Google Search Console Change Of Address Domain Migration

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I recently handled an SEO domain migration from https://www.lwreid.com.au/ to https://www.trutex.com.au/. The 301 server-side redirects were already live — my job was the next critical step: submitting the Change of Address in Google Search Console (GSC).

Here's exactly what happened.

Challenge 1 — Wrong Access Level

The client had set up GSC properties only for the non-www versions of both domains, and I was given Edit access — not Owner access.

The Change of Address tool requires Owner-level access on both the old and new domain properties. I flagged this immediately, requested the correct access, and got it resolved before proceeding.

Always request Owner access upfront. Edit access will block you at the submission step.


Challenge 2 — Missing GSC Property for the www Destination

Even though trutex.com.au had a GSC property, https://www.trutex.com.au/ did not — and these are treated as completely separate properties under the URL Prefix method.

I set up the https://www.trutex.com.au/ property myself. It was automatically verified due to existing domain-level DNS verification.

In GSC, http, https, www, and non-www are four separate properties. Always create one for the exact destination URL.


 Submitting the Change of Address

With Owner access confirmed and both properties set up, I submitted the Change of Address from the old domain's GSC property pointing to https://www.trutex.com.au/.

GSC ran a redirect validation — and passed, but with a warning.

The "Duplicate Redirect Targets" Warning

GSC flagged a multi-hop redirect chain:

→ http://www.lwreid.com.au/

  → https://www.lwreid.com.au/
      → https://www.trutex.com.au/

This happened because the HTTP version of the old domain was hopping through the HTTPS version before reaching the new domain — creating two hops instead of one.

GSC confirmed this was non-critical and would not block the migration. I documented it and recommended the dev team simplify all old domain variants to redirect directly to https://www.trutex.com.au/ in a single hop.

Confirm Move — Migration Live

After validation passed, I clicked "Confirm Move." GSC immediately updated the status to "Site is currently moving" — confirmation that Google has acknowledged the migration and begun processing it.

Core Checklist

  • 301 redirects live at server level
  • Owner access on both GSC properties
  • GSC property created for the exact www destination URL
  • Change of Address submitted from the old domain property
  • Redirect validation passed (warning noted, non-blocking)
  • Confirm Move submitted — site currently moving
  • Monitor organic performance over coming weeks

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