Website Migration SEO Checklist

Are you planning to have a website migration? There are a lot of factors that must be thought about to make sure that the move is as smooth as possible. You do not desire your site visitors to experience any disturbances, and you definitely don't want your site's efficiency to suffer.

In this post, we will talk about a website migration SEO checklist that you can follow to make sure that your site's SEO is not impacted by the move and it will not prevent you from ranking at the top of search results.

1. Thoroughly Think About if a Website Migration is Necessary

The first step in any website migration process is to thoroughly think about if a migration is even necessary. There are cases when it may be more helpful to simply update your website instead of do a full-blown migration. Or, perhaps you're really experiencing issues with your present website that can be repaired without a migration.

It is necessary to do a thorough evaluation of your current site and its issues prior to making the decision to migrate. You should likewise think about that the migration of a website will almost always lead to a brief period of traffic loss for Google. If you do decide that migration is needed, make sure to account for that in your preparation.

When is a site migration worth it?

• When a total rebranding is needed.
• If the migration will create more opportunities like news release and links.
• When 301 redirects are inadequate.
• When the website is down or not carrying out well.
• If you are moving from a subdomain to the root domain.
• When the site is being relocated to HTTPS, which is one of the couple of scenarios in which migration alone provides an SEO benefit.

2. Strategy to migrate throughout a sluggish duration

If you can, try to plan your website migration for a time when traffic is slow. The best time to migrate a site is typically throughout the off-season for your industry or throughout times of the year when your website doesn't see a lot of traffic.

3. Crawl your website before the migration

Doing a crawl of your site prior to you migrate is an excellent way to get an idea of the state of your website. This will assist you to recognize any prospective issues that need to be fixed before the migration takes place. You do not wish to migrate your website and then understand that there are lots of damaged links or pages that require to be repaired.

4. Check for 404s and redirects

Another thing that you will want to do before website migrations is to examine for 404s. The last thing you want is for users to land on a 404 page after the migration.

5. Update all internal links

When you migrate a website, all of the internal links will require to be updated. You don't want visitors arriving at 404 pages after the migration since of out-of-date links. So don't forget to upgrade all of your internal links to make sure a successful website migration.

6. Use a sandbox environment

If you're able to, use a sandbox environment to evaluate the migration procedure. This will help to guarantee that the migration goes efficiently and that there are not a surprises once the website is live. You don't want to migrate your website and then recognize that there are significant problems with it. If you can, test the migration on a staging server first to ensure that whatever is working properly.

7. Record Your Analytics Data

You can use this information to see if there is any modification in traffic or engagement after the migration. If you see a decrease in traffic or engagement, you will understand that something went wrong with the migration and you can fix it.

8. Map all altered URLs from old to new

Moving a website can lead to a great deal of changes to your URL structure. So it is very important to map out all of the altered URLs from the old website to the new website. This will assist to guarantee that there are no broken links after the migration. Having a spreadsheet that lists all of the changed URLs is an excellent way to track them.

9. Self-canonicalize all new} pages

If you are using canonical tags throughout the migration, ensure to self-canonicalize all of the new pages Canonicalizing the old website can be bothersome because it can lead to replicate content. Make sure to canonicalize the brand-new pages to themselves to avoid any prospective SEO concerns.

Having a site-wide 301 redirect in location is a good way to ensure that all of your old pages are redirected to the correct pages on the brand-new website This will assist to lessen any broken links after the migration.

10. Determine and remedy any erased pages

If you are deleting any pages during the migration, make sure to recognize and correct them. You do not desire any erased pages showing up in your website's search results. Make sure to redirect them to the right page or remove them from your website entirely.

11. Make a backup of your site

Prior to you migrate your site, make sure to develop a backup of it. This will guarantee that you have a copy of your website in case something goes wrong during the migration process.

12. Inform Google of the migration

In order for Google to be knowledgeable about your website migrations, you will require to notify them of it. You can do this by sending a modification of address demand through Google Search Console. The modification of address demand will let Google know that your site has actually been moved which they must update their index accordingly. This will help Google to comprehend that there is a brand-new site which they should rank it accordingly.

13. Monitor your site after the migration

Lastly, for this website migration checklist, make certain to monitor your website carefully after the website migration process. This will help you to catch any issues that might have arisen during the migration. If you discover any concerns, make sure to resolve them as soon as possible. Having a website that is not performing well can hurt your business in the long run. Make sure to keep an eye on your site after the migration.

Final Thoughts

Migrating a site can be an overwhelming job. By following these pointers, you can ensure that the migration goes efficiently and that there are no unfavorable SEO impacts. If you are uncertain of how to do a successful website migration, make sure to consult with an expert. We here at Denver Digital Firm can help you with all of your website migration needs. So if you are thinking about migrating your website, contact us today for a totally free consultation.

If you're looking for more ideas on how you can migrate your site safely, you can check this out: https://denverdigitalagency.com/website-migration-seo-checklist/