Google property changes for site with new domain name

Publishing help SEO
1

Hi there. A client’s new site is publishing under a new domain name (but the old domain name is still being used and is forwarding to the new domain in Webflow). As far as Google Analytics goes, what is the best way of dealing with the tracking analytics?

They have the existing property in their Google account under the old domain name, can the new domain name be added to this property? I ran this by Chat Gpt and it seems to think so:

To add the new domain name to the Google Analytics property that is set up for the old domain name, you’ll typically need to follow these steps:

Update Tracking Code: Ensure that the Google Analytics tracking code on the new website (newsite.com) includes the same property ID (UA code or Measurement ID) as the old website (old-site.com). If you’re using Google Tag Manager, update the Google Analytics tag configuration with the appropriate property ID.

Set Up Cross-Domain Tracking (if necessary): If users navigate between the old and new domains during a single session (e.g., clicking from old-site.com to new-site.com), you’ll need to set up cross-domain tracking to ensure that sessions are properly tracked across both domains. Follow Google’s documentation on cross-domain tracking to implement this correctly.

Verify Domain Ownership: In Google Analytics, go to the Admin section and navigate to the Property settings for the existing property (associated with old-site.com). Under Property settings, you may find an option to add additional domains or link domains. Follow the instructions to add and verify ownership of the new domain (new-site.com).

Update Property Settings (if necessary): Review the property settings to ensure that they accurately reflect the new domain name (new-site.com). This includes updating default URL settings, view settings, and any other relevant configuration options.

Can anybody please confirm that this is correct?

The alternate, I assume, is to set up a new property in Google, but will that have a detrimental effect to their current ranking?

Cheers for any input on this.
Grant

Here is my site Read-Only: LINK
(how to share your site Read-Only link)

2

I don’t think you need to change a thing in GA.
GA doesn’t care about domains, if the tracking ID is there, you’re capturing data.

Google Search Console (GSC) however would need to be updated. You’d create a new property, I generally create domain-level properties. Once it verifies those stats will begin to pick up.

If you’ve set the new domain as the primary in Webflow, then your old domain will redirect to it and the old GSC will begin to report the redirects, that’s fine.

3

Thanks Michael. Just so I’m clear in my understanding, the tracking code that Webflow needs for its Measurement ID field, does that need to be from the new domain’s GSC property? Or does the tracking ID come from the main Analytics account and serve both the new and old domain? ie, the one that is already in place can stay there?

Grant

4

In a straightforward config-

  • GA4 tracking code is already in the site. You’re just adding a domain. Nothing changes there.
  • GSC would need a new setup, but in a GSC domain property, the verification is done by adding a DNS record, so again no change to the site. If you have a previous GSC verification code there, it won’t matter.

That’s it, except;

  • GA4 can be connected to GSC if you want to feed it extra data. That’s done in GA4 itself, and you’d “link” your new GSC property.