How to Set Up 301 Redirects So Google Follows You to Your New Domain

You found a better name. Something customers can say out loud without spelling it twice. Now you're worried about one thing: if you switch, does all the work you put into showing up on Google go to waste?

It doesn't have to. The tool that carries you over is called a 301 redirect. Set it up right, and both Google and your customers land on your new site instead of a dead page. This is the single most important step in the whole move, so it's worth getting it right.

What a 301 redirect actually does

A 301 redirect is a permanent forwarding order. When someone types your old web address or clicks an old link, the 301 sends them straight to the matching page on your new domain. No error page. No "this site can't be reached."

The "301" is just the code that means moved permanently. That word matters. Google treats a 301 as a signal that the old page is gone for good and the new one takes its place. So it moves most of the credit the old page earned over to the new one. That's the whole reason a proper 301 redirect from an old domain to a new domain for SEO keeps your rankings from starting over at zero.

Skip the redirect and you lose two things at once: the customers who had you bookmarked, and the standing you built with Google. Both are hard to earn back.

Redirect page to page, not just home to home

Here's the mistake that costs people the most. They point every old page at their new home page and call it done.

Don't. If your old page oldsite.com/kitchen-remodeling ranked well, it should redirect to newsite.com/kitchen-remodeling — the page about the same thing. Not the home page. Google wants to see that the new page answers the same question the old one did.

So make a simple list first:

• Every page on your old site that gets traffic or ranks for anything
• The matching page on the new site for each one

Match them one to one. A contact page goes to the new contact page. A service page goes to the same service page. Only send a page to the home page when there's truly no match for it.

How to set the redirect up

How you do this depends on where your site lives. You don't need to be technical — you need to know which of these is you.

If you use a website builder or hosted platform

Most builders have a redirects tool built into the settings. Some handle it automatically when you connect a new domain. Look under domains, settings, or SEO in your dashboard, or search the platform's help pages for "301 redirect." If you're not sure, their support can point you to the right screen in a minute.

If someone built your site or you have a web person

This is the easiest path. Send them your page-to-page list and ask them to set up 301 redirects from the old domain to the new one. It's routine work for anyone who manages sites. Give them the list so nothing gets missed.

If you manage your own server

On a typical Apache setup you add redirect rules to a file called .htaccess. On Nginx it's a rule in your site config. If those words mean nothing to you, that's fine — that's the web-person path above. Google explains the underlying idea in its own guide to site moves with URL changes.

Keep the old domain pointed for a good while

The redirect only works as long as you still own the old domain and it's still forwarding. Don't cancel the old name the week after you switch. Keep it renewed and pointed for at least a year — longer is better. Old links out on the web, in directories, on other people's sites, will keep sending people your way, and the redirect keeps catching them.

We go deeper on that choice in whether to keep the old domain or let it go after you switch.

Check your work

Once the redirects are live, test them. Type a few old page addresses into your browser. Each one should land on the right new page without an error and without stopping on some "redirecting…" screen. Try your home page, your top service page, and your contact page at a minimum.

Then tell Google directly. Google's own tool speeds up how fast it notices the move — see our walk-through on using Google's Change of Address tool when you switch domains.

A few things that trip people up

• 302 instead of 301. A 302 means "temporary." Google won't fully hand over the credit. Make sure it's a 301.
• Redirect chains. Old page to another old page to the new page. Point each old page straight at its final destination in one hop.
• Forgetting the pages that matter. Redirect everything that had traffic, not just the pages you happen to remember.

The redirect is the piece that protects your rankings, but it's one step in a larger move. Before you flip the switch, run through the full checklist for moving your site to a better domain, and know what to steer clear of in the five mistakes that tank rankings during a domain change.

If you're still deciding whether a better name is worth the switch at all, start smaller than the whole move. Browse names for your city and trade, or ask us about one specific domain you have in mind. That takes under a minute and there's no pressure either way.