Google Says Why Site Migrations Can Exceed 4 Months

Google’s John Mueller explains why website migrations can take more than four months to process, with Google sometimes reverting search visibility to the old domain even after a seemingly successful migration. He recommends submitting a Change of Address request in Google Search Console for both the www and non-www versions of the old domain. Website owners should also check redirects, internal links, XML sitemaps and canonical signals to help Google recognize the new domain correctly.