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Site Migration Overview

What are Site Migrations?

Site migrations are complex projects where a website is fundamentally changed, moved, or technically overhauled. These changes can affect various aspects:

  • Domain Changes (e.g., from .de to .com)
  • CMS Migration (e.g., from WordPress to Drupal)
  • URL Structure Changes (e.g., new categories)
  • Redesign with Technical Changes
  • HTTPS Migration (from HTTP to HTTPS)
  • Subdomain Consolidation

Why are Site Migrations Critical for SEO?

WARNING: Site migrations are among the riskiest SEO projects. If done incorrectly, they can lead to massive ranking losses and traffic drops.

Main Risks in Site Migrations:

  1. Ranking Losses due to missing or incorrect redirects
  2. Crawling Volume Waste through duplicate content
  3. Link Equity Loss with incomplete redirects
  4. Indexing Problems due to technical errors
  5. User Experience Deterioration through broken links

The 5 Phases of a Successful Site Migration

1. Planning & Analysis
→
2. Pre-Launch Preparation
→
3. Migration
→
4. Post-Launch Tracking
→
5. Optimization

Phase 1: Planning & Analysis

Duration: 2-4 weeks before migration

Core Tasks:

  • Complete SEO audit of the existing website
  • Mapping all important URLs and their rankings
  • Identification of critical SEO elements
  • Stakeholder alignment and role distribution

Pre-Migration Analysis Checklist:

  • URL Inventory
  • Keyword Mapping
  • External Link Analysis
  • Technical SEO Audit
  • Content Audit
  • Performance Baseline
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Risk Assessment

Phase 2: Pre-Launch Preparation

Duration: 1-2 weeks before migration

Core Tasks:

  • Create redirect mapping
  • Set up test environment
  • Configure monitoring tools
  • Develop rollback plan

Phase 3: Migration

Duration: 1-3 days (depending on complexity)

Core Tasks:

  • Technical implementation of migration
  • Redirect implementation
  • DNS changeover
  • Immediate quality control

Phase 4: Post-Launch Monitoring

Duration: 2-4 weeks after migration

Core Tasks:

  • Daily monitoring of rankings and traffic
  • Crawl error analysis
  • Redirect testing
  • Performance monitoring

Phase 5: Optimization

Duration: Continuously

Core Tasks:

  • Error correction based on monitoring data
  • Performance optimization
  • Further SEO improvements

Technical SEO Aspects in Site Migrations

URL Management

Strategy
Advantages
Disadvantages
Recommendation
Keep URLs
No redirects needed
Often technically not possible
Always prefer
301 Redirects
Transfer link equity
Technical complexity
Standard solution
URL Rewriting
User-friendly
Server configuration needed
With same structure
Canonical Tags
Easy to implement
No link equity transfer
Only for duplicate content

Redirect Strategies

301 Redirects are the gold standard for site migrations because they:

  • Transfer link equity completely
  • Inform search engines about URL changes
  • Automatically redirect users to the new URL

WARNING: Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C)! Use maximum 1 redirect per URL.

Content Migration

Critical Points:

  • Transfer all meta tags (Title, Description, Robots)
  • Migrate structured data
  • Adjust internal linking
  • Link images and media correctly

Monitoring and Measuring Success

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Migration KPIs:

The most important metrics for measuring the success of a site migration

Primary KPIs:

  1. Organic Traffic - Should be restored after 2-4 weeks
  2. Keyword Rankings - Keep an eye on critical keywords
  3. Crawl Errors - Should be minimal
  4. Indexing Status - All important pages indexed

Secondary KPIs:

  • Performance Metrics
  • Conversion Percentage
  • Bounce Rate
  • Backlink Status

Monitoring Tools

Essential Tools:

  • Google Search Console (Indexing, Crawl Errors)
  • Google Analytics (Traffic, Conversions)
  • Ahrefs/SEMrush (Rankings, Backlinks)
  • Screaming Frog (Technical SEO)

Common Mistakes in Site Migrations

WARNING: These mistakes can lead to massive SEO losses!

Technical Errors

  1. Missing or Incorrect Redirects
    • 404 errors instead of 301 redirects
    • Redirect chains
    • Wrong redirect codes (302 instead of 301)
  2. Canonical Tag Problems
    • Forgotten self-referencing canonicals
    • Wrong canonical URLs
    • Canonical chains
  3. Robots.txt Errors
    • Important pages blocked
    • Sitemap URLs blocked
    • Crawl budget waste

Content Errors

  1. Meta Tags Not Transferred
    • Title tags missing
    • Meta descriptions lost
    • Robots tags set incorrectly
  2. Structured Data Forgotten
    • Schema.org markup not migrated
    • JSON-LD code missing
    • Rich snippets lost

Best Practices for Successful Site Migrations

Before Migration

Pre-Migration Checklist:

  • URL Mapping
  • Redirect Tests
  • Content Backup
  • Monitoring Setup
  • Stakeholder Info
  • Rollback Plan
  • DNS Tests
  • Performance Baseline
  • Backlink Documentation
  • Sitemap Update
  • GSC Configuration
  • Team Training

During Migration

  1. Use Staging Environment
    • All tests before going live
    • Test redirect mapping
    • Check performance
  2. Step-by-Step Migration
    • Don't change everything at once
    • Critical areas first
    • Monitoring between steps

After Migration

  1. Immediate Checks
    • Perform redirect tests
    • Check crawl errors
    • Check important keywords
  2. Continuous Monitoring
    • Daily for first 2 weeks
    • Weekly for first 3 months
    • Monthly thereafter

Tools and Resources

Free Tools

  • Google Search Console - Indexing and crawl errors
  • Google Analytics - Traffic monitoring
  • Screaming Frog - Technical SEO analysis
  • Redirect Checker - Redirect testing

Premium Tools

  • Ahrefs - Backlink and ranking monitoring
  • SEMrush - Comprehensive SEO analysis
  • Sistrix - Keyword ranking tracking
  • Ryte - Technical SEO monitoring

Related Topics

Conclusion

Site migrations are complex projects that require careful planning and precise implementation. With the right preparation, correct technical measures, and continuous monitoring, they can be successfully carried out without causing SEO losses.

Most Important Success Factors:

  • Complete pre-migration analysis
  • Correct redirect implementation
  • Continuous monitoring
  • Quick response to problems

Last Update: October 21, 2025

Last Update: 02. October 2025