Switching domains (on same site) while using SiteKit

Hi there @mcasner,

Great question! If you change your domain name then Site Kit will recognize this domain name change, and ask you to redo the plugin setup. As it’s a new domain name you it will connect with Search Console, for a property associated with the new domain name. For that reason you may wish to use the “Change of Address” tool within Search Console before moving to a new domain.

Once you complete the change of address then you can go ahead and setup Site Kit on the new domain, using the Search Console property associated with the new domain.

In relation to Google Analytics, as with Search Console, Site Kit pulls the information from a users account (in this case your Google Analytics account). For that reason as long as you have historical data on the Site Kit connected property it will display this within the Site Kit dashboards. I would recommended visiting the property on analytics.google.com and editing the details, including your new default URL. Once you’re setting up Site Kit connect the plugin to that property and you’ll find the same data within the Site Kit dashboards as you do from analytics.google.com, including any historical data.

Let me know if you have any questions with the above and I’d be happy to assist further.

Thank you @jamesosborne. I appreciate your help.

I’m working through the Change of Address tool, but it’s asking me to setup 301 redirects for pages.

I’m stumped here.

I understand the need for redirects, if the old domain is going away, but in my case, the old domain will be masked (not removed) when the new domain is promoted.

For instance, I have both domains active (WP Engine is my host), so pages are loading for both domains… with no redirects, other than how WP Engine is routing traffic.

Ex. https://www.freelanceonfire.com/passive-income-ideas-for-graphic-designers/
Ex. https://www.freelanceentrepreneur.com/passive-income-ideas-for-graphic-designers/

Maybe, I still need to setup 301 redirects for all of my pages. I’m just trying to avoid that work (I have a lot of pages/blog posts, etc).

Thoughts?

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Mat Casner.

No problem, happy to help.

Maybe, I still need to setup 301 redirects for all of my pages. I’m just trying to avoid that work (I have a lot of pages/blog posts, etc).

I can’t be sure on this. The product experts at the Search Console Help Center should be able to assist more than we can here in Site Kit plugin support. From checking the documentation it looks like you do have to apply a 301 redirect for all URLs after mapping your old site to your new one. Luckily there are many WordPress plugins that make the process easier, allowing you to perform this in bulk, in particular as it looks like only the parent domain will change and not the final URLs or permalink structure.

Before you apply a change of address you can use the URL inspecting tool to ensure any specific URL is redirecting as expected.

Let me know if you have any questions with the above.

Hey @jamesosborne… I sent a message to the Search Console team a couple of days ago for some assistance but haven’t heard back yet. I’m kinda stuck. I need to move forward. Do you know anyone that could consult with me on a little more personal level?

Hi @mcasner,

Unfortunately we’re limited to Site Kit queries here and I’m not aware of any individual product level expertise availability. Have you already completed the change of address steps? This is the process to ensure your search data is migrated to your new domain.

Thanks @jamesosborne. I appreciate your help and guidance. I’ve been able to successfully change the domain and keep my data intact.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Mat Casner.

Excellent! Glad to hear it, many thanks for the update.

If you have any further queries be sure to get in touch. After you’ve had a chance to review the plugins dashboards be sure to leave your feedback.