Website migrations can be risky business, especially when it comes to SEO. Whether you’re rebranding, changing domains, moving to a new CMS, or redesigning your site, the transition can cause a significant drop in search rankings if not handled properly. That’s where a comprehensive SEO website migration checklist becomes your best ally.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through everything you need to include in your SEO website migration checklist to preserve rankings, retain traffic, and avoid common pitfalls that could sabotage your hard-earned visibility.
What Is a Website Migration?
Before diving into the SEO website migration checklist, let’s define what a website migration entails.
Website migration refers to significant changes to a website’s structure, content, design, platform, or URL structure that can affect its visibility in search engines. This includes:
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Changing domain names
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Switching CMS platforms (e.g., WordPress to Shopify)
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Redesigning site architecture or navigation
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Moving from HTTP to HTTPS
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Merging or splitting websites
Each of these changes can disrupt your SEO performance if not managed carefully. Hence the need for a robust SEO website migration checklist.
Why You Need an SEO Website Migration Checklist
Without an SEO website migration checklist, you risk:
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Losing keyword rankings
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Breaking backlinks
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Creating broken URLs
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Damaging user experience
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Dropping organic traffic
Having a structured checklist ensures every technical and strategic SEO aspect is covered before, during, and after the migration.
SEO Website Migration Checklist: Pre-Migration Phase
The pre-migration phase is all about planning and auditing. Here’s what your SEO website migration checklist should include before making any changes:
✅ 1. Crawl Your Existing Site
Use tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to create a full inventory of your current website. Save this data for comparison later.
✅ 2. Audit Current SEO Performance
Benchmark your current traffic, rankings, backlinks, and crawl errors using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs. These benchmarks will help measure post-migration success.
✅ 3. Map All URLs
Create a comprehensive URL mapping file that outlines:
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Current URLs
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Corresponding new URLs
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Redirect status
This is a critical step in the SEO website migration checklist, especially when URLs are changing.
✅ 4. Backup Everything
Always take a full backup of your website (files and databases) before migration. You’ll thank yourself if something goes wrong.
✅ 5. Plan Redirects (301)
Set up 301 redirects for all changed or deleted URLs. This ensures search engines and users are automatically taken to the correct new page, preserving SEO value.
✅ 6. Conduct a Technical SEO Audit
Make sure your site has no existing SEO issues before migration. Look for:
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Broken links
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Missing meta tags
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Duplicate content
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Thin content
Fix these before moving to the new site.
SEO Website Migration Checklist: Migration Phase
When the actual migration begins, execution is everything. Here’s what your SEO website migration checklist should include during the go-live process:
✅ 7. Noindex Staging Site
Ensure your staging or development environment has a noindex tag or is blocked via robots.txt. This prevents duplicate content from being indexed.
✅ 8. Implement Redirects
Put your 301 redirect plan into action. This is one of the most important steps in your SEO website migration checklist.
✅ 9. Update Internal Links
Update all internal links to point to the new URLs. Avoid linking to redirected URLs wherever possible, as direct links are better for crawl efficiency.
✅ 10. Carry Over SEO Elements
Ensure all important SEO on-page elements are preserved:
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Page titles
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Meta descriptions
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Canonical tags
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H1 tags
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Alt text for images
✅ 11. Update XML Sitemap
Generate a new XML sitemap reflecting the updated URLs and submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
✅ 12. Update Robots.txt
Check and update your robots.txt file to ensure it’s not blocking critical pages from being crawled by search engines.
✅ 13. Test Everything
Use tools like Screaming Frog to crawl the new site and ensure:
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No broken links
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Redirects are working properly
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Pages are crawlable
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Meta tags are intact
SEO Website Migration Checklist: Post-Migration Phase
Once your new site is live, the SEO website migration checklist continues. Post-launch monitoring and fine-tuning are just as important.
✅ 14. Monitor Indexing
Use Google Search Console to monitor how your new site is being indexed. Look for:
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Sudden drops in indexed pages
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Crawl errors
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Soft 404s
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Redirect issues
✅ 15. Track Rankings and Traffic
Compare your rankings and organic traffic to the benchmarks from your pre-migration audit. Temporary fluctuations are normal, but long-term losses indicate a problem.
✅ 16. Submit Change of Address (if applicable)
If you’ve changed your domain, use Google Search Console’s Change of Address tool to notify Google.
✅ 17. Check Backlinks
Use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify backlinks pointing to your old URLs. Reach out to high-authority domains and ask them to update their links to your new URLs.
✅ 18. Monitor Logs
Use server logs to track how Googlebot is crawling the new site. This can help identify crawl issues and slowdowns.
✅ 19. Resolve 404 Errors
Keep a close eye on 404 errors. Redirect or fix them promptly to avoid losing link equity and harming user experience.
✅ 20. Re-Submit Sitemaps and Re-Crawl
After fixing any post-launch issues, re-submit your sitemap and request re-crawls through Google Search Console.
Bonus Tips for a Successful Migration
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Communicate with Stakeholders: Keep marketing, development, and SEO teams in the loop.
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Time Your Migration Carefully: Avoid peak seasons, sales periods, or other high-traffic times.
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Use a Staging Environment: Test the entire migration process on a staging site before going live.
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Plan for Rollback: Always have a rollback strategy in case something goes seriously wrong.
Final Thoughts
A well-executed website migration can enhance performance, branding, and usability—but without a strategic SEO approach, it can also lead to disaster. Following a detailed SEO website migration checklist is the best way to protect your search rankings and traffic throughout the transition.
From URL mapping and redirects to monitoring and troubleshooting, every step matters. The key to a successful migration lies in thorough planning, technical accuracy, and ongoing analysis.
