Planning a Website Update? Here’s an ​​SEO Migration Checklist

When it's time for a website update, you’re likely excited to refresh your design, improve user experience, or showcase new products and services. However, without proper planning, even small changes can unintentionally hurt your website’s SEO, leading to a drop in rankingsThe position at which a website appears in the SERP. and lost traffic.

Whether you’re doing a complete redesign or tweaking your structure, it’s essential to protect your hard-earned SEO to ensure your website remains visible to search engines and users alike.

Here’s a checklist when updating your website:

Pre-Migration Phase: Planning and Preparation

1. Conduct a Comprehensive SEO AuditA thorough analysis of a website’s SEO performance and areas for improvement.:
   • Audit your current site to identify high-performing pages, backlinksLinks from other websites pointing to your website, crucial for SEO., traffic sources, and technical SEOOptimizing the server and website structure to improve search engine crawling and indexing. elements.
   • Document existing rankings, traffic data, and any other critical metrics using tools like Google AnalyticsA web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic., Google Search ConsoleA tool by Google that helps monitor and maintain your site's presence in search results., Ahrefs, or SEMrush.
2. Create a URL Mapping Plan:
   • Map all existing URLs to their new counterparts. Ensure that high-performing and important pages have corresponding new pages or appropriate redirects.
   • Plan for 301 redirects to ensure link equity is maintained.
3. Back Up Your Existing Site:
   • Take a full backup of your current website, including all content, images, databases, and files. This ensures you have a fallback if anything goes wrong.
4. Review and Update Your Sitemap:
   • Prepare a new XML sitemapA file that lists a website’s important pages to ensure search engines can find and crawl them. based on the new site structure. This should include all updated URLs.
5. Evaluate Internal LinkingLinks that connect different pages on the same website. Structure:
   • Review and plan for updates to your internal linking to ensure that all links point to the new URLs once the migration is complete.
6. Test Staging Environment:
   • Set up a staging environment to test the new site and ensure all elements work properly without impacting your live site.

Migration Phase: Implementation

1. Implement 301 Redirects:
   • Apply 301 redirects for all old URLs to their corresponding new URLs. Double-check that no important pages are left out.
   • Avoid using 302 redirects (temporary), as they do not pass link equity.
2. Upload and Test the XML Sitemap:
   • Submit the new XML sitemap to Google Search Console and other search engines. Ensure that it contains all the updated URLs.
3. Update Robots.txtA file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or files they can or cannot request from your s... File:
   • Review and update your robots.txt file to ensure it’s not blocking important pages or search engine crawlers.
   • Test it to verify that search engines can properly crawl your new site.
4. Update Canonical Tags:
   • Ensure all pages on the new site have correct canonical tags to avoid any duplicate contentContent that appears on more than one web page, which can negatively impact SEO. issues.
5. Check for Broken Links:
   • Use tools like Screaming Frog to crawl the new site and identify any broken links or errors that need fixing before going live.
6. Maintain AnalyticsThe systematic computational analysis of data or statistics to gain insights and support decision-ma... and Tracking Codes:
   • Make sure that Google Analytics and other tracking codes are correctly set up on the new site. This allows you to track performance post-migration accurately.

Post-Migration Phase: Monitoring and Optimization

1. Test Redirects and Fix Errors:
   • Test all implemented 301 redirects to ensure they work correctly. Fix any 404 errors or broken redirects promptly.
2. Monitor Performance in Google Search Console:
   • Keep an eye on Google Search Console for crawl errors, indexingThe process of adding web pages into a search engine's database. issues, or any drop in traffic or rankings.
   • Track which pages are being indexed and fix any issues that arise.
3. Monitor Traffic and Rankings:
   • Compare pre-migration and post-migration traffic and rankings data using Google Analytics and your SEO toolsSoftware and online tools used for various aspects of SEO, such as keyword research and link buildin... (e.g., Ahrefs, SEMrush).
   • Look for any significant drops in traffic or keyword rankings and investigate the causes.
4. Update Internal Links:
   • Review and update any internal links that may still point to old URLs to maintain site integrity.
5. Re-submit the Sitemap If Necessary:
   • If you make changes or find issues with the sitemap post-migration, resubmit the updated version to Google Search Console.
6. Check and Optimize Page SpeedThe time it takes for a webpage to load, affecting user experience and conversion rates.:
   • Run a page speed test on the new site (using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights) and optimize any elements slowing down your site.
7. Re-earn Backlinks:
   • Reach out to external sites that link to your old URLs and request updates to the new URLs. This helps to maintain and recover your backlink profile.
8. Review Structured Data:
   • Check that structured data (schema markupCode added to a website to help search engines understand the content.) is correctly implemented and updated on the new site to support SEO and rich results.
9. Continue Monitoring and Adjusting:
   • For the next few weeks, continue monitoring your site’s performance. Address any errors or drops in traffic quickly to stabilize your SEO.
10. Conduct a Final SEO Audit:
    • Once the site has settled and data stabilizes, conduct a final SEO audit to ensure everything is functioning as expected and that your rankings are holding steady.

Tools You Can Use for Migration:

• Google Search Console: To monitor indexing, crawlingThe process by which search engines discover new and updated web pages to index., and traffic drops.
• Google Analytics: For tracking traffic performance before and after migration.
• Screaming Frog: For crawling the site and checking for broken links or redirects.
• Ahrefs/SEMrush: For tracking backlinks, monitoring rankings, and checking overall SEO performance.

Why Choose Bliss Drive for Your Website Update?

At Bliss Drive, we take the guesswork out of SEO-safe website updates. This is just the tip of the iceberg of how we can help; our team of experts follows a proven, step-by-step process that ensures your rankings stay intact, while giving you the freedom to enhance your site’s design and functionality.

From the initial audit to post-launch monitoring, we handle every aspect of your update with SEO in mind. Whether you’re planning a full redesign or a simple content refreshUpdating and improving existing content to maintain its relevance and effectiveness., we’re here to make sure you maintain—and even improve—your SEO performance.