SEO migration
Also called: website migration, migration seo, site migration
SEO migration is the process of preserving a website's organic rankings and traffic when you change its domain, platform, URL structure, or protocol (HTTP to HTTPS). It centers on mapping every old URL to a relevant new one with permanent 301 or 308 redirects so Google can transfer ranking signals.
Migrations come in several flavors: a domain change (example.com to example.net), a platform or CMS switch (WordPress to Shopify), a URL structure overhaul, an HTTP to HTTPS move, or a redesign that reshuffles content. Each one rewrites addresses Google has already indexed, so without a plan the equity attached to those old URLs leaks away.
What actually preserves rankings
Google’s own site-move guidance is blunt about the mechanics. Build a one-to-one URL map, then serve server-side permanent redirects (301 or 308) from every old URL to its closest new equivalent. For a domain move, submit the Change of Address in Search Console plus a fresh sitemap, and update self-referencing canonical tags on the new pages. Keep those redirects live “for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year” so signals fully transfer.
The classic ways migrations lose traffic: redirecting everything to the homepage (Google reads this as a soft 404), redirect chains, orphaned pages nobody mapped, and blanket 302s. A 302 does not dilute ranking signals the way SEO folklore once claimed, but because it is a temporary redirect it keeps the old URL indexed and tells Google the old address should stay canonical, so equity never consolidates on the new page. For a permanent move you want a 301 or 308. Expect ranking fluctuation for a few weeks even when it is done right. That is normal recrawling, not failure.
The safest migrations change one variable at a time, benchmark rankings and Core Web Vitals before launch, and test the full redirect map on a staging site first.
How it affects your traffic
A migration is the single riskiest moment for your organic traffic. One botched redirect map can erase years of rankings, and the damage often is not visible until traffic craters weeks later. This is exactly where planning pays for itself: our SEO consulting builds the URL map, the redirect logic, and the pre and post benchmarks so signals transfer instead of leaking, with someone watching Search Console when the switch flips.
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