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bizstyler site migration seo checklist
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Teresa Hunter

Site Migration – Free SEO Checklist

Use the form below to get the checklist sent to your email. This is what you will need to migrate your website without losing traffic.

Bonus: includes instructions on how to create a mapping of old and new URLs.

Get the Site Migration SEO Checklist

Subscribe to learn what you need to do get the most out of your website, starting with this free checklist.

Pro Tip: Migrate the site when there is lower traffic

Expect temporary ranking fluctuations.

1. Prepare for the site move

Make sure to follow these steps BEFORE the site move

Are redirects set up correctly?

  • Implement 301 redirects for any pages that have permanently moved to another location
  • Check that robots.txt is set up (controls what Googlebot can crawl)
  • Create a mapping of old to new and check - pay close attention to top pages

Tip: How to identify your top pages

Moving your site from one domain to another?

  • Use Change of Address Tool

Is the website secure?

  • Check website has implemented HTTPS and the certificate is issued by a certificate authority (CA).

Tip: More information on migrating HTTP to HTTPS

Is there a custom 404 page?

  • Check by requesting a page that is not there. It should return a true 404 error and the page should be branded with helpful information.

Tip: Google “Create a 404 page” 

Is web analytics set up?

  • Check Google Analytics is configured (maybe consider creating a new profile for your new site)

Tip: How to set up Google Analytics for your website (track your traffic)

Is the website indexed?

  • Use site search by typing site:yourdomain into Google

Tip: 

Use Google Search Console (verify all variants of your new site) and update your sitemap.
More information on using Search Console with your website
Use Index Coverage Report to check pages are indexed and for any problems with indexing
the site.
Verify website with Bing.

Is the website responsive?

  • Use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test Tool

Tip: How to make your website mobile friendly.

Are meta tags optimised?

  • Check Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: Creating good titles and snippets in search results

Tip: Useful information here from Google: Special tags that Google understands

Are you providing high-quality content?

  • Use the Performance report to check which queries generate traffic to your site and what the click-through rate is for your pages.

Tip: How to use the performance report

Is the site GDPR compliant?

  • Use the Performance report to check which queries generate traffic to your site and what the click-through rate is for your pages.

Not SEO but important. Cookie notice/notification, privacy policy, terms etc.

Is it on Google Maps (Google My Business) and Bing Places?

  • Good for any business to connect in search and maps.

Tip: How to set up your Google My Business

Don't forget...

  • content and user experience (useful to the user and covers a topic with a clear call to action for landing pages / easy to navigate)
  • Technical in terms of speed and loading

Tip: Enabling search result features for your site.

2. Start the site move

Make sure your move is going smoothly and spot any issues early with these checks

Remove any blocks to crawling of your new site

  • Check your robots.txt, noindex meta tags or HTTP header are not set to block indexing of content.

Moving hosting or content distribution network:

  • Update the DNS settings

3. After the site move

Make sure your move is going smoothly and spot any issues early with these checks

Monitor Traffic

Moving hosting or content distribution network:

  • Check server logs on old and new servers

All site moves:

  • Using Search Console (Sitemaps, Index Coverage report, and Search queries)
  • Google Analytics to check traffic (during initial site move monitor real-time reports)
  • Set up reports for 404s (you can use Google Data Sources)

Tip: How to monitor your traffic using Google Search Console and Google Analytics

Common issues and how to troubleshoot

Below are common site move mistakes and how to resolve them:

Did you forget to update your robots.txt and remove the “disallow: /” to allow Google to crawl your site?

Is your robots.txt file cached? Make sure Google is looking at the latest robots.txt.

Google will think your old pages are temporarily being moved if you use 302 redirects. And won’t know it’s a permanent move unless you use 301 redirects.

Also don’t redirect all pages to home page. Point each old page to the most relevant one.

Timeout errors, too many redirects, internal server error, ugly and distorted images, and 404s… Get in touch and we can help you fix these issues.

Have a look at these common mistakes list from Google Search Central.

If you would like help with your website redesign and migration just get in touch.

Get the Site Migration SEO Checklist

Subscribe to learn what you need to do get the most out of your website, starting with this free checklist.

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Get in touch with Teresa.

Based in Hither Green, Lewisham, London, SE12 – Servicing clients remotely in the UK and world wide.

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