
In addition, your robots.txt file is also an important file that tells search engine crawlers which pages on your website they should and shouldn’t index. This is an important file when it comes to SEO as it can help you control which pages are being indexed by the search engines. When you move your WordPress content to a new domain, you will need to update your robots.txt file to reflect the changes.
Start uploading the content to your new domain:
Now that you have everything in place, it’s time to start uploading your content to the new domain. You can do this manually by exporting your content from WordPress and then importing it into the new domain. However, if you are using the Duplicator plugin, all you need to do is follow the directions on how to migrate your content using the plugin.
Setup 301 redirects:
One of the most important steps in migrating your WordPress content to a new domain is setting up 301 redirects. 301 redirects are what tell search engines that your content has permanently moved to a new location. This is important as it ensures that all of the link juice and SEO benefits associated with your old domain are transferred over to your new domain. Moreover, it also helps to redirect any traffic that is coming from your old domain to your new domain. There are a few different ways that you can set up 301 redirects, but the most common and recommended way is to use a plugin like Redirection. This plugin makes it easy to set up and manage all of your 301 redirects in one place.
Submit the sitemap to Search Console:
Now that your content has been migrated over to the new domain, it is important to submit your sitemap to Google Search Console. This will help Google index your new content quickly and efficiently. To do this, simply login to your Google Search Console account and navigate to the sitemaps section. From there, you can add your new sitemap and submit it for crawling.
Monitor your traffic and rankings:
After you have completed all of the steps above, it is important to monitor your traffic and rankings to ensure that everything has been transferred over successfully. You can do this by using Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These tools will help you to see how much traffic you are receiving from organic searches and what keywords you are ranking for.
Wrapping up!
Migrating your WordPress content to a new domain doesn’t have to be a difficult and complicated process. By following the steps above, you can ensure that all of your content is transferred over seamlessly and that you don’t lose any traffic or SEO benefits in the process. If you don’t have an in-house SEO team, you can also opt for affordable SEO packages to get started.
