Migration SEO: transfer your site without losing your ranking

SEO Migration: Transfer your site without losing your ranking

Migrating a website can be risky for your . Poor planning can lead to a loss of traffic, technical errors, or a drop in your positions in search engines. But with a rigorous method, it is possible to maintain, or even improve, your SEO performance. Here are the key steps:

• Preliminary SEO Audit: Analyze your URLs, content, inbound links, and structured data to identify elements to preserve.
• Redirection Planning: Configure precise 301 redirects to transfer authority from old pages to new ones.
• Transfer of Metadata and Structured Data: Ensure that title tags, descriptions, and schemas remain intact.
• Configuration in Google Search Console: Notify Google of the migration to speed up indexing.
• Post-Migration Monitoring: Track metrics (organic traffic, 404 errors, keyword positions) to detect and correct issues.

A well-executed migration can even become an opportunity to optimize your site and lay the groundwork for better online visibility. Take the time to prepare each step carefully to avoid costly mistakes and ensure a smooth transition.

Site Migrations: SEO Mythbusting

SEO Risks During Website Migration

Migrating a website can jeopardize your SEO if certain precautions are not taken. Several studies show that after a migration, organic traffic can temporarily decrease, often due to technical errors or poor planning.

Another major challenge is the recovery time. While search engines reevaluate the site, which can take several weeks, visibility remains unstable and difficult to predict.

Indexing issues are among the most common risks. If Google fails to properly crawl your new site, some pages may temporarily disappear from search results. This can happen if robots.txt files or meta robots tags accidentally block search engine access.

The loss of domain authority is also a significant concern. Without proper redirection setup, authority acquired over time can evaporate, compromising the site's ability to rank for strategic keywords.

SEO Errors to Avoid

To mitigate these risks, certain technical errors must be avoided at all costs.

• Broken Links: They degrade both the and SEO. Each link pointing to a non-existent page generates a 404 error, signaling technical issues to search engines.
• Incorrect Redirects: A common mistake is using 302 (temporary) redirects instead of 301 (permanent), preventing a complete transfer of SEO authority. Redirecting all old URLs to the homepage is also problematic, as it dilutes the SEO relevance of specific pages.
• Loss of Structured Data: If Schema.org tags are not transferred correctly, elements like review stars or contact information, which enhance search results, may disappear.
• Metadata Oversight: Titles, descriptions, and alt tags of images must be preserved, as they help search engines understand the content of pages.
• Unplanned URL Changes: Changing URL structures without valid reasons complicates redirection management and increases the risk of errors. It is best to retain the existing structure as much as possible.

Specific Challenges in Multilingual Migrations in Switzerland

Multilingual migrations, particularly in Switzerland, pose specific challenges due to the coexistence of French, German, and Italian. Special attention must be paid to hreflang tags and geolocation.

• Conflicts between Language Versions: If hreflang tags are not configured correctly, Google may display the wrong language version. For example, a user from Geneva might see the German version of the site, which impairs their experience.
• Geographical Targeting: Romandy and the Swiss German-speaking region have significant differences in terms of language and search behavior. Keywords and expressions vary by region, requiring an adapted strategy.
• Management of Multilingual Redirects: With a structure like site.ch/fr/ and site.ch/de/, specific redirects must be configured for each language to avoid errors or redirection loops.
• Content Duplication: Even after translation, some pages may be perceived as duplicated content by Google, especially for similar products or services. Correct use of canonical tags and precise geolocation management are essential.

By avoiding these errors and anticipating specific challenges, you can protect your site's visibility and effectively transfer your SEO authority to the new version.

Step 1: Pre-Migration SEO Audit

Before embarking on a migration, it is crucial to conduct a thorough audit of your current site. This audit serves to inventory your URLs, content, metadata, inbound links, and structured data. By establishing this baseline, you identify essential elements to preserve. Without this step, you could lose important SEO assets without even realizing it. A rigorous analysis will give you a clear roadmap for a successful migration.

Create an inventory of existing assets

The inventory of existing assets is the cornerstone of an effective SEO migration. It is a valuable snapshot of your current site.

• URLs and Site Architecture: Retrieve all URLs through crawling tools, your CMS, or Google Search Console. For multilingual Swiss sites, like site.ch/fr/ and site.ch/de/, make sure to note the structure to avoid errors during migration.
• Content and Media: Identify content and media (images, videos) that drive SEO traffic. Google Search Console can help identify top-performing images.
• Critical Metadata: Note titles, descriptions, and header tags. These elements need to be preserved or optimized after migration.
• Quality Inbound Links: Analyze your backlinks with specialized tools. Pages with many quality backlinks are major assets.
• Structured Data: List all schemas used on your site. This data enhances your search results and its loss could harm your visibility.

A study by Ahrefs highlights a crucial point regarding identifying high-performing pages:

"A study by Ahrefs showed that the top-ranking page gets the most search traffic only 49% of the time. This shows why identifying high-performing pages is not as straightforward as you might think." ^[2]

This observation underscores the importance of examining actual traffic data rather than relying solely on page rankings in search results.

Once your inventory is finalized, rely on appropriate tools to verify and deepen your analysis.

Audit Tools and Methods

The quality of your audit heavily depends on the tools used. Here are some essential solutions to obtain a comprehensive view of your current SEO:

• SEO Crawlers: Screaming Frog is ideal for identifying canonical tags, broken links, and duplicate content. The free version allows crawling up to 500 URLs.
• Comprehensive SEO Suites: SEMrush provides analyses on overall site health and top-performing pages. Ahrefs, on the other hand, focuses on organic traffic, rankings, and backlinks.
• Google Analytics and Search Console: These tools are essential for tracking traffic and site health.
• Backup and Documentation: Before starting, back up your entire site and document server configurations. This ensures that your SEO assets remain intact during migration.

A striking example is that of Transferwise. During their migration from transferwise.com to wise.com, the site initially saw its organic traffic drop from 32,335,584 to 12,985,402 visitors per month. However, after the transition, wise.com reached 205,063,620 organic visitors per month, a 500% increase compared to the original domain ^[1].

Create a database grouping the most important pages of your site. Mark these pages to give them special attention throughout the migration. This method allows you to prioritize your efforts and protect your most valuable content.

Step 2: Plan your redirection strategy

Once your SEO audit is complete, it's time to carefully plan your redirects to ensure a smooth migration. Well-executed redirects help maintain your SEO authority and ensure an optimal user experience. Without them, you risk losing traffic and hard-earned positions.

Map URLs for redirects

Mapping URLs involves establishing an accurate correspondence between each old URL and its new destination. This is a key step in maintaining your SEO authority.

Start by extracting all current URLs using a crawling tool. Organize this data in a spreadsheet with three columns: the old URL, the new URL, and the type of redirect. 301 redirects are essential for transferring SEO authority.

Focus on your most important pages. Identify those that generate the most organic traffic, have many , or are crucial for your conversions. If you have dynamic URL parameters like ?category=clothing&color=red, consider transforming them into a cleaner structure, like /clothing/red/. This makes your URLs more readable and enhances SEO.

For pages without a direct equivalent, redirect them to the most relevant category or parent page. Avoid redirecting to the homepage at all costs, unless no other option is possible. This practice, known as a "soft 404," can harm your SEO and frustrate your users.

This mapping will serve as the basis to validate your redirects and avoid errors, such as redirect chains.

Avoid redirect chains

Redirect chains occur when a URL redirects to another, which then redirects to a third. This slows down your pages and complicates the work of indexing robots.

Opt for a direct redirect. For example, instead of going through a chain like old-page.html → temporary-page.html → new-page.html, set up a direct redirect: old-page.html → new-page.html. This improves performance and better preserves SEO authority.

Before migration, check existing redirects to identify and correct chains. If they are already present on your site, take this opportunity to eliminate them.

Test in a secure environment. Ensure that each redirect returns the correct HTTP code (301 for a permanent redirect) and that the target page displays correctly. Validate each redirect to avoid surprises on migration day.

Also, prepare a contingency plan. If major issues arise after migration, you must be able to quickly restore the previous configuration. Document the necessary steps and keep a complete backup of your server.

Configure language-specific redirects

For multilingual sites, redirects must consider the different language versions. In Switzerland, where multiple languages coexist, it is crucial to preserve the language structure to ensure a consistent user experience and appropriate .

Maintain language consistency. A page in French, like old-site.ch/fr/services/, should redirect to new-site.ch/fr/services/, not to a German or English version. This preserves the user's initial search intent and relevance signals for search engines.

Also, update hreflang tags to reflect the new structure. If transitioning from a subdomain organization (fr.mysite.ch, de.mysite.ch) to subdirectories (mysite.ch/fr/, mysite.ch/de/), adjust all hreflang tags accordingly. This avoids sending conflicting signals to search engines.

Manage automatic language-based redirects. If a user accesses an old URL without a language indication, set up a redirection based on their location or browser language. For example, a visitor from Geneva accessing old-site.ch/services/ could be redirected to new-site.ch/fr/services/, while a visitor from Zurich would be directed to new-site.ch/de/services/.

For regional variations, pay attention to local specificities. If your old URLs contained terms specific to Swiss French or German, ensure your new URLs reflect these nuances to maintain their relevance.

Thoroughly test each language combination. Verify that redirects work correctly, regardless of the user's location or browser language settings. This ensures a smooth transition for all your users, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere.

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Step 3: Transfer metadata and structured data

Once your redirects are planned, it is crucial to transfer your metadata and structured data to preserve your SEO. These elements are at the core of your ranking, and neglecting them could nullify months of optimization efforts.

Transfer metadata

Metadata defines how search engines perceive and display your pages. It includes elements like title tags, meta descriptions, header tags (H1-H6), and image alt texts. Every detail matters, and their transfer must be done carefully to maintain your positions in search results.

Start by using a crawling tool, such as Screaming Frog, to extract all metadata from your current site. Export essential information, like title tags, meta descriptions, canonical tags, H1-H6, and alt texts, into a spreadsheet. This will serve as a guide to ensure everything is correctly transferred to your new site.

During the transfer, ensure each new page retains all existing SEO signals. Image alt texts, for example, should be optimized and transferred with descriptive file names. This not only improves SEO but also meets accessibility requirements. Neglected image optimization can waste your crawl budget and harm user experience ^[3].

Finally, verify that the canonical tags of new pages point to their current URLs and not to the old domain. For large sites, automated comparison may be essential to detect potential inconsistencies in title tags, meta descriptions, and internal links. Manual checking alone risks overlooking errors ^[3].

Transfer structured data

Structured data, also known as schema markup, helps search engines better understand your page content and enables the display of rich results. Incorrect transfer can lead to the loss of these valuable features.

Start by exporting and documenting all your structured data (JSON-LD, microdata, etc.) to identify the schema types used: Article, Organization, Product, BreadcrumbList, among others. If you use JSON-LD, the transfer will be easier than with microdata embedded directly in HTML.

Adapt your schemas to the new URL structure. For example, BreadcrumbList schemas should reflect the new categories, Article schemas should include the new canonical URLs, and Organization schemas should be updated in case of brand or address changes.

Once the schemas are transferred, carefully validate them using Google's rich results testing tool and the Schema.org validator. These tools help detect potential errors that could prevent the display of rich snippets or disrupt search engines ^[3]