Website migration SEO checklist
Site migrations are where rankings go to die. A single missed redirect can wipe out years of organic authority. This checklist covers every step from pre-migration audit to post-launch monitoring.
Critical
— 9 itemsCrawl and export all current URLs
Use npx indxel crawl or Screaming Frog to get a complete list of every indexed URL, including their titles, status codes, and internal links. This is your migration baseline.
Create a 1:1 redirect map for every URL
Map every old URL to its new equivalent. Use 301 permanent redirects, not 302s. Every indexed page must redirect somewhere relevant — never to the homepage as a catch-all.
Export all current metadata before migration. Reapply the same titles and descriptions to new URLs unless you are intentionally improving them.
If your canonicals change, update them on the new site. Incorrect canonicals after migration can deindex your pages.
Update XML sitemap with new URLs
Generate a new sitemap with the migrated URL structure. Remove old URLs. Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console immediately after launch.
Test redirects before going live
Verify every redirect works in a staging environment. Check for redirect chains (A -> B -> C) and loops. Each URL should resolve in one hop.
Ensure your robots.txt on the new site does not accidentally block paths that were previously crawlable. Compare old and new files line by line.
Run Indxel check on the new site
Run npx indxel check against the new site immediately after migration. Compare scores against your pre-migration baseline. Any drop indicates a missed step.
Monitor Google Search Console for crawl errors
Check GSC daily for the first two weeks post-migration. Look for spikes in 404 errors, crawl anomalies, and indexation drops.
Important
— 5 itemsCopy all JSON-LD schemas to the new site. Validate them with Google Rich Results Test after migration.
Update internal links to use new URLs
Do not rely on redirects for internal navigation. Update all internal links to point directly to new URLs. Redirect chains slow down crawling.
Keep old redirects active for at least 12 months
Do not remove 301 redirects prematurely. Search engines need time to recrawl and update their index. Removing redirects too early causes 404 spikes.
Benchmark performance before and after
Compare Core Web Vitals, page load times, and crawl stats before and after migration. Performance regressions hurt rankings.
Validate hreflang tags if multi-language
If your site has international versions, verify all hreflang annotations are correct on the new URLs. Missing hreflang causes the wrong language pages to rank.
Nice-to-have
— 1 itemUpdate backlinks where possible
Reach out to sites linking to high-value pages and ask them to update the URLs. Redirects pass authority, but direct links are always better.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to recover rankings after a migration?
With proper redirects, most sites recover within 2-6 weeks. Without redirects, recovery can take 3-6 months or longer. Some traffic loss in the first week is normal even with perfect execution.
Should I migrate all at once or in phases?
For small sites (under 1000 pages), migrate all at once. For large sites, phase the migration by section. This limits blast radius if something goes wrong.
What is the most common migration mistake?
Missing redirects. Every URL that was indexed by Google needs a 301 redirect to its new location. A single missed high-authority page can cost significant traffic.
Automate this checklist
Stop checking manually. Indxel validates SEO rules on every build and blocks broken deploys.