Google updated its site move rules to require business owners to declare every subdomain and www variant in Change of Address tool, even inactive ones. Here's what changed and why it matters to your migration.
Google recently updated its official site move documentation with a new requirement: when you migrate your website to a new domain, you must submit Change of Address requests for all domain variants in Google Search Console, not just your primary domain. This includes every subdomain (en.example.com), the www version (www.example.com), and the non-www version (example.com) of your old domain, even if those variants are inactive or redirect elsewhere.
For example, if you're moving from example.com to new-example.net, you now need to submit separate Change of Address requests for example.com, www.example.com, and any other active subdomains like en.example.com or blog.example.com, each pointing to their corresponding property on your new domain.
A domain migration is one of the highest-risk moves you can make for your search visibility. If Google doesn't properly connect your old domain to your new one, your rankings, organic traffic, and authority can scatter across both sites. This new requirement exists precisely to prevent that fragmentation.
Domain variants that aren't declared in Change of Address remain indexable by Google as separate entities. This means a customer searching for your business might find your old domain in results, click through to a dead site or redirect, and never reach your new home. Your search ranking authority also gets split between your old and new domains instead of consolidating on the new one.
Most business owners only submit Change of Address for their primary domain (example.com) and assume redirects handle the rest. That's no longer compliant with Google's guidance. Subdomains and www variants need explicit declaration in the tool, or you'll leave traffic and ranking power stranded on the old domain.
Domain migrations are complex and high-stakes. Following Google's latest requirements exactly, including declaring every domain variant, is non-negotiable if you want to preserve your search rankings and traffic.
Inactive variants can still be crawled and indexed by Google, creating competing versions of your site in search results and diluting the authority that should flow entirely to your new domain. Declaring them all tells Google to consolidate your ranking power.
That forgotten variant will stay in Google's index separately from your new domain, splitting your search traffic and making it harder for customers to find your new site consistently.
Yes. Google now requires you to submit Change of Address requests for both www.example.com and example.com (and all subdomains) as separate entries, even if one redirects to the other.
Audit your DNS records, server logs, and Search Console data to find every subdomain and www variant that's ever been indexed or could potentially be accessed, then submit them all in the Change of Address tool.