Specialized service
Website migration SEO that protects the traffic you've earned
You receive
- Migration risk assessment
- Redirect map
- Staging QA report
- Launch checklist
- Post-launch reports
Scope, timeline and price confirmed in writing before work starts.
The service
Why migrations put traffic at risk
A migration changes things search engines rely on: URLs, templates, internal links, rendering and sometimes the domain itself. When redirects are missing, content is dropped or staging rules leak into production, rankings built over years can disappear within weeks.
We get involved before launch, ideally during planning, to benchmark current performance, map every URL that matters, review the new site on staging and run launch-day checks. Afterward, we monitor closely and fix issues while they are still easy to reverse.
Business problems
Problems this service addresses
A redesign is coming and SEO isn't in the plan
Design and development are underway, and nobody owns redirects, content parity or technical SEO checks.
Changing CMS or e-commerce platform
The new platform generates different URL structures, templates and defaults.
Domain change or consolidation
Brands, subdomains or country sites are being merged or moved to a new domain.
Traffic dropped after a recent launch
A migration already happened and organic traffic fell. Recovery work is needed quickly.
What we do
The work involved
- 01
Pre-migration benchmark
Full crawl, top landing pages, indexing status, rankings for priority queries and analytics baselines.
- 02
URL inventory and redirect mapping
Every URL with traffic, links or indexing value mapped one-to-one to its closest equivalent.
- 03
Content and template parity review
Checks that titles, headings, copy, internal links and structured data survive the move.
- 04
Staging review
Rendering, canonicals, robots directives, status codes and internal links tested before launch.
- 05
Launch-day checks
Redirect testing, staging rule removal and sitemap submission. For domain changes, Google says to “submit a Change of Address in Search Console for the old site,” and to keep permanent redirects “for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year.”
- 06
Post-launch monitoring
Crawl errors, indexing, redirects and traffic by page group, compared against the benchmark at agreed intervals.
Migration timeline
Where SEO fits in a migration
- 1During design
Plan
URL structure, templates and content decisions reviewed for SEO impact.
- 2Before build ends
Benchmark
Full crawl, top pages, rankings and analytics baselines recorded.
- 3Before staging QA
Map
Every valuable URL mapped to its new equivalent.
- 4Before launch
Staging QA
Rendering, canonicals, directives, links and redirects tested.
- 5Launch day
Launch
Redirects verified, staging blocks removed, sitemaps submitted.
- 6After launch
Monitor
Errors, indexing and traffic compared against the benchmark.
Deliverables
What you receive
Migration risk assessment
The URLs, templates and decisions most likely to affect organic traffic.
Redirect map
Source and destination URLs, ready for implementation and automated testing.
Staging QA report
Issues found on staging, with severity and required fixes before launch.
Launch checklist
Step-by-step launch tasks with owners.
Post-launch reports
Status reports at agreed intervals comparing performance with the benchmark.
Measurement
How success is measured
- Redirect accuracy
- Share of mapped URLs returning a single-hop 301 or 308 to the correct destination.
- Index coverage of new URLs
- How quickly new URLs replace old ones in Search Console.
- Traffic versus baseline
- Organic clicks and conversions by page group compared with the pre-migration benchmark.
- Error rates
- 404s and server errors detected by crawls and Search Console after launch.
Who it's for
Who benefits most
- Companies planning a redesign, CMS change or domain move in the next few months
- E-commerce stores changing platforms
- Teams recovering from a migration that has already caused traffic loss
Questions
Migration SEO FAQ
When should SEO get involved in a migration?
As early as possible, ideally during planning and information architecture. Fixing URL structure and template decisions on paper is far cheaper than after launch.
Can you help if we've already migrated?
Yes. We compare the old and new sites using archived crawls, analytics and Search Console data, identify missing redirects and lost content, and prioritize recovery fixes.
Get started with Migration SEO
Tell us about your website and what you need from Migration SEO. We'll review it and reply with an honest view of the opportunity and a proposed next step.
What happens next
We review your site and request
A person on our team looks at your website and the problem you described. You won't receive an automated report.
We reply within two business days
By email, with initial observations, any questions we have, and whether we think we're a good fit.
Scoping call and written proposal
If it makes sense to continue, we schedule a call and send a written scope, timeline and price. Nothing is billed before you approve it.