Looking for a way to handle all your domains in one place without the hassle?
At some point every online business faces the same problem – they have more than one domain, want to protect their brand, and need to make sure that their customers always arrive at the right destination.
Let’s face it…
Businesses that own domain names often neglect them, leaving traffic on the table. Domain forwarding lets you redirect traffic from all your domains to your primary website without losing customers or hurting SEO.
Here’s what we’ll cover.
- What is Domain Forwarding
- Why Your Business Needs Domain Forwarding
- Types of Domain Forwarding That Work (Plus Some That Don’t)
- Setting Up Domain Forwarding the Right Way
- Common Domain Forwarding Mistakes
What Is Domain Forwarding?
Domain forwarding, URL forwarding, or domain redirect is when you automatically send visitors from one domain name to another.
When a visitor types your forwarder domain name into their browser, they get instantly transported to your target website. It happens in a flash, and most people won’t even notice. It’s similar to having your mail forwarded when you move house – any post for you automatically gets redirected to your new address.
Did you know…
With 364.3 million domains registered across all top-level domains as of late 2024, businesses need smart ways to manage their digital real estate. A reliable domain forwarding service helps you consolidate traffic from multiple domains, protect your brand from competitors, and create memorable shortcuts to specific pages on your site.
Why Your Business Needs Domain Forwarding
Domain forwarding is more than just a convenience. It’s a solution to real business problems, and here’s why…
Protect Your Brand
This is one of the most important reasons to set up domain forwarding. Your competitors will jump at the chance to register domains that look similar to yours. You can get an edge over them by purchasing misspellings and common variations of your domain name.
For instance, if you own “yourbrand.com,” I’d recommend also buying yourbrand.net, yourbrand.co, and every common misspelling of your brand name. Redirect all of them to your main site to get all the traffic that would otherwise go to your competitors.
Consolidate Your Traffic
You run multiple marketing campaigns throughout the year, and it would be a huge pain to print a long URL on a flyer. Instead, set up a campaign-specific domain and forward it to the appropriate page on your site.
Use “summersale.com” on your flyer, and forward it to the summer sale landing page. That way, you get all the clicks from those flyers with a short, memorable URL that’s easy for people to type and remember.
Short and memorable domain names are great for radio ads, print ads, social media bios, event promotions, and other places where long URLs just don’t fit.
Types of Domain Forwarding That Actually Work
There are two main types of domain forwarding that you need to understand, and using the wrong one can have SEO consequences.
301 Redirects (Permanent)
This is the most common type you’ll use. A 301 redirect is telling search engines that this page has permanently moved to a new location.
The best part is, 301 redirects can transfer 90-99% of link equity from the old URL to the new one. This is a huge deal if you’re moving from an old domain to a new one, or consolidating several sites into one. By using a 301 redirect, you don’t lose the SEO value of all that traffic and linking that’s pointing to your old URL.
Use a 301 redirect when you’re permanently moving to a new domain, consolidating multiple domains, or protecting brand variations.
302 Redirects (Temporary)
This tells search engines that the move is temporary and to keep the original URL in their index.
302 redirects do not pass SEO value to the destination URL. This is what you want in some cases. Use 302 redirects for limited-time campaigns, testing new landing pages, or seasonal sales.
Masked vs Unmasked Forwarding
Here’s a less common decision, but it’s an important one…
Masked forwarding allows the original domain to be in the address bar while the content comes from another site. It sounds like a good idea, but can be misleading for users and search engines.
Unmasked forwarding shows the destination URL in the browser. This is the more transparent option and the one I recommend.
Setting Up Domain Forwarding the Right Way
Domain forwarding is relatively simple if you know what to do. Here’s how it works.
Log into your domain registrar. Every registrar has a simple section for forwarding domains in their control panel. Select the type of redirect (301 or 302), enter the destination URL starting with “https://”, then save. DNS propagation typically takes 24-48 hours.
Pro Tips for Domain Forwarding
Want to make sure your domain forwarding setup is solid? Here are a few pro tips:
Keep your SSL certificates up to date. There’s nothing worse than a security warning on a browser telling your visitors that your site isn’t secure. Test your redirects in several different browsers and devices. Monitor your analytics to see how much traffic comes from each domain you’re forwarding. Avoid chains of redirects. Forwarding directly from A to B is better for SEO and load times than A to B to C.
Common Domain Forwarding Mistakes to Avoid
Even seasoned webmasters make these blunders. Don’t be the next victim!
Using 302 when You Should Use 301
This is the number one domain forwarding mistake I see.
If your domain forwarding is permanent (and it should be) you MUST use a 301 redirect. Using a 302 by accident means you don’t pass any SEO value to the new destination URL.
Forgetting to Include HTTPS
If you forward a domain to an HTTP address instead of the HTTPS version, you’ll get a security warning on your visitors’ browsers. Double-check that you forward to the secure version of your site (the one that starts with “https://”).
Not Forwarding All Variations
Okay, so you bought yourdomain.com and you have it set up to forward to your main site. Awesome. But what about “www.yourdomain.com”? Check that all your domain variations forward to the right place.
Ignoring Mobile Users
Test your domain forwards on mobile devices as well. Some forwarding configurations work fine on a desktop but don’t work on mobile.
Advanced Domain Forwarding Strategies
Thinking you’re done with domain forwarding? Think again. There are some advanced tactics that will give you the edge in online marketing.
Campaign Tracking with Query Parameters
If you want to get serious about tracking your forwarded domains, add query parameters to the end of your redirected URLs. That way, you can see exactly where your traffic is coming from. For example, instead of forwarding “promo.com” to “yoursite.com”, forward it to “yoursite.com?source=promo” so you can track conversions in Google Analytics.
Geographic and Path Forwarding
Some registrars will let you set up domain forwarding rules based on visitor location. It’s also possible to forward specific paths to specific destinations. Forward “yoursite.com/blog” to your Medium profile while forwarding “yoursite.com/shop” to your Shopify store.
Wrapping Up
Domain forwarding is one of those low-tech solutions to a high-tech problem. It’s one of those solutions that you might not know you need until you have it, and then wonder how you ever did without it.
Domain forwarding services let you protect your brand from competitors, create memorable shortcuts for your marketing campaigns, consolidate your traffic, and keep your SEO from dipping when changing domains.
Remember to use the right type of redirect (usually a 301 for permanent forwarding), keep your SSL certificates updated, and test everything thoroughly. Avoid the mistakes I mentioned above and you can’t go wrong. Identify which of your domains could be forwarding traffic, and start setting up those redirects. Check your analytics and watch your traffic climb.
Every domain name you own either works for your business or sits on the shelf collecting dust. Treat it like a valuable asset and put it to work for you.