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Timeline for domain name change to rank

         

canuck

4:59 pm on Oct 26, 2011 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



3 weeks ago we decided to go ahead with a domain name change for various reasons (we 301'd the entire old domain to new w/exact same URL structure). The G traffic has steadily fallen and now for the past week it is less than 5% of what it was.

Is such a drastic drop normal? I've double checked everything - headers/etc.

Do we need to wait until Google does a recalculation? It almost seems like we've been thrown in the sandbox or the new domain has a penalty perhaps (actually used previously, so not so "new").

Anyone run into such a drastic drop in traffic after a domain change?

PS. Yes, we even used Google Webmaster's 'Change of Address' tool from day 1.

HuskyPup

5:49 pm on Oct 26, 2011 (gmt 0)



Interestingly I did a like-for-like domain change on 18th October and by today Google has about 60% of it changed over and everything is still ranking as before with traffic levels not affected at all.

canuck

5:53 pm on Oct 26, 2011 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I've done it before with traffic levels staying fairly consistent throughout also, so I'm a little baffled by this go-round.

Looking at things a little closer, I'm wondering if the new domain had a penalty. Choices seem to be wait 4-6 weeks for a reconsideration request or undo the mess...

Anyone else have any negative domain change experiences where traffic fell off?