As individuals experienced in SEO, the realm of migrations and the diverse degrees of turbulence they can introduce is quite familiar to us. Migrations are inherent incidents within the progression of digital enterprises, paralleling the advancement of both technology and business goals.
Even though migration can significantly affect SEO, when executed appropriately, it has the potential to enrich the user experience. Opting for an upgrade to a more efficient hosting service could gradually bolster your ranking performance (by influencing and providing superior user cues).
Although the initial process of re-indexing by Google might lead to a transient dip in organic traffic, a meticulously carried out migration strategy has the potential to uphold or even enhance your position in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
What is SEO Migrations
SEO migrations refer to the process of transferring or transitioning a website from one configuration to another while ensuring that its search engine optimization (SEO) attributes are preserved or improved. These migrations can involve various changes, such as moving to a new domain, switching to HTTPS, changing the site structure, or upgrading to a different content management system (CMS).
The goal of an SEO migration is to minimize disruptions to a website’s organic search performance and rankings while making necessary changes to enhance its overall visibility and user experience. It involves careful planning, execution, and monitoring to ensure that the migration does not negatively impact the site’s search engine rankings and traffic.
The Migration Type
A website migration encompasses significant modifications to a website’s technology, structure, design, or location with the intention of enhancing its online visibility.
Each form of migration entails a certain level of risk. As you start to combine different types of migrations and alter multiple variables, the risks don’t simply accumulate; instead, they begin to magnify.
As professionals in the field of SEO, we frequently engage in several common types of migrations, including:
- Restructuring URLs
- Transitioning from HTTP to HTTPS
- Switching hosting providers
- Shifting to a new platform
- Changing domain names
- Consolidating multiple domain properties
In our industry, instances of migrations going awry often come to our attention, particularly when their repercussions extend beyond the realm of SEO. While experiencing a decline in traffic and some loss of rankings might not make headline news, the closure of businesses and staff layoffs certainly do.
Notable examples include the Homebase HTTPS migration and the more recent transformation from Logojoy to Looka, which, when viewed through the lens of third-party tools, reveals a reduction in ranking keywords from 100,000 to 25,000.
Defining the Scope of an SEO Migration
To me, achieving accurate scoping for migration is fundamental to the overall success of the migration process. It’s crucial in preventing scenarios like the one mentioned here:
An integral aspect of scoping and defining specifications is that it must be actionable for both developers and broader stakeholders:
- Emphasizing the “how” over the “why.”
- Minimizing ambiguity to mitigate risks. Clarity leaves minimal room for misinterpretation.
Within the scoping document, it’s vital to establish:
- The rationale behind the migration.
- Primary and secondary stakeholders involved.
- The range of activities and responsibilities for each stakeholder (note that maintaining traffic and rankings isn’t a responsibility, but an objective).
- Timeline for activities, along with post-migration resources.
- Objectives of the migration agreed upon by all parties.
- Frequency and depth of reporting.
With this foundation, you can then construct a schedule of activities to minimize potential risks as much as possible.
The Mitigating Risks in SEO Migrations
In large part, risk reduction during any migration involves executing what are, for the majority, standard migration tasks.
Nevertheless, each individual task is strategically devised to minimize various risks and contribute to the attainment of the established goals.
Redirects
It’s widely accepted that redirects play a role in nearly all migration processes. However, having conducted several assessments of traffic drops post-migration, I’ve identified some common mistakes often made when planning and implementing redirects.
Redirects function as navigational signposts for both web browsers and search engines. They offer guidance about the whereabouts of a webpage, corresponding to a given URL. These directives consist of encoded instructions linked to specific URLs, or a group of them, directing users or search engines from the original accessed or clicked URL to an alternative page.
In migrations involving URL changes, Google has indicated that it might take up to 180 days for the complete transfer of value from point A to point B. The extent of your redirect requirements will shift based on the particulars of your migration.
JavaScript, CSS, Parameters, and Media Files Without Redirects
Frequently, during a migration, attention is primarily directed towards redirecting URLs, given their significance for rankings. However, it’s equally important to consider redirecting other elements like JS files, CSS, Parameter URLs, and media files (such as images and videos) when deemed necessary.
Although there might be doubts about the necessity of redirecting images, it’s crucial to recognize that a URL holds its importance regardless of its content type, and Google has indeed advised the redirection of image URLs.
Environment Changes
When transitioning to a new platform, revising templates, or reorganizing the site structure, it’s imperative to guarantee that the new “environment” replicates, at the very least, the SEO attributes of the previous one.
Frequently, upon the launch of the new platform, a considerable amount of content becomes concealed within expandable JavaScript sections. In cases where NoScript or JS is disabled, this content remains hidden, or other crucial elements might have been overlooked.
Consequently, it becomes essential to conduct an audit of the new environment, ensuring that:
- Metadata has been accurately migrated.
- Structured data has been integrated and validated.
- Canonical URLs are correct.
- Pagination mark-up is accurate (remember that Bing exists too!).
- Internal linking has been carried forward and connects to around 200 URLs.
- Both XML and HTML sitemaps are in place.
- Hreflang is configured accurately (particularly for international websites).
- Redirects have been thoroughly tested.
- Your 404 error page delivers a 404 response code.
Certain aspects, such as site speed, will necessitate testing on the live site unless the staging and pre-production environments are hosted on identical setups, enabling emulation of the same performance. However, more often than not, these environments do not run on performance-focused servers.
Why Migrations Go Wrong
Frequently, when a migration goes wrong, the root causes can often be attributed to at least one of these seven factors:
- Flawed SEO strategy or undefined objectives.
- Insufficient planning and inadequate allocation of resources and time.
- Unanticipated user experience (UX) or design alterations that influence content or code.
- Involvement of the SEO agency at a late stage or after crucial decisions are finalized.
- Inadequate or insufficient testing.
- Delayed responses and minimal development priority for resolving post-migration glitches.
- Unmanageable variables (like unexpected Google updates).
Poor Preparation and Scope
Crafting a comprehensive scope and project plan in the initial stages can be instrumental in preventing delays during the course of the project. This practice establishes clear expectations regarding the duration of SEO processes and tasks.
Furthermore, this approach facilitates the inclusion of elements that fall within or outside the project scope, enabling proper scheduling and resource allocation. Through the formulation of a plan, you can also pinpoint potential hindrances, such as public holidays or peak sales periods.
For instance, if you’re an online retailer, it wouldn’t be prudent to launch a website in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, given that significant glitches could jeopardize crucial periods like Black Friday, Cyber Week, and the Christmas season.
Poor Strategy
Comprehending the reasons behind migration and the desired outcomes is pivotal to establishing measurable standards for defining “success.” In the majority of migrations, the goal is to uphold SEO performance and leverage this stability as a basis for further expansion.
Nevertheless, every type of migration carries its own inherent risks. These hazards must be communicated to the client and the broader group of stakeholders. If you are transitioning hosting or platforms while keeping URL structures intact, the process should be seamless. However, if you are undergoing a rebrand and changing the domain name, anticipate a period of instability.
It’s also noteworthy that inadequate strategy can sometimes stem from the business side. On occasion, stakeholders create plans for the website, brand, and overarching strategy moving forward. However, the business strategy and its expectations might not align with the proposed timelines or what is technically feasible.
Delayed Engagement
SEO migrations are not immediate undertakings. Nevertheless, SEO assistance is frequently solicited well after significant decisions have been finalized on the roadmap, decisions that will inevitably affect organic search performance.
In certain instances, late engagement might prove beneficial, provided there’s leeway in the timeline for implementing alterations. Unfortunately, such flexibility is rarely available, and you can only observe and ready yourself for the post-mortem evaluation.
Consequently, this can lead to inadequate testing from an SEO standpoint and not all issues that impact performance may be rectified in time if the migration deadline remains inflexible.
Unpredictable Factors
Occasionally, even with meticulous planning and allocation of resources, you can be caught off guard by unforeseeable and entirely uncontrollable events, such as a sudden Google update or a CDN/DNS outage.
Slow Development Response Times
This commonly stems from issues within the business itself, rather than being within the control of SEO professionals. I have encountered situations where right after a migration, the development resources have swiftly been redirected to other areas of the business, leaving insufficient time for addressing urgent or unplanned bug fixes.
In most instances, this isn’t the fault of the developers but rather an indication of inadequate planning from decision-making stakeholders.
I have witnessed instances where websites were launched with a sitewide noindex directive (due to the wrong configuration), an issue we identified almost immediately. However, it took four days for the necessary resources to be allocated for its removal.
Lack of Effective Stakeholder Communication
When engaging with companies regarding their migrations and corresponding strategies, a prominent concern revolves around the level of communication and the expectations set for indirect stakeholders, usually Vice Presidents (VPs) and executives within the C-Suite.
It’s essential that all potential risks are detailed in both technical terms for the delivery team and also summarized in a comprehensible manner for the non-technical members of the C-suite.
Within these concise documents, it holds significance not only to outline the risks but also to elucidate our anticipated observations as experienced consultants. Additionally, we should highlight the stages where we might need to initiate troubleshooting or concern.
This approach substantially alleviates the pressure that can arise from impulsive reactions and hurried responses prompted by C-level involvement, particularly when a comprehensive understanding of the complete situation might be lacking.
Would you like to read more about effective guides to successful SEO migration strategy-related articles? If so, we invite you to take a look at our other tech topics before you leave!
Use our Internet marketing service to help you rank on the first page of SERP.
