Can redirecting all traffic to a new domain count as 301 redirects?

[Daniel_Opare]

Hey all!

I'm just about to undergo the rather daunting process of moving changing my URL.  I'll be moving it from a URL i purchased 

We rank top 3 for a number of competitive keywords on google and obviously I am being careful to minimize the impact of making this this move.

I've prepared a comprehensive checklist of tasks I need to implement - one of those is 301 redirects.

In domain settings when switching to a new domain I understand I'll be given the option to “Redirect all traffic to this domain”

Is this literally the 301 redirects or do I need to do something else?

If anyone could shed any light it'll be much appreciated.

[KevinW]

Hey @Daniel_Opare - I'll assume we're talking about an existing Shopify store and that the only thing you're changing is the domain name (no changes to URLs, content, design, theme, brand name, etc.). Your Shopify store has been live on Domain A and you simply want to switch to Domain B. 

If my assumptions are correct, the process is much less daunting than you might imagine. Here's all you need to do...

1. Connect your new domain to Shopify. This proves to Shopify that you own the domain and connects it to the Shopify platform.
2. Set your new domain as the primary domain. Select the "Redirect all traffic to this domain" option to tell Shopify to create all the 301 redirects you need. Once complete, traffic to domainA.com/products/your-amazing-product will be redirected to domainB.com/products/your-amazing-product and so on for all the URLs on your site. 
3. Use the Google Search Console Change of Address Tool. This will inform Google of the move and trigger them to transfer all of your existing SEO value from Domain A > Domain B. 
4. Update your domain name EVERYWHERE. Be vigilant! Social media, directory listings, PPC ads, links from other websites, email signatures, etc. The less people (and search engines) have to follow those redirects the better. 

If nothing else changes, just the domain, and you carefully follow the above directions, you should experience little to no fluctuations in SEO traffic. 

Hope this helps! 

~Kevin

[jaimistarr]

Hey @KevinW 

I'm facing the same situation.

Does this negate the need to transfer the domain to shopify? And rather, I simply need to add the new third party domain and make it the primary one? 

Are there benefits of transferring the domain that I should be aware of before doing this?

Thanks!

Jaimi

[KevinW]

Hi @jaimistarr,

From an SEO perspective, it makes no difference where your domain is registered. So if you've already purchased the domain through a third party (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.), you can simply connect it to Shopify. You don't need to transfer it to Shopify... although I'm sure the good folks at Shopify would love it if you did 😉😉

So, regardless of whether you "connect" your domain or "transfer" it, users will end up on your site when they type your URL into their browsers. 

Hope that helps clear things up! Good luck! 

Hey @Daniel_Opare, how'd the domain change go? Did you run into any issues? 

[jaimistarr]

legend @KevinW thanks for the reply!

[Ken_Blasted-RC]

Hi Jaimistarr!
I'm about to do the exact same as you did here and I stumbled across your post when searching for a way to do the same. Can you confirm that Shopify automatically created 301 redirects for every single page after the domain change?

[Edmondng]

Hey @KevinW 

Thanks for the instruction, it's more simple than I imagined, but I still have a few questions regarding the DNS records for the old domain, I found that there was Facebook domain & google site verification records in the DNS, what should I do for those records? Do I need to reconnect to the related party?

Thanks.

Edmond,