Moving your website to a new platform or domain can be an exciting step for your organization. It can also be a bit nerve-wracking, especially when it comes to preserving your hard-earned SEO rankings. However, with thoughtful planning and execution, you can ensure a smooth transition that retains SEO value and link integrity. It also enhances the user experience and helps preserve search rankings.
Let’s walk through the process:
Pre-Migration: Laying the Groundwork
Before you start packing up your digital boxes, it’s crucial to do some prep work:
Benchmark Your Current Performance
Document your current rankings, organic traffic, and other key metrics. This will be your baseline for measuring success post-migration.
Audit Your Current Site
Take a good look at your existing website. What’s working well? What could use improvement? This is your chance to identify any SEO issues you can fix during the migration. Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console, and tools like SEMRush to analyze current traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles.
Identify High-Value Pages
Focus on migrating pages with high traffic, strong backlinks, and substantial SEO value first.
Create a Comprehensive Redirect Map
Compile a list of your current URLs and map them to their new locations on the site. This step is vital for preserving link equity and avoiding 404 errors.
Review and Update Content
Ensure all migrated content is updated for relevance, readability, and SEO. This includes adding internal links, optimizing images with alt text, and ensuring proper keyword usage.
Structured Data Markup
Use structured data (schema markup) to improve how search engines interpret your content.
During Migration: Executing with Precision
Now that you’ve done your homework, it’s time for the big move!
Implement 301 Redirects
Set up 301 redirects from all old URLs to their new locations to maintain link equity and avoid 404 errors. This informs search engines that your content has permanently moved.
And don’t forget to test them! Verify that all redirects work correctly — you can either test them manually or use tools like Screaming Frog.
Create a URL Map
Document and map all existing URLs to their new counterparts. This ensures every old URL points to a relevant new URL.
Update Internal Links
Remember the links within your site content. Update them to point to the new URLs to avoid creating redirect chains.
Preserve Metadata
Make sure that your title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags remain intact during the transition. If you’re updating content, seize the opportunity to enhance your metadata by reviewing and aligning it with SEO best practices and relevant keywords.
Check Robots.txt
Ensure the robots.txt file is correctly configured to allow search engines to crawl the new site.
Post-Migration: Monitoring and Optimizing
You’ve made the move, but your job isn’t done yet:
Conduct a Full SEO Audit
Conduct a comprehensive SEO audit post-migration to ensure all elements are correctly implemented and the site performs as expected.
Submit Your New Sitemap
Generate a new XML sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This helps search engines discover and index your new pages quickly.
Monitor for Crawl Errors
Keep a close eye on your Google Search Console for any crawl errors or indexing issues. Address them promptly to minimize any negative impact.
Configure Sensible Metadata Defaults
For new content, set up default metadata to ensure sensible values are used when the content editor does not provide custom metadata.
Continue to Track Your Performance
Remember those benchmarks you set? Now’s the time to compare your new site’s performance against them. There are a few steps here:
- Look for any significant drops in traffic or rankings. If you see them, investigate the cause.
- Set a schedule to regularly monitor the site’s performance. Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor traffic changes, rankings, and indexing issues, so that you can refine your SEO strategy based on performance data and industry trends.
- Test with Lighthouse. Use Google’s Lighthouse testing to help address any performance and SEO issues that might affect search placement.
Lastly, Fix Issues Promptly!
Now that you have a shiny new migration done, don’t just ‘set it and forget it.’ Address any 404 errors, crawl issues, or drops in rankings as soon as they are identified.
Bonus Tips for SEO Success
While you’re at it, why not take this opportunity to give your SEO a boost?
Improve Site Speed
A new platform often means better performance. Use the opportunity to optimize your page load times, which is a crucial ranking factor.
Enhance Mobile Responsiveness
Ensure your new site provides an excellent experience across all devices. Google’s mobile-first indexing makes this more important than ever. Test the new site for mobile compatibility using tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Create Fresh, Quality Content
Use the migration as an opportunity to refresh your existing content or create new, valuable pieces that support your SEO strategy.
Remember, a website migration is a big undertaking, but it’s also an opportunity. By following these steps and remaining proactive, you can ensure that your SEO not only survives the transition but also flourishes in its new environment.
And if you need a hand at any point, just reach out to us! We’re here to help you make this journey as smooth as possible.
