Transferring website onto a new domain and it has disappeared in the rankings

[jamiericey]

Hi,

First time posting!

Our website was page 1 for just about all local searches (legal related). Due to a rebrand we took the site over onto a new domain name and it has totally dropped - on average pages 8-9, even for local searches.

The transfer was done back in May, I did expect a hit but I assumed it would recover fairly quickly but it doesn't seem to be the case.

Any ideas/advice/tips would be greatly appreciated

Jamie

[JordanLowry]

That is to be expected when you move a website to a new domain. What you can do is blog, link build and claim your local citations if you haven't already.

It will take time to build up your new domain just be patient.

[JordanLowry]

Also what steps did you take during your site migration?

[davebuts]

Hi Jamie,

It sounds like you may not have implemented 301 redirects from the old site to the new site.

If that's the case, go and add these for each page asap! This could be all you need to get your rankings back.

Was it just a straight rebrand? Did the website template and content remain the same when the rebrand took place?

Feel free to send me a PM with the domain names and I can take a quick look for you to see if there are any other issues from the changeover.

Cheers,

David

[BlueCorona]

Unfortunately, sometimes a drop like this is to be expected. Think about it - now you have a brand new domain age. Before, your older domain was helping your rankings. While that is not the only this negatively hurting you, it is one that is a big deal for the authority of your website.

I would work on building our your new website (both service pages and blogs) to indicate that you are THE authority in your local service area. Like Jordan said, definitely ensure that all your local citations are correct and updated with the new domain. If there are any inconsistencies this could be negatively impacting your rankings.

Rebuilding your rankings on a new domain can take time, so although this is not ideal, be patient and hopefully you will see an increase in rankings shortly.

[jamiericey]

Thank you everyone. I've followed all the good practice suggestions etc. It's still WAY back in the rankings but is making progress!