A domain change or restructure is the highest-risk routine operation in SEO. Done in the right order it is usually recoverable within weeks; done carelessly the loss can be permanent.
Sequence
- Build a complete old-to-new URL map. Every indexed URL needs a destination.
- Set up the new site fully, content, internal links, canonicals all pointing within the new structure.
- Verify both properties in Search Console.
- Deploy 301 redirects for every old URL.
- Update internal links to point directly at final URLs, not through redirects.
- Submit the new sitemap; keep the old sitemap available briefly so Google recrawls old URLs and sees the redirects.
- Use the Change of Address tool if the domain changed.
- Keep the redirects for at least a year, ideally permanently.
What to expect
A temporary dip is normal. Recovery typically takes a few weeks; large sites can take months.
Alien Road recommends: do not combine a migration with a redesign or a content rewrite. When traffic drops afterwards, and it will dip, you need to know which change caused it. We insist on separating them by at least a few weeks, because a combined change turns diagnosis into guesswork.