Moved from old domain to new domain, saw 404 errors, rankings dropped — did I mess up the site migration?

Site migration checklist: 1) Pre-migration: map all URLs (old > new), save backlink profile. 2) Migration day: set up 301 redirects, update sitemap, check robots.txt. 3) Post-migration: submit to Search Console, monitor, fix 404s in the first month.

Change of Address tool (Search Console): if the domain is changing completely, use this tool to tell Google 'we've moved', it speeds up the transfer.

Our migration also took 4 months to recover... First month we lost 40% traffic 25% in the 2nd, 10% in the 3rd. 'My experience: after the migration, re-optimize key pages (product pages homepage) so Google gets the right signals.'

404 errors: we had 200 pages returning 404 on the old domain because we messed up the 301 redirects in .htaccess then redid them manually. Enabled process monitoring then it was closed.

301 redirect setup: 1) .htaccess (Apache): RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://example.com/$1 [R=301,L]. 2) Nginx: return 301 https://example.com$request_uri. 3) IIS: HTTP Redirect. 4) In-app: server-side redirect.

Test: use curl -I https://example.old.com/page to check for the 301 and location. If it returns 200, there's no redirect.

site migration is complex, set up 301 redirects correctly then use search console change of address. google waited 1-2 months and recovered, be patient. it's not fast but it works.

Edit: asked below, I wrote the answer in the second message.

Site migration: Old domain closes, new domain opens. Google: 'hey did you just refresh?' Me: yes. Google: ok ill wait 3 months then evaluate. Patience.

good call starting this thread.

Let me write how its done in practice. When you try to change everything at once nothing settles.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. Discussing numbers without verifying the measurement setup is a waste of time.

If I were you I'd go this route.

Looking at it as a process, the picture changes. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

Here's how it went for us. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

I have an objection here. Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently. If you post the result here it will help others too.

I disagree with you on this point. Hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

let me write how it's done in practice. any unwritten clausse becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

any comment made without a control group is just a guess and thast all, sorry if I went on too long.

i have a question, don't want to go off-topic though. processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

proen by experience.

exactly, and not many people know this then speed is a threshold issue; if you're already fast making it faster changes nothing.

a competitor's ranking might come from years of accumulation not just their content. i'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Looking at it as a process, the picture changes. The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

There's a part I don't understand. Merge instead of deleting; deleted content doesn't come back.

Proven by experience.

The opposite happened to me, thats why Im writing. Dont trust anyone who gives guarantees; there are no guarantees in this business.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.