Website migrations
Website migration SEO — move the site without losing track of what already earns traffic.
A migration changes the address, platform or structure of a site that may already be earning search traffic. Sensible planning reduces the avoidable risk in that process — it can't promise search performance won't fluctuate at all.
Not one thing
"Migration" covers several different changes.
The word gets used loosely, but the type of migration determines what actually needs checking. A domain change and a URL restructure carry very different risk profiles, even though both fall under the same general heading.
Domain change
Moving from one domain to another entirely — the highest-risk migration type, since every URL on the site changes address at once.
Platform change
Moving the same content to a different CMS or framework, which can change how pages are structured and rendered even if URLs stay similar.
URL structure change
Restructuring how addresses are formed — folder depth, slugs or naming conventions — without necessarily changing domain or platform.
Redesign combined with migration
A visual and structural rebuild happening at the same time as a platform or URL change, which compounds the number of things that could go wrong at once.
HTTP to HTTPS
An older but still relevant migration type for any site yet to move to a secure protocol — every URL technically changes even though the content doesn't.
Consolidation
Merging several sites or subdomains into one, requiring a mapping decision for every URL across every site being combined.
Major architecture change
Restructuring how content is grouped and linked, even where domain and platform remain the same.
The process
What sensible migration planning actually involves.
Each stage below matters regardless of migration type — the specifics change with the type of move, but skipping a stage carries the same risk each time.
- 01
Pre-migration benchmark
Before anything moves, record current rankings, indexed pages, traffic by landing page and Search Console performance data. Without this, there's no way to tell afterwards what changed and by how much.
- 02
URL mapping
Every existing URL matched to its destination on the new site, one to one where possible. This document is the single most important output of the whole planning stage.
- 03
301 redirects
Each mapped URL redirected individually to its new destination — not blanket-redirected to a homepage or category page, which passes on far less value.
- 04
Internal links
Navigation, footer links and in-content links updated to point directly to new URLs, rather than relying on redirects to catch old links indefinitely.
- 05
Canonical tags
Every page's canonical tag checked to confirm it points to the correct new URL, on the live domain, not a staging environment left over from testing.
- 06
Sitemaps
A new XML sitemap generated and submitted, reflecting only live, correct URLs — an old sitemap left in place can slow discovery of the new structure.
- 07
Testing before launch
Redirects, canonicals and key pages checked in a staging environment before going live, so problems are caught before they affect the live site.
- 08
Search Console
Both old and new properties (or the same property, for a URL-only change) monitored through the transition, with any new errors investigated immediately.
- 09
Post-launch monitoring
Rankings, indexing status and traffic checked closely for several weeks after launch, since migrations often take time to fully settle.
Being honest about risk
We won't promise zero impact — because no one honestly can.
A well-planned migration, executed with a complete redirect map, correct canonicals and close post-launch monitoring, avoids nearly all of the self-inflicted causes of ranking loss. It doesn't remove every variable. Search performance can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the migration itself — algorithm updates, competitor activity, or simply the time Google takes to re-process a changed site.
What careful planning buys is confidence that if performance does shift, it's possible to say clearly whether it's a genuine issue with the migration or normal background movement — because a proper benchmark was taken beforehand.
If the migration is happening alongside a full visual rebuild, our page on SEO for website redesigns covers the additional planning that adds. General redesign approach is covered on website redesign.
For the wider technical checklist a migration depends on, see technical SEO.
Before you ask
Questions about migrating a site without losing ground.
Next step
Got a vision?
Let's build the venture.
Tell us what your business does and what you need the website to achieve. We'll come back to you personally with honest thoughts — and a clear proposal if it's a good fit.