Blogger Magic - Custom Domain Publishing And Search Engine Reputation

There's a lot of confusion seen in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, about our blogs, and how they are treated by the search engines, after being published to a custom domain URL.

Does the Page Rank transfer to the new domain?

and

Is the blog automatically indexed after the change?

and

Will my readers be able to find my blog after the change?

Each of those questions has a simple answer - but each simple answer leads to interesting detail.

The basic facts to consider are quite simple.

• Search engines index our blogs, and calculate page rank, by domain / subdomain URL. Better search engine reputation leads to better search listing placement, and more traffic.
• When you publish the blog to a custom domain, you are giving it a new URL.
• With the blog published to a new URL, it has no page rank, and is not indexed.

So, the immediate answer is reasonably simple.

Like a new blog, and like a blog renamed within BlogSpot, a blog newly published to a custom domain has Zero page rank, and is not indexed.

Now, look at the details.

• Unlike a completely new blog, a blog newly published to a custom domain has reputation, in the minds - and links in the blogs - of the readers.
• Unlike a completely new blog, there is an existing BlogSpot blog that is indexed, has search engine reputation, and now links to the domain URL.
• Unlike a blog renamed within BlogSpot, a blog published to a custom domain has a DNS based redirect, from the BlogSpot URL, to the domain URL.
• Unlike a blog published to BlogSpot, a blog published to a custom domain may have some value simply because of the non BlogSpot URL.

And here is where the magic starts.

When you combine the assets, held by the BlogSpot URL

• Links, in our readers blogs.
• Reputation, in our readers minds.
• Reputation, in the search engines.

with the DNS based redirect - applied against a properly setup domain, and using a proper complement of sitemaps - you get a blog which acquires indexing and page rank from the existing reputation of the former BlogSpot URL, as that BlogSpot URL, and our readers blogs, are being re indexed. And, there is the magic.

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Custom Domain Migration - Managing The Traffic

Your blog depends upon traffic for its success.

Anything that affects the traffic to your blog, such as any change in the URL, affects the success of your blog. Publishing the blog to a custom domain, like renaming the blog, will affect traffic to your blog. The effects of the change will vary from blog to blog, because of the different traffic to every different blog.

• Followers. People who find your blog because of recommendations by other people.
• Search engines. Robotic processes which methodically surf your blog, and provide dynamic indexing to people who search for information.
• Subscribers. People who read your content from their newsfeed reader, such as the dashboard Reading List.
• Viewers. People who read your content from their browser.

No two blogs are the same - and no two blogs will have the same combinations of traffic sources.

The differing combinations, of traffic sources, will make every custom domain migration unique.

Migration results are not predictable - but they can be improved.

You cannot predict what will happen to your blog, during the migration - but you can plan, and improve the experience.

Planning and executing the migration properly will help your blog recover faster, from traffic loss caused by the URL change.

1. You'll start with a new URL, which will be unknown by the search engines. Your blog won't get as much new reader traffic, until it's indexed, under the new, non BlogSpot URL.
2. You'll end up with a better known blog, with a non BlogSpot URL - and more new reader traffic because of the new, non BlogSpot URL.

The better you plan this simple process, the faster the traffic to your blog will pick up, after the URL change. And, that's all that you should want - to get from point 1 to point 2, faster.

A blog with a new URL is again unknown, by URL, to the search engines.

When your blog has a new URL, that URL is initially unknown to the search engines, and other web services. The search engines, and other external web services, index by URL.

• With a new blog, you have no content, no readers, no search engine reputation, and no statistics.
• With a new URL, there is no indexed content, and no statistics.
• With a blog recently republished under a new URL, you have content and readers - but no search engine reputation, or statistics, under the new URL.

You use the content and readers, and regain your search engine reputation. And you watch your statistics.

If your blog has its own search engine reputation, it gets indexed by the search engines, directly. As the BlogSpot URL of your blog is indexed, the "301 Moved Permanently" redirect, from the BlogSpot to custom domain URL, will contribute to reputation for the domain URL.

A blog with established readers has reputation - and a start to re indexing.

If your blog has readers who link their blog to yours, your blog gets indexed by the search engines, indirectly. As a readers blogs is indexed, and a link to your blog is found, the link to your blog is followed. Readers blogs that point to the BlogSpot URL, again using the "301 Moved Permanently" redirect, will similarly contribute to reputation for the domain URL.

Each of the various traffic sources - people (Followers / readers / subscribers), and robots (search engines and other automated services) - will contribute, in different ways, to the indexing of the domain URL.

First, learn how to prepare and support a custom domain.

Before you start, understand the right way to purchase and setup a custom domain. And understand the nature of, and need for, the 3 to 5 day Transition Period, which follows the purchase of a new domain, using "Buy a domain" - and should be observed with any new domain.

During the migration, you'll find:

• You'll get better results from a properly setup domain. Always start, with a properly setup domain.
• You'll find the diagnostic utilities in Google Webmaster Tools to be essential, in helping you objectively observe and correct any problems.
• As search engines index your blog, they adjust their indexing to follow the rate that you publish. If you publish weekly, they will, at most, re index your blog weekly. The less often you publish, the less often the blog gets re indexed.
• The entire blog won't be re indexed at one time. You'll always have new posts, that have not been individually indexed.
• While re indexing of the blog is in progress, you'll have some posts indexed under the BlogSpot URL, and other posts indexed under the domain URL.
• As additional posts are indexed under the domain URL, those same posts will drop from indexing under the BlogSpot URL. If this were not so, you'd end up with "duplicate content" penalties. The purpose of the "301 Moved Permanently" redirect is to avoid this duplication, and penalties.
• With the indexing of the blog split between the two base URLs, the reputation overall will be lower. You get better reputation with all content indexed under one base URL - and this won't be the case until the migration is complete.
• With lower reputation, your posts will have poorer SERP position - some posts indexed under the old BlogSpot URL, others under the new domain URL - though all SERP entries will get your readers to the new domain.
• With poorer SERP position overall, you'll have a period of significantly less search originated traffic.
• The more often that you publish, during the migration, the more you'll compensate for the drop in reader traffic.
• As the blog is re indexed under the new URL, reputation - and Page Rank - will pick up again.
• You'll observe activity, in Webmaster Tools, for both the old and new URLs, for a while after the domain becomes active.
• Some tools, used under simple blog renames, are not used with custom domains. Specifically, custom domain publishing does not use the post feed redirect.

Beware gratuitous scripts, which interfere with BlogSpot to domain redirection!

If your blog has gratuitous scripted redirection, installed to block country local domain redirection, you'll want to remove this code. Country local domain redirection blocking, followed by BlogSpot to domain redirection, will leave some readers (only some, not all) seeing

Too many redirections!

or similar advice, in their browser. Other readers may simply see the blog as offline, because of its new URL.

The transition period, and loss of reputation and traffic, can't be avoided.

You cannot avoid the new domain transition period, and reduced traffic level - you will have to endure it. In the end, if you manage the migration properly, you'll find that it was worth it.

With a new, properly setup non BlogSpot URL, more blog content, and the same reader population (forwarded from the BlogSpot URL), search engine reputation (and Page Rank) will pick up and should continue rising, beyond where it was before you started the migration.

New Custom Domains "In Transition"

DNS, which is the backbone of Google Custom Domain publishing, is a distributed directory of all Internet hosts - like the Google servers where your domain is published.

We say that DNS is a "distributed" service, because the data provided to you, by DNS, resides not in one, or two, but millions of servers - all over the Internet, and owned by many different companies and individuals.

When you setup a new domain, using a DNS Management utility provided by your domain registrar or another DNS host, you can add the DNS entry when convenient to you. Some DNS management utilities will provide advice

Please wait 12 to 24 hours before trying to use your new URL.

or a similar message, simply because the DNS information that you enter, through the utility to your DNS server, has to be distributed to the other DNS servers, all over the Internet.

If your registrar's DNS servers aren't immediately accessible to the Google servers, and you try to publish to your brand new personal domain, you may see problems.

Seconds after you setup the new domain with your registrar, the Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard may not be able to access the DNS entries which you just created. You'll probably see an old friend

Another blog is already hosted at this address.

where the wizard is simply saying to you

We don't see that domain pointing to "ghs.google.com".

In an alternative scenario, your registrar may be immediately accessible to the Google servers, you publish your blog to your custom domain, and you're happy. But wait - there's more! One of your readers, on the other side of the world, sees your advertisement

Hey! Checkout my new non-BlogSpot URL for my blog!

and checks it out, and gets another old friend

404 Not Found

because your reader uses a DNS server that has no immediate access to your registrar.

The latter two scenarios involve you when you manually set up your custom domain - using your registrar's DNS utility, followed by the Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard. If you use the Blogger "Buy A Domain For Your Blog" utility, you use neither of those wizards.

The latter wizard takes a mere few seconds, when you're properly prepared. That wizard, replacing both the registrar's utility and the Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard, can't include a 12 to 24 hour delay. So instead of the wizard taking 12 to 24 hours, it does immediately the work of the registrar's setup, and queues up a separate task - the equivalent of the "Advanced Settings" wizard - to run after the (formerly) "12 to 24" hours. To make sure that the "12 to 24" hour period is not too short, Blogger gives you (the DNS system) "72 hours" to catch up.

When you finish the purchase and setup of your new custom domain, go to your dashboard, and click on the "View Blog" link. There, you will likely see an old friend in the making

Your blog is in transition

Unfortunately, as I state above, the observed transition period has been 72 hours, not "12 to 24 hours". During the 72 hours (currently, slightly longer)

1. The blog contents will be published, using the new domain URL.
2. The BlogSpot URL will continue to load the blog with the BlogSpot URL.
3. The custom domain URL "mydomain.com" will load the blog with the domain URL.
4. You will, effectively, appear to have 2 separate blog aliases.
5. Accessories like Following will issue mysterious error messages.

   We're sorry...
   
   This gadget is configured incorrectly. Webmaster hint: Please ensure that "Friend Connect Settings - Home URL" matches the URL of this site.

During the transition period, consider carefully the dual personality of the BlogSpot URLs. Remember that the "www" alias of the BlogSpot URL does not simply redirect to the root of the BlogSpot URL, in the same way that the root of the custom domain URL might redirect to the "www" alias. Expect unpredicted behaviour here, when comparing the BlogSpot URLs.

If you are concerned with search engine reputation and visibility, and are diligently keeping your blog's sitemaps updated, you'll want to consider these issues carefully. You should wait until after the transition period has ended, to update the sitemap.

• You don't want the search engines trying to index a URL that might give them a "404" from their own DNS servers not having your new domain.
• You don't want the search engines trying to index the new URL while the old one is still active, and distinct, lest both the BlogSpot and domain URLs be perceived as "duplicate content".
• You don't want the search engines to start indexing the domain URL, until the BlogSpot URL provides the "301 Moved Permanently" to the domain URL, and gives the new domain its starting kick.
• You do want the search engines to start, re indexing the entire blog, as soon as possible - after migration completes.

Timing is everything, here. Wait until the Transition period ends, and the "301 Moved Permanently" is in effect. Be aware of the issues - and manage the migration, aggressively.

If you purchased the domain using "Buy a domain", the above details are not a problem, because Blogger applies the Transition time period, automatically. If you setup the domain yourself, after purchasing from a registrar - as is the case for every domain purchased after 2012 - you need to maintain a Transition period, yourself, or expect problems, during the first week or so.

Setting Up A Custom Domain? Check Your References!

When you setup a Custom Domain, the migration process for Blogger access to the blog is transparent.

The setup wizard provides encouraging advice

We won't leave your readers behind!
http://myblog.blogspot.com will redirect to your custom domain.

Not all non Google services will update the blog URL properly, when you publish to a custom domain.

When you publish your blog to a custom domain, two things happen instantaneously.

• All dynamic links within the blog are changed, from "myblog.blogspot.com" to "mydomain.com".
• Blogger sets up a server based "301 Moved Permanently" for your blog.

The URL change, from custom domain publishing, is not always immediate.

Your readers, and the search engine spiders, see the change the next time that they visit. Any automated processes that support a "301 Redirect" know to replace the old address, "myblog.blogspot.com", with the new address "mydomain.com".

All that said, you shouldn't expect for every search engine on the web to immediately acknowledge the new blog address. Just as establishing a search engine presence, updating one to a new address could take weeks.

With the initial setup out of the way, you may have a major amount of work yet to do, and a small but significant part needs to be done at your earliest convenience. Various third party elements that reference the blog by its URL may have to be updated. Some, if not updated immediately, may present a problem to your online reputation.

Webmaster Tools / Search Console is an essential service to be updated.

If your blog has a Google Sitemap, you'll have to use Google Webmaster Tools / Search Console to re verify site ownership, and to setup a new sitemap. If you've added a Google Sitemap to your blog before, you sort of know what to expect. Also, the sitemap setup wizard was improved in early 2008, so you'll find the sitemap addition process somewhat simplified and more intuitive.

You can probably update (re add) one blog in 5 minutes, if you read the instructions. You do need to do this part fairly promptly (though after the transition period if you used the "Buy A Domain" wizard), as the sitemap is an important component in access by the Google spider, and secondarily affects your blog in Google searches.

Internal blog links may or may not deserve updating.

With the sitemap updated, you can change all of the internal links in the blog, if you wish, and as time permits. Thanks to the "301 Moved Permanently", any internal references to the BlogSpot URL are simply replaced when any given link in the blog is followed. This dual personality effect will last for eternity.

Your friends web sites, that may have static references to yours (blogroll entries, generally), will likewise produce referrals to your blog, and to its new address. The static references can be updated at the convenience of the owners of the other web sites.

Using The "Buy A Domain For Your Blog" Wizard

The Blogger "Google Custom Domain" product, which gives bloggers a much requested ability to use a non-BlogSpot URL with a Layouts template, was first offered over a year ago, in January, 2007. I've been writing about Custom Domains ever since - the basic procedure of setting one up, and about the problems involved, and even about the many improvements that it's received.

One of the many improvements noted was the "Buy A Domain For Your Blog" Wizard, which replaces (and greatly simplifies) the painfully tedious, and needlessly technical, setup process for many bloggers. Yet all of my writing about the wizard was purely from observation, and from analysis of the problem reports in the forums. Until today, I didn't actually setup a domain, using the wizard.

So, let's cut to the chase, Chuck. What's it like?

It started with a bit of apprehension. I decided to do this, as I do many things, based upon a practical goal. A goal of having my own personal domain - "nitecruzr.net". And the apprehension was two fold.

1. Maybe the wizard will hose my domain, as it has so many others.
2. Maybe I won't even be able to setup my domain. What if "nitecruzr.net" is already taken? Oh no, my own personal episode of "That URL is already taken.".

Ever mindful of the "Domibot" issue, I decided to not even check for availability, until I was ready to actually buy the domain, if available.

So this morning, I gathered myself together, and tackled the wizard. With credit card in hand, and disappointment in mind, I approached Settings - Publishing - "Switch to: • Custom Domain".


Select "Switch to: • Custom Domain".



Enter the domain name, and select the Top Level Domain. For TLD, we have the choice of "com", "net", "info", "org", or "biz".



Go for it. Check Availability.



Hooray! It's available. So, take it!



Of course, it's not free, like the rest of Blogger is.



Place The Order, Chuck. Note here, you need a working, major credit card, before starting the purchase process.



Yay! We have "nitecruzr.net".



Oh no! Not that!!


Fortunately, all is not lost. Simply recycle the domain settings, using Google Apps.

Maybe the latter test result is what motivated Blogger to now put newly setup custom domains into a three day "In Transition" period. Anyway, having setup the base custom domain, I am now able to add virtual hosts, and construct my domain cluster, Nitecruzr Dot Net, and include all of my blogs into one web site.

Note that use of the "Buy a domain" wizard is simply one alternative of three, in proper custom domain setup. And note the complementary activities, which you need to perform, during the three day Transition period, that starts when you successfully purchase the domain.

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