How to Redirect an Old Domain to a New One Without Losing SEO

Why Redirect a Domain?

Whether you're rebranding, moving to a shorter and more memorable domain, or switching from .com to a country-code TLD, one question is always top of mind: "Will my Google rankings drop?" The good news is that if done correctly with a 301 Redirect, your SEO equity will transfer to the new domain with minimal long-term impact.

Google has confirmed that 301 Redirects pass "link equity" — the SEO weight from your backlinks — to the destination URL. Your new domain can inherit the existing rankings, though expect a temporary fluctuation while Googlebot re-indexes the site.

301 vs 302 Redirect — What's the Difference?

301 Permanent Redirect — Use when moving a domain for real

• Tells browsers and search engines that this URL has moved permanently.
• Google gradually transfers link equity to the new URL over weeks to months.
• Use for: domain changes, rebranding, consolidating content.

302 Temporary Redirect — Use for short-term moves only

• Tells search engines the original URL still exists but is temporarily pointing elsewhere.
• Google does not transfer link equity to the destination URL.
• Use for: A/B testing, maintenance pages, short-term promotions.

How to Set Up a 301 Domain Redirect

Method 1: Via .htaccess (Apache Server)

The most popular method for shared hosting and Apache-based VPS. Add this to the .htaccess file at the root of your old domain:

• Redirect entire domain: RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]
• Make sure RewriteEngine On appears before this line.
• Each URL on the old domain will redirect to the matching URL on the new domain automatically.

Method 2: Via DNS Domain Redirect / URL Forwarding

If your hosting provider offers a Domain Redirect or URL Forwarding feature in the DNS panel, you can configure the redirect there without touching .htaccess files.

• Log in to the DNS management for the old domain.
• Select "Domain Redirect" or "URL Forwarding."
• Enter the destination URL and select "301 Permanent."

Method 3: Via Nginx Config

For VPS users running Nginx, add this inside the server block for the old domain:

• return 301 https://newdomain.com$request_uri;

Verifying Your 301 Redirect Is Working

Before and after setting up a redirect, you should confirm it is functioning correctly using these free tools.

Check HTTP Status Code with curl

Open a terminal and run the command below. The result should show 301 Moved Permanently with a Location: header pointing to the new domain.

curl -I http://olddomain.com/
# Expected output:
# HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
# Location: https://newdomain.com/

Inspect the Full Redirect Chain

To see every hop in the redirect chain from start to finish, use curl -L -I:

curl -I -L http://olddomain.com/
# Shows every HTTP status — should end with 200 OK

How 301 Redirects Affect PageRank and Link Equity

A common point of confusion is whether 301 Redirects pass 100% of PageRank. Google has stated that 301 Redirects do pass PageRank to the destination URL, though some minimal loss can occur naturally during the re-crawl and re-index process.

The key factors that affect how much link equity transfers include:

• Redirect chain length — Chained redirects (A → B → C) lose more equity than a single direct hop (A → B). Keep chains to one step.
• Age and trust of the source domain — Older domains with established backlink profiles transfer more equity.
• Re-crawl speed — The faster Googlebot crawls the new domain, the faster equity transfers.
• Backlink quality — High-authority backlinks transfer equity far more effectively than low-quality or spammy links.

Setting Up 301 Redirects for a WordPress Site

If your site runs on WordPress and you need to redirect all URLs from the old domain to the new one, here are the most reliable approaches.

Recommended: Redirection Plugin

1. Install the free Redirection plugin (200,000+ installs) from WordPress.org.
2. Go to Tools → Redirection.
3. Add a redirect: Source URL = /, Target URL = new domain, Type = 301.
4. For a whole-domain redirect, use .* as a regex pattern in the Source URL field.

Via .htaccess on WordPress Hosting

Open the .htaccess file on the old hosting and add this block before the WordPress default rules:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?olddomain\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

This redirects both olddomain.com and www.olddomain.com to the matching URL on newdomain.com.

Complete Domain Migration Checklist

Moving a domain correctly involves more than just setting up a redirect:

1. Register the new domain first — Confirm it's available and register it before making any changes.
2. Set up 301 redirects from old to new — Cover every URL, not just the homepage.
3. Update canonical URLs on the new domain — All canonical tags should point to the new domain.
4. Update sitemap.xml — Your sitemap on the new domain should list the new domain URLs.
5. Notify Google Search Console — Use the "Change of Address" tool in Search Console to officially inform Google.
6. Submit the new domain's sitemap — In your new domain's Search Console property.
7. Update important backlinks — Reach out to sites linking to you and ask them to update their links to the new domain.
8. Monitor for 3–6 months — Use Search Console to track indexing and ranking progress.

Common Mistakes That Can Hurt Your SEO

• Redirect loop — The new domain redirects back to the old domain, causing both to become inaccessible.
• Redirecting everything to the homepage — Each old URL should redirect to its equivalent new URL, not all to the root.
• Using 302 instead of 301 — As explained above, this will not transfer link equity.
• Forgetting www and non-www variants — Both versions of the old domain should redirect to the new domain.
• Ignoring HTTP — Redirect both http:// and https:// versions of the old domain.

How Long Does It Take for Google to Transfer Rankings?

There is no fixed timeline — it depends on site size, number of backlinks, and Googlebot crawl frequency. In general:

• 2–4 weeks — Google begins crawling and indexing the new domain's pages.
• 1–3 months — New domain rankings stabilize, approaching the old domain's levels.
• 3–6 months — Link equity fully transfers; rankings return to normal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do in Google Search Console after a domain redirect?

Do two things: 1) Add the new domain to Search Console and verify ownership. 2) Use the "Change of Address Tool" in the old domain's Search Console account to officially tell Google about the permanent move. This can speed up the ranking transfer process.

Should I set up the redirect before or after building content on the new domain?

Build out the new domain first — with content, an SSL certificate, and a sitemap — then enable the redirect. If you redirect to a site with 404 errors, Google will penalize the destination rather than transferring equity.

Can I redirect a .com to a .co.th or vice versa?

Yes — 301 Redirects work across any TLD combinations. What matters is that you configure them correctly so every URL maps to the right destination on the new domain.