SEO Migration: What is it and how do you apply it?
SEO plays a crucial role in the online marketing of any business. A good SEO value drives a lot of organic traffic, resulting in better online visibility, new customers and sales. When having a website created or moving a domain, it is essential to include the accumulated SEO value. This is achieved through an SEO migration. But what exactly is an SEO migration and how do you perform it? I explain it to you in detail.
What is an SEO migration?
An SEO migration involves changing (or replacing) the website structure while maintaining the SEO value that has been built up. It includes moving pages to another domain, platform, CMS or server. A migration can be done to improve the website, give it a more attractive design, create a better structure or move to a faster CMS. However, a migration only becomes an SEO migration when the accumulated SEO value is strategically transferred so that search engine rankings in Google and other search engines are not affected. This requires more than just setting up redirects or tweaking a few SEO plugins. It involves structural changes that involve mapping all of the site’s resources. A poor approach can lead to the loss of SEO traffic and online revenue – just ask Transavia.
Why is an SEO migration important?
I think the introduction above is enough explanation, but let’s dive into it a little deeper. There are several reasons why a migration may be necessary, such as launching a new brand, domain or web shop, merging domains, or in case of a merger/acquisition. It is essential to perform the SEO migration properly so that your search engine rankings are maintained and visitors can continue to find you. Google checks Internet pages daily using its Googlebots to keep the index up-to-date. If Google no longer recognizes pages after a major change to your website, they may be removed from its database and disappear from search results, resulting in a decrease in traffic to your website – especially if a lot of traffic comes from search engines. Therefore, thorough preparation is key to avoiding this.
How do you perform an SEO migration? The checklist
Although there are different types of migrations, the basics of every migration remain the same. We migrate websites for SEO on a weekly basis, and our checklist is carefully crafted from our own expertise and based on industry standards.
- Create a baseline: Collect all data and analyze the current situation, including positions of relevant keywords, searcher focus and conversion pages.
- Map current URLs: Make a survey of all current URLs of the website, paying attention to traffic sources, internal link structure and backlinks. Pro tip: also map external referring URLs (your backlinks).
- Map the new URLs: Transfer all content to a test environment and create a list of all new URLs for the website.
- Create a good relocation plan: Work out a redirect plan with an overview of old and new URLs and all the steps for migration.
- Test the redirects in a test environment: Verify that all links and pages work as intended.
- Perform the migration: Once the migration plan has been successfully tested, the website can go live.
- Monitor traffic, performance and rankings: Compare the data with the baseline measurement and make timely adjustments if necessary.
What else should you look out for in an SEO migration?
During an SEO migration, there are a few more important points to consider:
- Backlinks: Make sure that websites linking to your page update their links so that they continue to work after the migration. This ensures retention of value to the new URLs.
- Internal links: Don’t forget to adjust internal links correctly, as they are often overlooked.
- Meta descriptions and titles: Check that all titles and meta descriptions have been transferred correctly to the new website.
- Google Analytics: Place the old Google Analytics Script on the new website to retain historical data and collect new data.
- URLs in ad texts: Don’t forget to adjust URLs in existing campaigns.
I (and my colleagues, for that matter) consider SEO migration an essential part of delivering a new website. We therefore ensure that when we create a new website, it is done thoroughly. Because a successful SEO migration maintains positions, organic traffic and a good user experience for (potential) customers.
