Changing your root domain, like moving from oldsite.com to newsite.com, is a big decision. We’re here to help you understand what changes we’ll need from you, how the approval process works, and what we'll need from you.
What happens when you change your domain?
When you change your root domain:
- Advertisers treat the new URL as a brand-new property
- Advertisers and search engines review the new root domain separately, even if the content stays the same
- Search engines evaluate authority at the root-domain level based on past performance and brand signals
Because of this, you may see a temporary dip in earnings while advertisers and search engines get familiar with the new domain. Revenue and traffic recovery timelines can vary.
Before you make a final decision, we recommend reviewing our member-exclusive guide: How changing your domain name impacts ad revenue and traffic. It explains common patterns and outcomes creators often see after changing domains.
What we need before we submit your new domain
Before we can submit your new domain to our ad partners for approval, these items need to be in place.
1. Live, quality content on the new domain
Your new domain needs to:
- Be publicly accessible
- Include real, fully built-out content
- Avoid “coming soon” pages or placeholder content
Ad partners automatically reject domains without live content.
There’s no strict minimum number of posts, but we recommend at least four to five substantial pages and an About Me page. This helps show that the site is live and ready to review.
Your content doesn’t need to be brand new. You can publish existing posts on the new domain. The content does need to be live before submission, though. We can’t submit domains that are still under construction.
2. ads.txt verification
Your new domain needs an accessible ads.txt file so our ad partners can verify ownership.
When you’re ready to move forward, we’ll send the exact instructions based on how your ads.txt is currently managed. The file needs to be directly accessible here:
https://yourdomain.com/ads.txt
If we ask you to add a temporary ads.txt setup for verification, you’ll need to remove it after approval so our managed ads.txt can take over correctly.
3. Comscore traffic assignment
We’ll ask you to complete a Traffic Assignment Letter so advertisers recognize your new domain as part of Raptive’s inventory.
4. Google Analytics access
If you're updating your domain or switching Google Analytics properties, we'll need you to confirm access so your Raptive dashboard continues reporting correctly.
5. Privacy Policy compliance
Your site must still have:
- A publicly accessible Privacy Policy
- A link labeled “Privacy Policy” or “Privacy Statement”
- The required Raptive advertising disclosure language
You can find the exact language you need to add here.
Approval timing and possible downtime
Once your new domain meets all requirements, we’ll submit it for approval.
Our ad partners make the final approval decision. During the transition, you may see some temporary ad downtime.
We can’t submit domains that are still redirecting elsewhere, blocked from crawlers, or under construction.
FAQs
Do I need to run two fully separate websites?
No. You don’t need to run two separate websites.
A gradual transition strategy is optional. It can help reduce potential earnings changes during the move, but it’s not required for approval.
If you choose a gradual transition, this usually means:
- Publishing a handful of posts on the new domain
- Redirecting specific posts from your current domain to the new one
- Giving the new domain time to build traffic history
Ready to move forward?
Contact Support and share:
- Your current domain
- Your new domain
- Whether the new site is already live
We’ll walk you through the next steps.