Building SEO authority takes a great deal of effort, time and money. So, it’s often worrying to make any drastic changes to your website, as it may affect its SEO. One such change that surely has a great impact is website migration.
Over the years, your present website might have accumulated some authority in the search engine, and you might lose it all if you migrate. But, for some, migrating sites may be crucial for their growth. Then, should you discard all hope on your website?
Absolutely no need. Read this blog, and you will learn how to protect your site’s rankings and authority while migrating — preferably with the help of a professional SEO company in Perth.
First things first:
What is Website Migration?
Website migration is the act of making significant changes to a website’s technology, structure, design, or location to improve its online presence. These are some of the most frequent justifications for website migrations are:
●Domain name change
●Moving to a different server
●Changing from HTTP to HTTPS
●Creating a mobile version of the website
●Modification of the site’s structure, design, or navigation
Whatever may be the reason, you are compelled to migrate your website and here’s how you begin!
Site Migration: 7 Ways to Protecting Your SEO
Although some effect is inevitable, you can safeguard your current SEO authority to a certain extent with thorough planning and execution. Here are a few methods to accomplish that:
1. Comprehensive Planning
Meticulous planning is essential before embarking on a website migration. If you are assisted by an SEO company in Perth, it is most likely to start by creating a thorough checklist that includes all aspects of your current website’s SEO. Some examples:
●URLs
●Meta tags
●Keywords
●Sitemaps
With the help of this checklist, your professional identifies potential issues and plans the migration accordingly.
2. 301 Redirects
Secondly, the most common way to protect your SEO is through implementing 301 redirects. They guide search engines and users from your old URLs to the new ones, which also transfers link equity.
Failing to implement proper redirects can result in broken links, loss of traffic, and a decline in SEO performance. So, no SEO company in Perth dares to skip this step.
3. Update Internal Links
Now, it is time to review and update the internal links within your content to reflect the new URL structure. This makes search engines understand the new hierarchy of your website and helps users navigate seamlessly.
Be aware of broken internal links, as they can negatively impact user experience and signal to search engines that the site’s maintenance is poor.
4. XML Sitemap Submission
Another way to protect your SEO is by generating a new XML sitemap for your migrated website and submitting it to search engines. It helps search engines crawl and index your new pages efficiently.
However, this requires professional experience, so let your SEO company in Perth handle it. Regularly updating and submitting your sitemap makes search engines aware of the changes, aiding in a smoother transition.
5. Content Migration
After the technical stuff like links and URLs, you must also ensure that all the content on your old website is also migrated accurately — text, images, and multimedia elements. This creates consistency in content, which is vital for maintaining SEO authority.
Additionally, it is also important to prioritise the quality of content to retain user engagement and signal to search engines that your site continues to provide valuable information.
6. Monitor Performance
Your job is not over with migration; you still have much to do even after it. Keep a close watch on your website’s performance post-migration. Monitor key SEO metrics such as rankings, organic traffic, and user engagement using tools like Google Analytics.
If you or your SEO company in Perth notice any anomalies, address them promptly and properly. Adapting strategies to changes is the most crucial skill as far as SEO is concerned.
7. Communication with Stakeholders
Apart from the technicalities, it is also critical to communicate the changes to your stakeholders — users, clients, and partners. Informing them about the migration and any potential disruptions helps manage their expectations. This minimises the impact on user trust and satisfaction. Plus, it will keep the regular traffic mostly unchanged.
Migrate with Minimal Impact to SEO:
Migrating a website is a challenging process. Yet, it is unavoidable in some circumstances. In such cases, you must ensure as seamless a migration as possible. The above 7 steps will help you greatly in achieving that. However, we recommend collaborating with a professional SEO company in Perth to help you.
Make My Website is an excellent name to mention here. It offers the services of the most experienced SEO experts and website designers from Perth. Reach out to its representative to find out more details.