Moving from single domain to multiple CCTLDs
-
Hi, I have a website targeting 3 markets (and therefor 3 languages). I was currently using a single domain with each market being targeted in the following format:
www.website.com/pl
www.website.com/de
www.website.com/huIt's clear to me by looking at organic results, that in my industry (Real Estate) Google is putting a large emphasis on local businesses and local domains. Top 10 organic results for all my keywords in all markets have country specific CCTLDs.
I decided to migrate from a single domain strategy to a multi domain strategy. I own the domains. The new structure is
www.website.com/pl -> www.website.pl
www.website.com/de -> www.website.de
www.website.com/hu -> www.website.huAll the website have been added to google search console and 301 redirects are in place and working correctly. The pages are all interlinked and have rel=alternate to each other. The sitemaps are all done correctly.
My question is how do I tell Google about this. The change of address feature only works for changing one domain to one other domain. It's been a week and the old www.website.com domain is still showing up (even considering 301 redirects). Or do I just need to be patient and wait it out? Any tips?
-
@cellydy well have you tried using new gtlds .. like instead of website .com maybe try web.ngo
Also there are many variants of cctld in each country,
Example: if you are unable to get say websites.co.in in India then maybe go for webs.com.in
Getting the exact match ones in african countries will be particularly easy.. for example webs.ke will be easier to get than a web .com
You can also try to get some web3 domains
-
While you've taken the right steps by implementing 301 redirects, interlinking pages, and setting up rel=alternate tags, Google's indexing process can take some time. Patience is key in this situation. Additionally, you can assist the transition by ensuring that each version of your site (www.website.pl, www.website.de, www.website.hu) has its preferred country targeting set in Google Search Console under "International Targeting." Monitor the Search Console for any crawl or indexing errors and address them promptly. Regularly update and submit your sitemaps to Google for each version of the site. While there isn't a direct "change of address" for multi-domain migrations, Google should eventually recognize the changes and display the new country-specific domains in search results. If issues persist, you may want to seek advice from Google's Webmaster Help Community.
.
.
.
(Centennial College Canada Ranking) (Study abroad) -
-
It's common for Google to take some time to process domain changes, even with proper 301 redirects and correct setup. Be patient and continue monitoring Google Search Console for any crawl or indexing issues. Additionally, ensure your new domains are well-optimized for each market, including localized content and relevant hreflang tags. If the issue persists after a few weeks, consider reaching out to Google Support for assistance.
.
.
.
( PMI certification) ( Canada Study Visa Fees) (Canada Immigration Essential Workers) -
Patience is key in this process. While Google's Change of Address feature is designed for single-domain moves, you've taken the right steps with 301 redirects, interlinking, and proper sitemaps. It may take some time for Google to fully recognize and index the changes. Keep monitoring Google Search Console for any crawl or indexing issues, and if the old domain persists, consider submitting a reconsideration request. Otherwise, continue to provide high-quality, localized content to enhance the visibility of your new domains.
.
.
.
( Canada Immigration Essential Workers ) ( Canada Study Visa Fees ) (PMI Certification) -
@cellydy Hi! It sounds like you've taken the right steps in migrating to a multi-domain strategy for your real estate website targeting different markets. Given that you've already implemented 301 redirects, added the new domains to Google Search Console, and ensured proper interlinking and sitemaps, here are a few additional tips:
Patience is Key:
Google's indexing and ranking processes can take some time, especially when there's a significant change in your website structure. It's not uncommon for the transition to take a few weeks or even longer.
Check Google Search Console:Regularly monitor Google Search Console for any messages or notifications regarding the migration. Google may provide insights or highlight any issues it encounters during the process.
Submit Updated Sitemaps:Re-submit your updated sitemaps for each of the new domains through Google Search Console. This can help Google understand the new structure of your website and expedite the indexing process.
Fetch as Google:Use the "Fetch as Google" feature in Google Search Console to request indexing for specific pages. This can be particularly helpful if there are critical pages you want Google to re-crawl promptly.
Check Redirects:Double-check the 301 redirects to ensure they are implemented correctly and that there are no issues with redirect chains. Also, confirm that all pages from the old domain are redirected to the corresponding pages on the new domains.
Update External Links:If applicable, reach out to any external websites linking to your old domain and request them to update their links to the new domain. This can help in the overall transition.
Content Updates:Ensure that the content on the new domains is up-to-date and relevant. Fresh, quality content can contribute to better search engine visibility.
Local SEO Optimization:Since your industry (Real Estate) is locally focused, consider optimizing your content for local search. Include location-specific keywords, and ensure your Google My Business listings are accurate and up-to-date.
Monitor Analytics:Keep a close eye on your website analytics to track the performance of the new domains. Monitor changes in organic traffic, rankings, and user behavior.
Seek Professional Advice:If the issue persists or if you have specific concerns, consider seeking advice from SEO professionals or consultants who can provide tailored recommendations based on your website's unique circumstances.
Remember, migration processes can sometimes take a bit of time to fully reflect in search results. Keep monitoring, stay proactive, and if everything has been implemented correctly, you should see positive results in due course.
.
.
( Canada Study Visa Fees) ( Canada immigration for doctors ) (PMI Certification )
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
href lang questions - please help
Hi I have a few questions about href lang implementation and I was hoping for some guidance / opinions. An international website is using mostly a folder structure, but for some locations it might have standalone sub-domains. Some folders are there to target locations and languages, with others just targeting languages. See the list below: domain.com/es-mx [Language: Spanish - Location: Mexico]
International SEO | | MarkCanning
domain.com/pt-br [Language: Portuguese - Location: Brazil]
domain.com/ja-jp [Language: Japanese - Location: Japan]
domain.com/en-jp [Language: English - Location: Japan]
domain.com/fr-ca [Language: French - Location: Canada]
domain.com/en-ca [Language: English - Location: Canada]
domain.com/en-ie [Language: English - Location: Ireland]
domain.com/ar [Language: Arabic]
domain.com/ph [Language: Tagalog]
domain.com/it [Language: Italian]
domain.com/tr [Language: Turkish]
domain.com/kr [Language: Korean]
domain.com/fr [Language: French]
domain.com/ru [Language: Russian]
domain.com/vn [Language: Vietnamese] domain.in/en [Language: English - Location Indian]
domain.in/hi [Language: Hindi - Location Indian] My questions are: Is href lang sitemap equally as good as the href lang meta tag in terms of effectiveness. I know that the sitemap is easier to maintain and upkeep but i don't know which one is better as google recommends both. How do you mix your listings when some are targeting language and country and others are just targeting language speakers (not tied to any specific country). So take for example in the list above: there would be a general site for french speakers and then one for french speakers in Canada. Thanks for your advise in advance.0 -
Advise on the right way to block country specific users but not block Googlebot - and not be seen to be cloaking. Help please!
Hi, I am working on the SEO of an online gaming platform - a platform that can only be accessed by people in certain countries, where the games and content are legally allowed.
International SEO | | MarkCanning
Example: The games are not allowed in the USA, but they are allowed in Canada. Present Situation:
Presently when a user from the USA visits the site they get directed to a restricted location page with the following message: RESTRICTED LOCATION
Due to licensing restrictions, we can't currently offer our services in your location. We're working hard to expand our reach, so stay tuned for updates! Because USA visitors are blocked Google which primarily (but not always) crawls from the USA is also blocked, so the company webpages are not being crawled and indexed. Objective / What we want to achieve: The website will have multiple region and language locations. Some of these will exist as standalone websites and others will exist as folders on the domain. Examples below:
domain.com/en-ca [English Canada]
domain.com/fr-ca [french Canada]
domain.com/es-mx [spanish mexico]
domain.com/pt-br [portugese brazil]
domain.co.in/hi [hindi India] If a user from USA or another restricted location tries to access our site they should not have access but should get a restricted access message.
However we still want google to be able to access, crawl and index our pages. Can i suggest how do we do this without getting done for cloaking etc? Would this approach be ok? (please see below) We continue to work as the present situation is presently doing, showing visitors from the USA a restricted message.
However rather than redirecting these visitors to a restricted location page, we just black out the page and show them a floating message as if it were a model window.
While Googlebot would be allowed to visit and crawl the website. I have also read that it would be good to put paywall schema on each webpage to let Google know that we are not cloaking and its a restricted paid page. All public pages are accessible but only if the visitor is from a location that is not restricted Any feedback and direction that can be given would be greatly appreciated as i am new to this angle of SEO. Sincere thanks,0 -
Question about International SEO
We've just recently launched our website in Canada and our web crawler is showing some pages with "&Country=CA", even if the current page already includes Country=CA. Why is this and how would we go about resolving?
International SEO | | nicole.nelson030 -
How to rank a website in different countries
I have a website which I want to rank in UK, NZ and AU and I want to keep my domain as .com in all the countries. I have specified the lang=en now what needs to be done to rank one website in 3 different English countries without changing the domain extension i.e. .com.au or .com.nz
SEO Tactics | | Ravi_Rana0 -
Question regarding international SEO
Hi there, I have a question regarding international SEO and the APAC region in particular. We currently have a website extension .com and offer our content in English. However, we notice that our website hardly ranks in Google in the APAC region, while one of the main languages in that region is also English. I figure one way would be to set up .com/sg/ (or .com/au/ or .com/nz/), but then the content would still be in English. So wouldn't that be counted as duplicate content? Does anyone have experience in improving website rankings for various English-speaking countries, without creating duplicate content? Thanks in advance for your help!
International SEO | | Billywig0 -
Link juice on sub domains
We have got all our clients linking to our website blackpen.tv Based on a user's location they will be redirected to a sub domain. So for example someone in France clicking on a link blackpen.tv would be redirected to paris.blackpen.tv or blackpen.tv/paris Would this affect the amount of link juice passed down?
International SEO | | roberthseo0 -
How long does it take for google to realize there is a new language sub domain?
I have a global client who just launched new sub domains of their site in new languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Japanese). Example: es.client.com pt.client.com ru.amdocs.com ja.amdocs.com How long does it take for Google to recognize these new subdomains? Would submitting an XML sitemap be helpful? If so how long can we see them pick up the site? What is the best way to check that your new subdomains are showing in each countries SERPs? Thanks for your help!
International SEO | | Scratch_MM0 -
Country name displayed after domain name in google SERP
our online shop targets clients in the US and worldwide (same URL - no subdirectories - currency changes based on IP). when searching in google.ie or google.no for our site google displays in the SERPS "US" or "United States" after the URL for our site, but for most other US competitors it does not show the country in the SERPS. I deleted our google places listing 2 weeks ago, since I suspected it may be related, but no change so far. In google webmaster tools we have targeted the shop domain to United States, which may be another factor. Unfortunately we can not undo this setting since without it our google US ranking for the most relevant competitive keyword drops from position 8 to position 100+. Server location is in Germany which despite lots of US links and US contact info and USD currency appparently makes google think that the site is not targeting the US. Does anybody know what triggers the country name in the SERPS (google places or webmaster tools or other) and can give advice if there is any way to get rid of it.
International SEO | | lcourse0