Migrating your website to a new platform can feel like navigating through a minefield, especially when it comes to preserving your hard-earned SEO. It’s a delicate process, with significant risks. But fear not – with a bit of foresight, you can sail through smoothly!
SEO-Safe Website Migration
Start with a solid migration plan. It’s your blueprint for success. Engage SEO experts early on to collaborate with your product and engineering squads. Together, they’ll help chart out the technical details and content strategy, providing a guiding light for pre and post-migration quality checks.
Remember, your site’s information architecture is the backbone of your SEO. While a migration might seem like the perfect time for a complete overhaul, proceed with caution. Gradual changes are better than sudden shifts that can disrupt user experience and search engine rankings.
Content pruning is a common step during this process, but it’s not the time for rash decisions. Each piece of content is a potential SEO asset. Instead of a hasty purge, opt for a thoughtful review to identify what should stay, be updated, or be merged.
Next up, 301 redirects – these are crucial. They’re the signposts that tell search engines where your content has moved. Mishandle these, and you’re looking at losing traffic. Invest the time to map out your redirects carefully.
Don’t let on-page SEO fall by the wayside during a redesign. Work closely with your UX and engineering teams to ensure that SEO basics like titles, headings, and meta descriptions remain intact and effective.
Mobile optimization is not just a buzzword; it’s a priority. With Google’s mobile-first indexing, ensuring that your mobile site is on par with your desktop site is non-negotiable.
Page Load Times
Page load times can make or break your user experience. A new platform may not always be faster, so prioritize performance from the outset.
Be vigilant about crawlability, indexing, and setting up your analytics correctly. These elements help you understand your site’s performance and flag any issues early on.
Sitemaps
Keep your XML sitemaps clean and current. They guide search engines through your site and can accelerate the indexing of your new URLs.
And finally, post-migration monitoring is critical. Keep a close watch on your SEO metrics to spot and resolve any issues promptly.
By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can ensure that your website retains its SEO strength during the transition to a new platform, setting the stage for continued online success.
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Categorised in: The Shoreline Blog
This post was written by Shoreline Content Team
