The Change of Address Tool in Google Search Console (GSC) is used to inform Google when a website is permanently moving to a new domain. This helps Google transfer rankings, indexing, and SEO signals from the old site to the new one.
However, sometimes the Change of Address Tool does not work properly, leaving website owners struggling with lost rankings and indexing issues. This guide will explain why the tool might not be working and how to fix it.
Common Issues with the Change of Address Tool
1. The Option Is Not Available in GSC
You may not see the “Change of Address” option under the settings menu.
Possible Causes:
- You are not the verified owner of both the old and new domains.
- The tool is only available for domain properties (not URL-prefix properties).
- The domain was recently added to GSC and not fully recognized.
Fix:
✅ Ensure both old and new domains are verified in Google Search Console.
✅ Add and verify the domain property (not just a URL prefix property).
✅ Wait 24-48 hours after adding the new domain to GSC before trying again.
2. The Change of Address Request Fails
If you submit the request, but it doesn’t process or gets rejected, it could be due to one of the following:
Possible Causes:
- 301 redirects are missing or incorrect (Google requires proper redirects).
- The new domain has indexing issues or is blocked by robots.txt.
- Google hasn’t fully crawled the new site yet.
Fix:
✅ Implement proper 301 redirects from all old URLs to the corresponding new URLs. Example for Apache:
apacheCopyEditRedirect 301 /old-page https://newdomain.com/new-page
✅ Check for robots.txt rules that might be blocking Google from crawling the new domain:
makefileCopyEditUser-agent: *
Disallow: /
If this exists, remove it!
✅ Ensure the new domain is indexed by manually inspecting it in GSC.
3. Google Reports an Error: ‘New Domain Does Not Redirect Properly’
If you receive an error stating that the new domain does not redirect properly, it means Googlebot is unable to follow redirects.
Possible Causes:
- Temporary redirects (302) instead of permanent redirects (301).
- Some pages are not redirecting (check for broken or missing redirects).
- Redirect loops or conflicting redirects in
.htaccess.
Fix:
✅ Ensure ALL pages from the old domain properly redirect to the new domain.
✅ Use 301 redirects (not 302, 307, or meta refresh).
✅ Test redirects using:
shCopyEditcurl -I https://oldsite.com
It should return:
CopyEditHTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
✅ Check for redirect loops in .htaccess or server settings.
4. Traffic Drop After Change of Address Request
If the tool seems to work, but rankings and traffic drop drastically, it might be because Google hasn’t fully processed the site move.
Possible Causes:
- Google is still processing the change (can take weeks).
- The new domain is not indexed properly.
- Some URLs are not redirecting correctly.
- The site lost link equity due to missing backlinks.
Fix:
✅ Be patient – site moves can take 2-3 months to fully process.
✅ Manually check indexed URLs with:
makefileCopyEditsite:newdomain.com
✅ Submit a new sitemap with updated URLs to GSC.
✅ Reach out to websites linking to your old domain and ask them to update links.
5. Change of Address Reverts or Fails Over Time
In some cases, Google stops recognizing the change after a while.
Possible Causes:
- Redirects were removed or changed.
- Googlebot was blocked from crawling the new site.
- The old site became active again without redirects.
Fix:
✅ Keep 301 redirects active for at least 6-12 months.
✅ Check if Googlebot is allowed to crawl both domains.
✅ Ensure old URLs do not return 200 OK responses (they should redirect or return 410 Gone).
Final Checklist for a Successful Address Change
✅ Verify both domains in Google Search Console.
✅ Use 301 redirects from old URLs to corresponding new URLs.
✅ Ensure robots.txt allows Googlebot to crawl both domains.
✅ Submit a new sitemap with updated URLs.
✅ Manually request indexing for the new domain’s homepage in GSC.
✅ Monitor Google Search Console for errors, indexing issues, and traffic changes.
✅ Keep the old domain live with redirects for at least 6 months.
