So, you’re thinking about changing your domain name – but understandably, you’re worried. You’ve built up quite a readership to your blog or website, and a good search engine rankings, and potentially losing all of that from an incorrectly handled domain name change is too devastating to imagine.

In short, there is no real reason why you should worry excessively about changing your website’s domain name. Providing you understand the process of moving all of your original SEO from the old domain to the new, your search engine rankings will be directed, and your position in the online world won’t be effected.

If you’re looking to change your domain and want to know what will happen with your SEO, as well as how to stay safely in your rankings, read on.

Once you’ve made the decision to change your domain name, it’s important not to jump blindly into it. First, go through your website and make note of all the useful stats relating to your domain name, including the inbound links to your site. This will be handy to keep by you when you make the switch, so that you can check that the change has taken place smoothly.

While you’re on your website, this is your chance to redirect everything that’s in your power. The unfortunate reality is, when you change domains, visitors of your previous domain may never find your new one without redirection links. You want someone who’s visiting a page on your old domain to be able to easily follow such a link to your new one – if you don’t do this, you risk losing popularity simply because people can’t find you.

Moving your old on-page SEO to the new domain isn’t just important for the sake of previous website visitors – it also means your rankings won’t be effected. If you do happen to incorrectly move the on-page SEO over, or fail to move it over at all, the new domain simply won’t rank. It’s worth keeping in mind just how important it is to properly do this, for the sake of keeping your website safe and visible.

Many people forget to let Google know that they’re changing domain names, but this can be done in a matter of minutes, and will help to further protect your current search engine rankings. You simply need to visit Google Webmaster Tools and find the “Change of Address” link, which you can use to notify Google and enable your domain to be updated in its system.

Before you do move your SEO over, check, double check, and triple check that everything is linked and 301 re-directed correctly. This is your last chance to ensure everything is in order before making the switch, so make sure to do a thorough job of it. If you have social media channels, update them with your new website domain, as well as informing website visitors – a good way to do this, if you have established an email list, is to send out a notice via email.

Changing a domain is a big decision, but it doesn’t have to be difficult if you know what you’re doing. Prepare for a thorough and extensive process, and you’ll be able to keep your rankings and make a successful switch.