A site migration can feel like packing up your entire house and moving across the country. There’s much to keep track of, and you don’t want to lose any valuable possessions (or, in this case, SEO progress) along the way.
When done right, a site migration is a chance to improve site performance, enhance user experience and boost search presence.
However, with countless moving parts and multiple teams involved, having an organized plan is essential for a smooth transition.
To nail it, you need a rock-solid plan and a dedication to doing things right.
In this article:
A site migration refers to the process of making major changes involving a website.
This might include moving a site to a new domain or hosting provider, switching to a different content management system (CMS) or merging multiple websites into one.
Why is SEO important in site migrations?Some people may wonder what SEO has to do with moving a site.
A site migration with SEO built into it can preserve rankings, avoid traffic loss, retain link equity, improve user experience and uncover new opportunities to improve the site. A site migration without SEO is laced with assumptions and poor decisions and can lead to a near-death traffic loss.
To illustrate how, when done right, SEO built into a site migration can massively impact search performance, see the image below.
After this client’s site migrated about mid-April 2023, they experienced the following results when comparing February 2023 to August 2023:
Before you jump into the deep end, take the time to plan:
Google gives some additional best practice tips for managing a site move, including splitting your move into smaller steps, changing only one thing at a time and timing the move to coincide with lower-traffic times.
Dig deeper: 12 SEO pitfalls to avoid during a website platform migration
Managing and optimizing the new site structure and contentHow people and search engines access your content, and what type of content you publish are both important to your SEO program moving forward.
Site structureA well-organized site structure enhances user experience and helps search engines understand the relationships between your pages.
Think about how you might restructure and streamline your site’s navigation for the relaunch.
This will require taking a look at your target keywords and mapping them to the navigation and content.
Group related content together in a logical hierarchy, making it easy for website visitors and search engines to find exactly what they need.
I call this SEO siloing, and the benefits include:
The goal is to have the top of each silo (navigational category) be based on the more generic keywords and to build a hierarchy of subpages that support that keyword topic.
The picture above shows a sample structure for SEO siloing on a fictional power tools website.
The main categories are cordless power tools, electric power tools and gas-powered tools. The supporting subpages are shown underneath.
ContentNow onto the content that fills the pages on your site. As you head into a site migration, it’s a perfect opportunity to make improvements.
The goal is to ensure the quality of your content when you relaunch.
Here are some tips as you review the content on your site:
If you need to add new content before the site migration, consider using AI content tools for efficiency—but be careful to follow search engine guidelines.
See my article on how to survive the search results when you’re using AI tools for content.
Improving user experiencePrior to a site migration is a good time to assess user experience factors on your site and make any adjustments moving forward.
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Business email address Subscribe Processing... Managing linksProperly mapping and redirecting URLs is essential for maintaining SEO value during a site migration. Without careful planning, you risk losing link equity.
Create a detailed spreadsheet that lists every old URL and its corresponding new URL. This redirect map will serve as a blueprint for implementing 301 redirects and ensuring no pages are lost in the transition.
Be sure to account for changes in site structure, URL naming conventions and content consolidation. A thorough redirect map is your best defense against broken links and lost SEO value.
Work with your development team to ensure that redirects are configured correctly:
Mapping your 301s is just one part of managing your links before a site migration. This is also a good time to review your inbound link profile.
Get rid of any links that may not serve your site well moving forward and identify new link opportunities for the site.
Monitoring technical SEOMonitoring all aspects of technical SEO before and during a site migration is vital for site health and search engine visibility.
Here are some tasks to check off your list:
Review design modificationsYou’ve made it through the site migration process, but the work isn’t over yet. Keeping a close eye on your site’s performance in the weeks and months following the move is important.
TestingThe first step in post-migration testing is to conduct a comprehensive review of your site’s functionality.
This means testing every page, link, form and feature to ensure that everything is working as intended.
Give your website a thorough once-over by focusing on these vital areas:
As you test, make note of any issues or errors you encounter and prioritize fixing them based on their impact on user experience and site performance.
Watching key metricsWith your tracking tools in place, it’s time to monitor your site’s performance and organic traffic levels.
Keep a close eye on your daily and weekly traffic in Google Analytics. It’s normal to see some temporary fluctuations after a migration, but if you notice a sustained drop in organic traffic, it’s time to investigate further.
Another key metric to monitor post-migration is your site’s keyword rankings and overall search visibility. Use SEO tools like Ahrefs to track your rankings for target keywords and monitor any changes over time.
Enhancing user experienceBeyond functionality, it’s important to take a holistic look at your site’s user experience and engagement post-migration.
Are visitors finding what they need easily? Are they engaging with your content and converting at the rates you expect?
You can use your analytics tools to dive into behavioral metrics such as goal completions, bounce rates and more.
If you notice a drop in conversions or engagement, dig deeper to identify potential issues or roadblocks.
Is there a particular page or step in your conversion funnel where users drop off? Are there certain user segments or traffic sources that are underperforming?
Consider reviewing the following areas that may need user experience improvement:
You can use things like heat maps and surveys to get inside your visitors’ heads. Look for trends and sticking points, then use that data to fine-tune your site’s user experience.
Continuously refiningOnce you’ve completed a successful site migration, the real adventure begins.
You’ll continue to keep a close eye on your site, run tests and make tweaks to ensure that it’s always performing at its best and delivering an exceptional user experience.
With a commitment to improvement, you can ensure that your migrated site survives and thrives in its new home for the long haul.