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SEO Migration

Preserves search visibility when a website moves to a new domain, platform, or URL structure, requiring careful URL mapping, redirects, and monitoring.

If you treat a migration as just a redirect job, you lose traffic because internal links, content, and signals must transfer too.

Key points

  • Map every old URL to a new one before launching redirects.
  • Use 301 redirects and keep them in place for at least a year.
  • Update robots.txt, canonical tags, and XML sitemaps for the new site.
  • Benchmark traffic and rankings before launch to measure success.
  • Monitor crawl errors, indexation changes, and ranking shifts post-launch.
  • Never block the new site with noindex or staging rules after going live.

A product catalogue loses half its traffic overnight

An e-commerce site moved from example.com to example.co.uk without mapping product pages. Within a week, organic traffic fell 60%. They had used a mapping tool like SEOPack, but missing links from old blog posts broke the transfer of ranking signals. After implementing 301 redirects for each unique URL, resubmitting a new XML sitemap, and removing the old sitemap, traffic recovered over four months.

Three ways a migration can go wrong

  • Temporary redirects Using 302 instead of 301 can dilute link equity and delay signal transfer. Google treats 302 as temporary, so it may not pass authority.
  • Blocking the new site Noindex meta tags, password protection, or robots.txt disallow rules prevent search engines from crawling and indexing the new site.
  • Incomplete URL mapping Missing redirects for important pages cause 404 errors, losing traffic and wasting crawl budget on error pages.

Four tasks to complete before launch

  • Audit current site A technical audit of the current site identifies high-value pages by traffic and conversions. Benchmark current rankings and backlink profiles to set a baseline.
  • Create URL mapping Pair every old URL to a destination on the new site. Include parameter and pagination pages to avoid losing traffic.
  • Update internal links Change all navigation, content, and footnote links to target the new URL structure. Using an SEO platform for digital teams can help automate link mapping and reduce errors.
  • Test redirects Use Google's URL Inspection Tool or a command-line script to verify that redirects resolve correctly for a sample set.

Three post-launch checks

  • Monitor crawl errors In Search Console, watch for 404s and soft 404s. Recheck any URLs that returned errors during test.
  • Check indexation Ensure new pages are indexed by searching site:newdomain.com. Resubmit the new sitemap and remove the old one.
  • Track ranking shifts Compare keyword positions using your tracker. Expect volatility for 2–4 weeks; significant drops may require further investigation.

Common questions

Does changing domain name affect SEO?

Yes, it can significantly affect rankings if not handled with proper 301 redirects and URL mapping.

Is SEO migration the same as the Centre for Migration Studies?

No, SEO migration refers to moving a website to preserve search visibility, while the Centre for Migration Studies is a research organisation focused on immigration policy.

Sources

  1. Google Search Central: Site Moves and Migrations Official guidance on planning and executing a site move.
  2. Google Search Central: Change of Address tool Using the tool to notify Google of domain changes.
  3. Google Search Central: Sitemaps overview How to submit and manage XML sitemaps after a migration.
  4. Google Search Central: Robots.txt introduction Updating robots.txt to allow crawling of the new site.
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