Understanding Persistent Site Migration Challenges in Google Search Console: A Case Study
Migrating a website to a new domain is a significant endeavor that often involves complex technical considerations, especially when ensuring that search engines recognize and index the new site appropriately. While many professionals rely on tools like Google Search Console to facilitate and monitor this process, some users encounter perplexing issues that seem resistant to standard troubleshooting methods. This article explores such a scenario, highlighting common pitfalls and potential solutions when facing unexpected obstacles during site migration.
Case Overview
Imagine a digital marketing professional—primarily experienced in pay-per-click advertising—who is managing a website migration for a client. The website, hosted on Wix, is moving to a new domain. Multiple SEO experts have been engaged, all confirming that the migration has been properly configured within Google Search Console. Despite these assurances, the new site only partially gets indexed—generating a handful of pages—and then, unexpectedly, Google begins to revert to indexing the old domain.
This pattern persists even after numerous efforts: re-submitting sitemaps, requesting reindexing repeatedly, and verifying the correctness of the sitemap files. When inspecting individual pages that failed to index properly, the typical message received is “no referring sitemaps.” The sitemap itself is correctly loaded on the new domain, formatted properly, and free of errors. Yet, Google seems to prefer the old domain and refuses to fully transition the index.
Challenges and Troubleshooting Attempts
The core issues faced include:
- Limited page indexing on the new domain despite correct sitemap submission.
- Reversion to the old domain’s index over time.
- Persistent “no referring sitemaps” messages during page inspections.
- No apparent errors in the sitemap or configuration.
- Repeated requests for indexing have minimal impact.
- The site uses a Wix platform, which may introduce additional constraints.
Despite following best practices and multiple troubleshooting actions, progress remains stagnant. The SEO professionals involved have expressed frustration, suspecting that this might be a bug within Google Search Console or an underlying issue that standard configurations cannot resolve.
Is It a Search Console Bug?
Given the symptoms—especially the persistent indexing issues and inconsistent behavior—it raises the question: could this be attributable to a bug or a known limitation within Google Search Console? While Google’s tools are robust, occasional glitches or updates can introduce unforeseen challenges, particularly during complex processes such as site migrations.
Potential Next Steps
Although the situation can be discouraging, several avenues may help resolve or better understand the problem: