What Is a Site Migration?
A site migration encompasses any major change to a website that affects how search engines crawl and index it. This includes domain changes (old.com → new.com), HTTPS migrations (HTTP → HTTPS), CMS platform changes, URL structure changes, site redesigns that alter internal linking, and subdomain consolidations.
Why Site Migrations Are Risky for SEO
Site migrations are among the highest-risk SEO events. Poorly executed migrations can result in massive traffic drops due to broken redirects, lost link equity, deindexed pages, and crawl errors. Even well-planned migrations typically see a temporary 10-20% traffic dip during the transition period.
How to Execute a Safe Migration
Create comprehensive redirect maps (old URL → new URL). Implement 301 redirects for all changed URLs. Update XML sitemaps and internal links. Monitor crawl errors in Search Console. Analyze server logs with LogBeast to verify Googlebot is following redirects correctly and crawling the new URLs.
📖 Related Article: Site Migration SEO Guide — Read our in-depth guide for practical examples and advanced techniques.
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