So, you’ve heard the term “SEO migration” floating around, but what exactly is it? And more importantly, why should you dear website owner, be worried about it in the slightest?
Digital marketers hate to hear about new websites losing all their credibility after a less-than-ideal migration – and it happens often! We want to help – so let’s break it down in plain English…
Imagine you are moving house… think of your website as your house. It’s got all your stuff (content, images, products, etc.) all neatly arranged. Now, imagine you’re moving to a new house. You wouldn’t just throw everything into boxes and hope for the best, right? You’d plan, pack carefully, and make sure everything gets to the new place in one piece.
That’s essentially what an SEO migration is. It’s preparing properly for when you make significant changes to your website that could affect how search engines like Google see and understand it. This could be anything from redesigning your website, changing your domain name or moving to a new content management system (CMS).
Why SEO migrations matter
TL;DR: SEO migrations work to keep things the same in the eyes of Google, thus keeping your traffic and website interactions at normal levels.
Now, why should you care? Because if you don’t handle your website move properly, you could lose your hard-earned search engine rankings. When rankings dip, so too can your conversions, enquiries or sales. Imagine your new house doesn’t have a mailbox or a street number. People (and search engines) wouldn’t be able to find you!
A poorly executed SEO migration can lead to:
- A drop in search engine rankings: Your website might disappear from the first page of Google, meaning fewer people will find you.
- Loss of traffic: Less visibility means fewer visitors to your site, which can impact sales, leads, or whatever your website’s goal is.
- Broken links and a bad user experience: If things aren’t moved correctly, users might end up on 404 error pages, leading to frustration and them leaving your site.
The key to a successful SEO migration is careful planning
It’s like having a detailed moving checklist. This includes things like:
- Auditing your existing website: Knowing what you have before you move.
- Planning your new website’s structure: Making sure the new “house” is organised logically.
- Redirecting old URLs: Like forwarding your mail, so search engines know where your content has moved.
- Testing and monitoring: Checking everything works after the move and keeping an eye on your rankings.
Don’t DIY (unless you really know what you’re doing!)
Just like you might hire professional movers, SEO migrations are often best left to the experts. Maybe this one isn’t the best analogy… You probably aren’t so likely to make major mistakes moving your own belongings as you are your own website.
Stick with us for the sake of continuity though… Professionals have the tools and know-how to ensure a smooth transition and minimise any negative impact on your search engine visibility – just as professional movers can make moving house seamless and simple.
Tools for a smooth SEO migration
| Tool | What It Does | How It Helps with Migration |
|---|---|---|
| Screaming Frog | Crawls your site and audits structure, links, and errors | Finds broken links, checks redirects, maps site structure |
| SEMrush / Ahrefs | Tracks backlinks and keyword rankings | Monitors lost links, tracks ranking changes, audits site health |
| Google Search Console | Monitors site’s visibility in Google Search | Tracks indexing, finds crawl errors, monitors performance |
| Google Analytics 4 | Tracks user behaviour and traffic | Monitors traffic changes, user engagement, and conversions |
How to best approach your SEO migration?
If we’ve convinced you to avoid DIYing it – we promise losing your ranking and visibility to customers isn’t worth saving a bit of $$ in the short term, reach out to an expert for assistance. At Empire9 our SEO team has handled numerous migrations to ensure the smooth sailing of our clients’ websites, and we understand the severity of the consequences.
If cost is everything, find a reputable checklist to work through for your DIY migration, and make sure to make realistic allowances for the mistakes that may happen. Make sure to continuously check and monitor for any errors, and rectify as needed.
Consult your digital marketing team for professional assistance in your migration, and if you don’t have one – get in touch! We are happy to step up to the plate.
