Site migrations are among the highest-risk SEO activities, with potential for massive traffic loss if handled incorrectly. This workflow provides a systematic approach to preserving SEO equity during domain changes, platform migrations, or major site restructures. You'll create comprehensive redirect maps, audit all URLs, and establish monitoring systems to catch issues before they impact rankings.
Most site migrations fail because teams skip the pre-migration audit or rush the redirect mapping process. This checklist ensures you capture every SEO-critical element and maintain visibility into your migration's success. The end result is a fully documented migration with preserved rankings and minimal traffic loss.
What You'll Need
Before starting, ensure you have admin access to both old and new websites, Google Search Console ownership verification for both domains, and export access to your current analytics. You'll need Screaming Frog SEO Spider (paid version recommended), Ahrefs or SEMrush subscription, and a spreadsheet application for redirect mapping. Having staging environment access is crucial for testing redirects before going live.
Step 1: Pre-Migration Site Crawl and Audit
Time: 45-60 minutes | Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider Launch Screaming Frog and configure it for a comprehensive crawl of your current site. Set the crawler to follow internal links only, include images and external links in the crawl, and increase the memory allocation to 4GB+ for large sites. Enter your domain and start the crawl, allowing it to complete fully even if it takes several hours. Export the crawl data focusing on all URLs, status codes, meta titles, meta descriptions, H1 tags, and response times. Filter the results to identify all 200-status pages that currently receive organic traffic or have inbound links. This baseline crawl becomes your master inventory for redirect mapping and post-migration comparison. Document any existing technical issues like duplicate content, missing meta descriptions, or broken internal links. These issues often amplify during migrations, so noting them now helps distinguish pre-existing problems from migration-induced issues.
Step 2: Traffic and Ranking Analysis
Time: 30-45 minutes | Tool: Ahrefs Site Explorer Access Ahrefs Site Explorer and enter your current domain. Navigate to Organic Keywords and export all keywords where your site ranks in positions 1-100. Focus particularly on keywords in positions 1-20 as these drive the majority of your organic traffic and are most vulnerable during migration. Switch to the Top Pages report and export your highest-traffic landing pages from the past 12 months. Cross-reference this with your Search Console data to identify pages generating the most impressions and clicks. These high-value pages require the most careful redirect mapping and post-migration monitoring. Create a priority matrix categorizing pages as Critical (high traffic/revenue), Important (moderate traffic), or Standard (low traffic). This prioritization guides your redirect strategy and helps you focus monitoring efforts on pages that matter most for business outcomes.
Step 3: Comprehensive URL Mapping
Time: 2-3 hours | Tool: Excel/Google Sheets Create a detailed URL mapping spreadsheet with columns for Old URL, New URL, Status Code, Priority Level, and Notes. Start with your Critical pages, ensuring each old URL has an exact new URL equivalent or a logical redirect target that serves the same user intent. For pages without direct equivalents, identify the most relevant category or parent page on the new site. Avoid redirecting multiple old URLs to your homepage unless absolutely necessary, as this dilutes link equity and confuses users. Instead, redirect to the most topically relevant page available. Include all important assets like PDFs, images, and downloadable resources in your mapping. Check that your new URL structure maintains SEO-friendly patterns with clear hierarchies and keyword inclusion where appropriate. Validate that all new URLs follow consistent formatting and don't contain problematic characters or parameters.
Step 4: Redirect Implementation and Testing
Time: 45-60 minutes | Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider Implement 301 redirects on your staging environment using your URL mapping. For WordPress sites, use plugins like Redirection or add rules to your .htaccess file. For other platforms, configure redirects through your hosting control panel or content management system. Test your redirects using Screaming Frog's List Mode. Upload your old URLs and set the crawler to check redirect chains. Verify that each redirect returns a 301 status and leads to the correct destination without redirect loops or chains longer than 2-3 hops. Pay special attention to edge cases like trailing slashes, URL parameters, and case sensitivity. Test both www and non-www versions, HTTP and HTTPS protocols, and common URL variations. Document any redirect chains or issues for immediate resolution before going live.
Step 5: Search Console Configuration
Time: 20-30 minutes | Tool: Google Search Console Add your new domain to Google Search Console and verify ownership using multiple verification methods (DNS, HTML file, and HTML tag). This redundancy prevents verification loss during the migration process. Submit your new XML sitemap containing all migrated URLs. Ensure the sitemap excludes any temporary pages, staging URLs, or pages with noindex directives. Configure the sitemap to automatically update as you add new content post-migration. Set up the Change of Address tool in Search Console for domain migrations. This tool helps Google understand the relationship between your old and new domains, potentially accelerating the transfer of ranking signals. Note that this tool is only available for complete domain changes, not subdirectory or protocol changes.
Step 6: Backlink Profile Audit
Time: 30-45 minutes | Tool: Ahrefs Site Explorer Review your backlink profile in Ahrefs to identify high-authority links pointing to specific pages. Export your most valuable backlinks and note which pages they target. These backlinks will need to transfer their equity through your redirects. Identify any backlinks pointing to pages that won't exist on your new site. For valuable backlinks pointing to pages without direct equivalents, consider creating new pages or redirecting to highly relevant existing content to preserve link equity. Document linking domains that might need outreach for link updates, particularly for partnerships, press mentions, or resource page inclusions. While 301 redirects preserve most link equity, direct links to new URLs eliminate the redirect hop and potential equity loss.
Step 7: Go Live and Immediate Monitoring
Time: 2-4 hours | Tool: Multiple tools Execute your migration during low-traffic periods, typically weekends or early morning hours. Immediately after going live, test a sample of your most critical redirects manually to ensure they're working correctly. Run a focused Screaming Frog crawl on your new site's most important pages within the first hour. Check that pages are returning 200 status codes, that internal links are working correctly, and that canonical tags point to the new URLs. Monitor Google Search Console for crawl errors and use the URL Inspection tool to verify that Google can access and render your new pages properly. Submit your highest-priority pages for immediate crawling using the Request Indexing feature. Check that your robots.txt file allows crawling of all migrated content.
Step 8: Post-Migration Performance Tracking
Time: 30 minutes daily for 2 weeks | Tool: Google Search Console + SEMrush Establish daily monitoring of key metrics for the first two weeks post-migration. Track organic traffic, ranking positions for critical keywords, and crawl errors in Search Console. Set up automated alerts for significant traffic drops or error spikes. Use SEMrush Position Tracking to monitor your most valuable keywords daily. Configure alerts for ranking drops of 5+ positions on critical terms. Track the indexation rate of your new URLs using Search Console's Coverage report, aiming for 90%+ indexation within two weeks. Monitor site speed and Core Web Vitals using PageSpeed Insights, as migrations often affect loading times. Document any performance regressions and address them immediately, as site speed impacts both user experience and rankings during the critical post-migration period.
Common Pitfalls
- Skipping redirect testing on staging environments leads to broken redirects going live
- Mapping multiple old URLs to the homepage wastes link equity and creates poor user experience
- Failing to update internal links to point directly to new URLs creates unnecessary redirect chains
- Not monitoring crawl errors daily during the first week allows critical issues to compound
Expected Results
A successful migration preserves 95%+ of organic traffic within 4-6 weeks and maintains rankings for critical keywords. You should see steady indexation of new URLs with most pages indexed within two weeks. Expect temporary ranking fluctuations during the first month as search engines process the changes, but well-executed migrations typically recover fully within 60-90 days while eliminating pre-existing technical debt.