Google Site Moves: Build a Domain-Variant Migration Matrix
Map www, non-www, HTTP, HTTPS, and subdomain variants before a domain move so verification, redirects, Change of Address, and monitoring stay complete.
Published August 9, 2026: Google’s updated site-move guidance says domain migrations should account for all old subdomains plus www and non-www variants, even variants the site does not actively use. Each relevant property must be verified before Change of Address requests are submitted.
A migration plan built from only the canonical host can therefore miss part of the move. The safer artifact is a domain-variant matrix that connects verification, redirect behavior, Change of Address, sitemaps, canonicals, analytics, and server capacity for every old entry point.
Inventory every old and new property
List the root host, www host, active subdomains, retired but reachable subdomains, and HTTP and HTTPS variants. Verify both old and new properties in Search Console before launch. Google specifically gives www.example.com and example.com as variants to include, along with HTTP and HTTPS where applicable.
For a domain-to-domain move, submit Change of Address for the old domain variants and subdomains that Google documents, including unused variants. A pure HTTP-to-HTTPS migration does not use the Change of Address tool. That distinction belongs in the matrix so a team does not apply one procedure to every type of migration.
Build the domain-variant migration matrix
| Old variant | New destination | Verify | Redirect test | Change of Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://example.com | https://new-example.com | Old and new | One hop to matching URL | Domain move: include old root |
| https://www.example.com | https://new-example.com | Old www and new | Preserve path and query when valid | Submit old www property |
| https://en.example.com | https://new-example.com/en/ | Old subdomain and new | Test representative mappings | Submit old subdomain |
| Unused reachable variant | Defined canonical host | Verify if part of move | No chain, loop, or homepage blanket | Follow current Google guidance |
Add columns for owner, DNS, TLS, robots.txt, noindex state, sitemap, analytics, log access, launch status, and rollback. The matrix is not merely project documentation; it is the evidence that no old entry point was forgotten.
Map URLs one to one and keep redirects stable
Build a URL mapping before changing DNS or templates. Old articles should redirect to their corresponding new articles, products to equivalent products, and genuinely retired pages to the closest useful destination or a proper 404/410 when no replacement exists. Redirecting every old URL to the new homepage destroys meaning and makes failures harder to diagnose.
Google recommends keeping redirects for as long as possible, generally at least one year, so signals and external links can be reassigned. Publishers may keep them indefinitely for users. Update internal links and important external links to reduce chains and avoid making every visit pay the redirect cost.
Use the technical SEO launch checklist to verify status codes, canonicals, rendering, navigation, measurement, and rollback before the public switch.
Monitor the move without treating fluctuation as failure
Submit the new sitemap, preserve the old URL list for monitoring, and watch indexed counts, crawl errors, query/page reports, analytics, and server logs. Google says small and medium sites can take a few weeks for most pages to move; larger sites may take longer. Temporary visibility fluctuation is normal.
Normal does not mean ignore. Escalate unexpected 404s, redirect loops, blocked resources, stale canonicals, insufficient server capacity, missing variants, and query groups that fail to move. Compare old and new totals by URL family rather than relying on one sitewide traffic line.
Record the release date, mapping version, sitemap counts, redirect coverage, and known confounders. That creates a usable case record instead of a retrospective story built from memory.
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