Reclaiming Backlinks and Mentions Pointing at Your Old Domain
Changed your business name or domain? The links pointing at your old address still count—if you handle them right. Here's how to update backlinks and clean up old mentions without losing the ground you've earned.
You picked a better domain. You moved your site over. Good. But there's one piece most business owners forget: all the other websites still linking to your old address. Directory listings. That newspaper write-up. Your chamber of commerce page. A supplier's "our partners" section. Every one of those links was doing quiet work for you on Google—and right now, half of them point at a name you no longer use.
The good news is you don't lose that work overnight. The better news is you can reclaim most of it in an afternoon. Here's how updating backlinks after changing domain name actually goes, step by step.
Why old links still matter
When another website links to yours, Google treats it a little like a vote. More votes from real, trusted sites usually means you show up higher when someone searches for what you do. When you change domains, those votes are still out there—they're just pointing at your old front door.
A redirect keeps them working for now. Set one up and anyone (or any search engine) that hits the old address gets sent to the new one. If you haven't done that yet, do it first—it's the safety net under everything else. Our 301 redirect checklist walks through it.
But a redirect is a forward, not a fix. The link still says the wrong name. Over years, some redirects break, some sites drop the old link, and a little value leaks each time. So the real goal is to get the important links updated to point straight at your new domain.
Step one: find who links to you
You can't fix links you don't know about. Start a simple list. A spreadsheet is fine. You're looking for every place on the web that mentions your old web address.
- Google Search Console. If you set it up, the "Links" report shows sites pointing at you. Free and reliable.
- A plain search. Type your old domain into Google in quotes, like "oldname.com". You'll surface directories, articles, and forum posts that name it.
- Your own memory. Think through where you've listed the business over the years—review sites, trade groups, local guides, your vendors, your accountant's client page.
Sort the list into two piles
Not every link is worth chasing. Split them:
- Worth the email. Sites that send you real visitors or carry weight—local news, your industry association, a well-known directory, a partner you actually work with.
- Leave it to the redirect. Random blog comments, dead forums, sites you can't reach. The redirect covers these. Don't burn a day on them.
Step two: fix the listings you control
Start with the easy wins—places where you can just log in and change the address yourself. This is often the biggest chunk.
- Your Google Business Profile
- Yelp, Angi, Nextdoor, and any trade-specific directories
- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn—bio links and "about" fields
- Your email signature and any invoices or quotes with a web address
- Chamber of commerce and licensing board pages
Update the web address on each. While you're in there, check the business name and phone number match too. Google likes it when your details line up everywhere, and a rebrand is the perfect time to clean that up.
Step three: ask the rest to update
For the links you don't control, a short, friendly email does the job. Keep it plain. You're not asking a favor—you're helping them keep their own page accurate.
Hi—we recently changed our web address from oldname.com to newname.com. You link to us on [page]. Could you update the link when you get a chance? Same business, same folks, new name. Thanks!
Include the exact page and the exact new address so they can fix it in ten seconds. Most people will. Some won't reply, and that's fine—your redirect keeps those working. Chase the handful that matter and move on.
Step four: don't forget plain mentions
Some sites name your old address without linking it—an article that says "visit oldname.com" as text. Those don't pass search value, but customers still read them and type them in. If it's a page people actually visit, ask for that fixed too.
How long until it settles
Give it a few weeks. Google needs time to re-crawl the sites you updated and reconnect the dots to your new domain. Keep the old domain and its redirect active for at least a year—longer if you can. That's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy. Don't let it lapse the month after you move; that's when the links you missed quietly stop working.
If you want the wider view of doing a move the right way, start with changing your domain without losing SEO, and once the links are handled, tell your customers about the change so they follow you over too. Google's own site move guide is worth a read if you like to check the source.
Reclaiming your links isn't glamorous work, but it's the difference between a rebrand that holds onto its search footing and one that starts from scratch. A list, a few logins, and a couple of short emails—that's most of it.
If you're still weighing whether a better name is worth the move at all, browse names for your city or trade and see what's out there. Or send us one address you're curious about and we'll tell you straight what you'd be working with. Takes a minute.
