Website Migration SEO Checklist

Before touching a single file, you must establish a baseline of your current site’s health. A pre-migration audit identifies what’s working so you can protect it. Start by crawling your entire site to catalog every URL, status code, and internal link. Use a tool like Technical SEO Check to generate a complete inventory.

• Export all current URLs from your XML sitemap and server logs. This list becomes your redirect source.
• Record rankings and traffic for your top 50–100 pages using Google Search Console and analytics.
• Identify high-value backlinks pointing to specific pages—these must be redirected 1:1.
• Check for orphan pages and legacy URLs that still receive traffic but aren’t linked internally.

Skipping this step is like renovating a house without knowing which walls are load-bearing. You risk collapsing your SEO foundation.

Redirect mapping is the single most critical technical task. Every old URL must point to its new equivalent with a 301 permanent redirect. Never use 302s—they pass no authority and confuse search engines.

Create a spreadsheet with two columns: old URL and new URL. For pages that no longer exist, redirect to the closest topical parent or the homepage as a last resort. Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C); they dilute link equity and slow crawling. Also, never redirect everything to the homepage—that’s a soft 404 and kills relevance.

• Use regex for bulk patterns (e.g., /old-blog/* → /new-blog/*).
• Test each redirect with a server header checker to confirm 301 status.
• Update internal links to point directly to new URLs, not through redirects.

After launch, crawl the new site and flag any 404s or redirect errors. Fix them immediately.

Launch day is not the finish line—it’s the starting gun for intense monitoring. Search engines need time to recrawl and reindex, but you must watch for anomalies.

In Google Search Console, submit your new sitemap and use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing for key pages. Monitor the Coverage report for a spike in 404s or server errors. Check your analytics for sudden drops in organic traffic and conversions. Compare against your pre-migration baseline.

• Daily crawls for the first two weeks to catch broken links and redirect issues.
• Rank tracking for your top keywords to detect volatility.
• Log file analysis to ensure search bots are crawling new URLs and not hitting old ones.

If you see a traffic dip beyond 20%, investigate immediately. Most issues are fixable with quick redirect patches or indexation requests.