Site migrations can be risky for SEO because they involve moving a website from one domain or platform to another, which can result in a loss of rankings, traffic, and authority. To conduct a site migration without losing SEO value, our process typically includes the following steps:
- Conduct a comprehensive audit of the current website to identify potential issues and opportunities for improvement.
- Develop a detailed migration plan that includes all technical, content, and SEO-related tasks.
- Set up and verify the new site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Create 301 redirects to ensure that all old URLs redirect to the corresponding new URLs.
- Update internal links on the new site to reflect the new URL structure.
- Use the "Change of Address" tool in Google Search Console to notify Google of the new site location.
- Update all external links pointing to the old site to point to the new site.
- Monitor the site closely for any drops in rankings or traffic and take corrective action as needed.
By following this process, we aim to ensure that the site migration goes smoothly and that the site maintains its SEO value after the migration is complete.