Are you thinking of site migration strategies?
While chalking out plans for site migration, you must necessarily keep in mind all SEO factors so that the process of transition is not only successful but really smooth and hassle-free. Implementing HTTPs or changing your domain name could be a fabulous business tactic but if you do not take into account how search engines would be reacting to this business move, you would be encountering a major setback in the arena of organic search traffic. You could use the following effective SEO checklist for preparing yourself while you are chalking out an appropriate migration game plan that is just right for your website.
Examine Meticulously If Migration Is the Best Choice
A site migration would on most occasions lead to a loss of traffic on a temporary basis. This is simply because Google would be taking some time to process all the changes and accordingly update its index. A site migration that is executed with a lot of care and deliberation would be minimizing the prospect of traffic fluctuations to a great extent. The best thing that could happen under the circumstances is that Google would be treating the new website as though it was original only. Seek expert guidance by hiring a professional SEO company such as Tayloright.
We have just discussed the best possibility but in reality, site migrations would be offering very little or practically no Search Engine Optimization benefits. Moreover, search engine penalties may not be completely ruled out. Site migrations are often implemented for making definite SEO enhancements such as to streamline your site structure, consolidate redundant pages, fix broken links, and make improvements in content too.
When should you opt for site migration? You could think of a site migration when:
- You require a robust rebranding
- Migration could generate links and press
- Your site requires moving to HTTPS
Constantly Monitor Rankings and Performance
It is important to monitor referral and search traffic on a daily basis for a week after migrating, after which you can check weekly. Any shift in traffic should be analyzed at a page level to see what has changed and can be improved. Linking issues and crawl errors should be looked into, and see if you can get external links that point to the old page changed.
Your most linked pages on basis of link count and authority are major rank influences so any fluctuations here would tell you all about the overall performance of the site.
Tools like SEMrush can be used to monitor rankings for your keywords too, and you can see how quickly Google indexes the new site and whether the old site is dropped from the index or not.
Migration Plans Are Good During a Relatively Slower Period
A constantly monitored and well-planned migration would not be impacting your traffic forever. But you must get ready for a temporary dip or fall in traffic. As such, it is a good idea to opt for migration only during the slower portion of the year in terms of your site’s performance. The idea is if you have to lose traffic, it is best to do so in the off-season or when the business is generally, slow.
Conclusion
Apart from the above tips, you must resolve all sorts of duplicate content issues. Resolve duplicate content issues that may arise because of some wrong steps in the site migration process. You must not consider removing any pages while migration is being implemented. However, if you must remove a few pages then you must maintain a precise list of all those pages, eliminate all links from the removed pages, and eliminate these pages from your old site. Avoid redirecting the eliminated pages to your homepage. Remember if you have no appropriate substitute for a page, make sure it is 404.
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