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Website migrations can affect far more than how a site looks or where it's hosted. Changes to URLs, content, internal links, templates, tracking and technical configuration can all affect how search engines understand and rank the new site.
I provide hands-on SEO website migration support to help you plan the move properly, protect what is already working and identify problems before they affect traffic or visibility.
Dave is an excellent person to deal with, he offered tremendous support during our recent website migration and his thorough and knowledgeable support meant that we quickly saw significant improvements in search rankings. His ongoing support and detailed reporting provide insight and guidance as we continue to make improvements to performance.
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Working With Me
Types of Website Migration
How The Migration Process Works
Working With Your Migration Team
Auditing The Existing Site
Reviewing The New Site
Redirect Planning
Pre-Launch Checks
Launch & Monitoring
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A website migration is usually led by developers, designers or an internal project team, but their priorities are not always the same as the things that protect organic search performance.
My role is to look at the migration from an SEO, visibility and measurement perspective.
That means identifying what needs to be preserved from the existing site, reviewing what is changing, making sure important URLs and content are handled properly and checking that search engines can crawl, understand and index the new website once it launches.
I work directly with your developers, designers, marketing team or agency throughout the project, so SEO doesn't become a last-minute checklist just before launch.
The earlier I'm involved, the more opportunity there is to prevent problems rather than trying to diagnose them after traffic has already dropped.
Not every website migration involves changing domains.
SEO migration support can be useful whenever a website change affects URLs, content, templates, architecture or how search engines access the site.
I can help with migrations involving:
Moving from one CMS or ecommerce platform to another, where templates, URLs, content structure and technical configuration may all change.
Moving a website onto a new domain while making sure existing URLs, backlinks and organic search signals are transferred as cleanly as possible.
Launching a redesigned website where page layouts, templates, navigation, content or site structure are changing.
Changing directories, categories, product structures, page names or large numbers of URLs within the same domain.
Combining multiple websites, domains or sections into a single site and deciding where existing URLs and content should move.
Changes involving subdomains, subdirectories, international targeting or other major changes to how the website is organised.
If you're planning a change and aren't sure whether it counts as a migration from an SEO perspective, tell me what's changing and I can advise you.
Every migration is different, but the underlying goal is the same: understand what you have now, identify what is changing and make sure valuable SEO signals aren't accidentally lost during the move.
My involvement can begin during planning and continue through staging, launch and post-migration monitoring.
I start by understanding exactly what is moving and why.
That includes things such as:
This establishes where the biggest SEO risks are likely to be before decisions become difficult to reverse.
Website migrations usually involve several people, so I can work alongside web developers, digital agencies, marketing teams and ecommerce managers as part of the wider project.
My role is to own the SEO and tracking requirements around the move, make sure the important checks happen at the right stages and help the different teams understand what needs to be protected before, during and after launch.
That means your developers can focus on the build, your marketing team can focus on the launch, and I can make sure redirects, indexation, tracking and search visibility are not treated as an afterthought.
If you need broader specialist support across the project, you can also find out more about how I work with in-house teams.
Before the migration, I carry out a full audit of the current site to establish what is working and what needs protecting.
This creates a benchmark for comparing the old and new sites and helps identify pages, content and signals that shouldn't disappear during the move.
Depending on the site, this can include:
It also gives us an opportunity to identify problems on the old site that shouldn't simply be carried across to the new one.
The new website should not just reproduce the existing site's weaknesses on a different platform.
Before launch, I review the new site or staging environment and compare it with the current website.
This can include checking:
Where problems are found, there's usually far more opportunity to fix them before launch than afterwards.
Redirect planning is one of the most important parts of an SEO website migration when URLs are changing.
I build a picture of the existing URL estate using multiple sources rather than relying on a single website crawl.
That can include:
From there, old URLs can be mapped to the most appropriate equivalent location on the new site.
The aim is not simply to redirect everything somewhere. It's to preserve meaningful relationships between old and new pages so users and search engines reach the most relevant destination.
Before the new site goes live, I carry out final checks to identify anything likely to cause problems at launch.
Depending on the migration, this can include reviewing:
This gives developers time to resolve important issues before the switch happens.
Launching the website is not the end of the migration.
Once the new site is live, I check that the migration has actually behaved as expected and look for problems that may only become visible on the production website.
This can include:
Any issues can then be prioritised and dealt with before they become bigger problems.
Depending on the project, my migration support can include:
I can work directly with your existing developer, designer, agency or internal marketing team throughout the process.
If your new website has already launched and organic traffic or rankings have fallen, I can investigate what changed and identify problems that may be affecting performance.
This can include checking redirects, missing pages, indexing, canonicals, internal links, content changes, tracking, XML sitemaps and differences between the old and new website.
Where possible, I'll use historic crawl, analytics, Search Console and visibility data to understand what was lost or changed and prioritise the fixes most likely to help recovery.
The earlier problems are identified after launch, the better.
Once the migration has settled, I can continue to help if you need ongoing monitoring or optimisation.
There's no requirement for a long-term contract. Some clients need support while the new site beds in, while others come back when another change or issue needs reviewing.
There's no contract or commitment. Just straightforward support when you need it.
Keeping an eye on performance and making sure your tracking stays accurate.
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Digging into your data to spot trends, issues, and opportunities.
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Regular reviews and updates to keep your site on track.
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Ask a question, get a second opinion, or get help with a one-off job
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If you're changing platform, domain or site structure, tell me what's changing and where you are in the process. I'll let you know where I can help and what needs protecting before you make the move.
A website migration consultant helps plan and oversee the parts of a migration that could affect organic search performance, traffic and measurement.
My role can include auditing the existing site, reviewing the new website, identifying migration risks, mapping redirects, checking technical SEO, validating tracking and monitoring performance after launch.
I normally work alongside your developers, designers, marketing team or agency rather than replacing them.
An SEO website migration is the process of managing a major website change while protecting the signals that affect organic search performance.
This can include retaining important content, mapping old URLs to new ones, preserving internal links, reviewing technical configuration, checking crawlability and indexation and monitoring organic performance once the new website goes live.
The aim is to make sure search engines can understand what has changed and find the correct new versions of important pages.
Ideally, before development and migration decisions have been finalised.
Early involvement means SEO requirements can be considered while decisions about URLs, site structure, templates, content and functionality are still being made.
I can also join a project later, but bringing SEO into the process before launch usually gives us more opportunity to identify and prevent problems.
Yes.
Major website changes can affect URLs, content, internal links, crawling, indexation and other signals search engines use to understand a site.
Some fluctuation can happen around a migration, but significant losses can often be associated with identifiable problems such as missing redirects, removed content, crawl issues or important changes between the old and new site.
The goal of SEO migration planning is to reduce those risks and identify problems quickly if they occur.
If existing URLs are changing, redirects will normally be an important part of the migration.
They help users and search engines reach the appropriate new location and help search engines understand that content has moved.
Redirects should normally map old pages to the most relevant new equivalent rather than sending large numbers of unrelated URLs to a homepage or category page.
I can provide SEO support for platform and CMS migrations, domain changes, rebrands, redesigns, URL restructures, website consolidations and other major structural changes.
The exact process depends on what is changing and how much of the existing website needs to be preserved.
Yes.
Website migrations usually involve several people, and I regularly work directly with developers, designers, agencies and internal marketing teams.
I can provide requirements, review implementation, answer technical SEO questions and carry out checks throughout the project.
Yes.
If rankings, organic traffic or visibility have dropped after a migration, I can investigate what changed and look for problems such as missing or incorrect redirects, removed pages, indexing issues, crawl problems, content changes or tracking errors.
The available historic data will determine how accurately the old and new sites can be compared.
There isn't one fixed period because it depends on the size of the website, the type of migration and how quickly search engines process the changes.
I normally pay particularly close attention immediately after launch, then continue reviewing crawling, indexation, traffic and visibility as the new site settles.
Larger or more complicated migrations generally require more monitoring than small changes.
The cost depends on the size and complexity of the website, what is changing and how involved you need me to be.
A relatively straightforward platform migration with stable URLs may need less support than a large ecommerce migration involving thousands of changed URLs, new site architecture and a domain move.
Once I understand the migration and your existing setup, I can agree the scope and cost before work starts.
No. My role is primarily to manage and protect the SEO, visibility and tracking side of the migration.
I work alongside the developers or agency responsible for building and deploying the website, providing requirements, checks, redirect planning and migration support where needed.
If you're unsure who should be responsible for a particular part of the project, I can help clarify that during planning.
Yes.
A migration can change page structures, URLs, forms, ecommerce journeys and other elements that existing tracking depends on.
Where relevant, I can review Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager before launch and validate that important tracking and conversions continue working on the new website.
Website migrations can impact everything from rankings and traffic through to analytics, crawlability, and user experience. Whether you’re changing platform, restructuring URLs, consolidating content, or moving domains entirely, getting the technical details right is critical.
The guides below cover practical migration-related topics including redirect handling, URL standardisation, legacy URL management, and preserving visibility during structural website changes.
Redirects play a major role in preserving rankings, consolidating signals, and ensuring users and search engines reach the correct content after a migration or structural site update.
A Rough Guide To 30x Redirects
An overview of 301, 302, and related redirect types, including how they work, when to use them, and how they impact SEO and crawling.
How To Redirect A URL To Remove A Directory Or Folder Name
A practical guide to restructuring URLs and redirecting old paths correctly when removing folders or simplifying site architecture.
How To Convert And Redirect Uppercase URL Characters To Lowercase
Learn how to standardise URL casing and redirect uppercase URLs to lowercase equivalents to avoid duplication and improve consistency.
If you need a website migration, want to find out more, or even just have a question, fill in the form below as I will always be happy to help
