Changing to a new domain name? Maybe check its history first

It’s quite normal for a business to change its domain name. Maybe there is a need to change because of a rebranding of the business, or to be able to better position the website for international expansion. Whatever the reason, it’s relatively easy to do and it generally doesn’t negatively impact search rankings.

However, Google has always made it clear that if you are changing to a domain with a potentially suspect history, this COULD negatively impact its future rankings. But how do you know if the new domain could cause a problem?

This is where it’s not so clear. If you were to register a new domain to transfer the existing one to, this is probably the lowest risk situation and shouldn’t cause any problems. But…what if that domain is an expired domain, and it did have a previously suspect history? Unknowingly, the new domain could be deemed to be “toxic” and could cause issues.

Maybe you are buying a parked domain that hasn’t been used in years. Would this cause a problem? Maybe. We have actually seen the effects of this situation causing problems for a domain migration. So, when changing domain, take some time to assess its history first as otherwise there is a great possibility that the new domain just won’t rank as expected.

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