Written by mallorywhitfield When you switch from your original Carrot domain to a custom domain, it’s normal to sometimes see the old domain in search results. Here’s why and what to expect:
Your Carrot Domain vs. Your Custom Domain
When you create a Carrot site, we assign a temporary URL. It will look something like this example:
https://yournameseller.carrot.com/But if you’re like most business owners, you’ll want to add your own custom domain, which will look more like this example:
https://www.yournamewebsite.com/Once you add your custom domain, we use a 301 redirect to tell search engines to point to your new URL. A 301 redirect tells search engines and browsers that the URL has moved permanently.
However, Google keeps track of both the old and new URLs.
Transitioning To Your Custom Domain
Over time, as more users interact with your new custom domain and it gains familiarity and trust, the old Carrot domain will gradually appear less in search results. Google’s system is designed to favor the new URL as it becomes more established.
Here’s a helpful snippet from Google:
For example, if you moved to a new domain name, it’s very likely that Google will continue to occasionally show the old URLs in the results, even though the new URLs are already indexed. This is normal and as users get used to the new domain name, the alternate names will fade away without you doing anything.
via Google Search Central
Therefore, seeing your old Carrot domain in search results is a normal part of the transition to a custom domain. This will decrease over time as your new domain gains familiarity.
If you are moving an established custom domain to Carrot from an existing non-Carrot site, there are some additional steps you can take to ensure you keep your SEO rankings.
Whether you are moving an existing custom domain or setting up a new custom domain, building citations for your business will help Google and other search engines find your website.