Migrating a business website can be a stressful task, especially when it comes to preserving hard-earned SEO results. As businesses evolve, website migrations become necessary for various reasons-whether it’s rebranding, changing domain names, or upgrading to a more robust platform.
However, without a carefully crafted SEO migration checklist, you risk losing your search engine rankings, organic traffic, and ultimately, your online visibility.
So, what do you need to know before you get started? We can help.
Let’s go through what to include on your SEO migration checklist.
Benchmark Current Performance
Before initiating the migration, it’s essential to benchmark the current performance of your site.
Note the current performance metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, website bounce rate, and overall conversion rate.
There are different tools you can use to gather valuable data. These benchmarks will help measure the success of the migration.
Figure out SEO Goals
Determine the specific KPIs you want to focus on, such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, and bounce rates. These different factors will help you measure the success of your SEO efforts post-migration.
Beyond the immediate goals of maintaining current performance, outline your long-term SEO objectives. This could include expanding your keyword reach, improving domain authority, or enhancing user experience to boost engagement and conversions.
On-Page SEO Elements
Maintaining on-page SEO elements is crucial during a website migration to ensure that your pages remain optimized and continue to perform well in search engine rankings.
Check that all internal links are updated to point to the correct URLs on the new site. Internal linking is essential for site navigation, user experience, and SEO. Ensure that links are not broken and maintain their contextual relevance.
Verify that all images have appropriate alt text, describing the content of the images accurately and including relevant keywords where appropriate. Ensure that images are optimized for fast loading times by compressing them without losing quality.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is important for your website’s performance in search engines.
Ensure that structured data markup is properly implemented and validated on the new site. Structured data helps different search engines understand your website content better and can boost your search ranking with rich snippets.
Check for 404 errors and other status code issues. Ensure that all pages return the appropriate status codes. Proper handling of error pages enhances user experience and helps maintain your site’s SEO integrity.
Keep Testing and Optimizing
You’ll need to keep an eye on things after the initial migration. Conduct manual checks of important pages to ensure they display correctly and that all on-page SEO elements are intact.
This includes verifying content, images, internal links, and overall user experience. Manual checks complement automated tools by catching issues that might be missed otherwise.
Build Your SEO Migration Checklist Today
There’s a lot to think about when you’re creating an SEO migration checklist. With these tips, you should be able to ensure the process goes smoothly.
Are you trying to find a top-rated digital marketing agency in Vancouver? Check out Bloom Digital Marketing. We’ve been helping our Canadian clients grow their brand online since 2006.
Contact us today.
