SEO migration services

Migrating a website means moving it somewhere new: a new domain, a new platform, a new URL structure or a new design. The site still does the same job. What changes is where it lives or how it's built.

An SEO migration is any of those changes that can change how Google finds, reads or ranks your pages. The SEO work makes sure the search traffic and revenue your old pages earn move across to the new ones.

Most migrations aren't SEO projects. They're design, product or platform projects with SEO risk inside them. My job is to find that risk early and keep it small.

Redesigns

SEO for website redesign and migration work is often missed because "the URLs aren't changing". A redesign can still cut content, change headings, move internal links or hide text behind tabs and scripts. I check what the new design removes before it goes live.

Domain changes

Moving to a new domain, or bringing country sites under one domain. Every old URL needs a one-hop 301 to its closest new match. Google's Change of Address tool in Search Console tells Google about the move. Google says to keep the redirects for at least 180 days, and to keep the old domain for at least a year so nobody else can use it. This is the highest-risk type, so it gets the deepest checks.

CMS migrations

Moving from one CMS or platform to another, for example from a custom build to WordPress, Shopify or a headless setup. The URLs often change without anyone deciding they should. Templates change how titles, canonicals, internal links and structured data get written. Some pages quietly stop existing because the new platform has no place for them.

CMS migration SEO is mostly about catching those changes before launch. I compare old and new templates field by field, crawl staging, and write tickets for anything the new platform does differently. If the platform can't keep a URL pattern, we agree the redirect rule up front, not on launch day.

Merging sites

Two or more sites becoming one, after an acquisition or a brand change. Each old page needs a decision: keep, merge into a stronger page, or retire. Those decisions get made by value, not by gut feel.

URL structure changes

New folders, new slugs, removed IDs, new faceted navigation. These need a full redirect map and a check that internal links point straight at the new URLs, not through redirects.

HTTP to HTTPS and hosting moves

Smaller in scope, but still easy to get wrong: mixed redirects, old sitemaps, blocked staging rules carried over to live.

Most traffic loss after a migration comes from a short list of avoidable mistakes:

• Old URLs that redirect nowhere, or to the home page.
• Redirect chains and loops, where one old URL hops two or three times before it lands.
• A staging noindex or robots.txt block left in place on the live site.
• Content cut during the redesign, so the new page no longer answers what people searched for.
• Internal links still pointing at old URLs.
• Canonicals, hreflang or structured data written differently by the new templates.
• Tracking lost on launch day, so nobody can see the drop until weeks later.

Some movement is expected even when nothing goes wrong. Google says rankings can fluctuate while it recrawls and reindexes a site with new URLs, and a medium-sized site can take a few weeks for Google to notice the change. If you change the domain and the URL structure at the same time, Google says to expect some traffic loss while it reassesses the pages. Google Search Central: site moves with URL changes. What Google's guide can't tell you is which of your pages matter most. That's where the plan starts.

Eight steps. Each one ends with something you can see and check.

1. Value-at-risk baseline. I group your URLs by template and section and rank each group by the search traffic, leads and revenue it carries, using Google Analytics, Search Console and your own sales data, built with your data team. You get: a ranked list of URL groups with their share of organic revenue. This sets everything that follows.
2. URL inventory. Every URL that matters, pulled from a crawl, your sitemaps, Search Console, analytics and backlink data. Not just what the crawler finds. You get: one master list, with each URL's value and status.
3. Redirect map. Old URL to new URL, one hop, with the rule type (one-to-one, pattern rule or retire) and a priority from step 1. You get: a redirect map your developers can load, with revenue-at-risk and owner columns.
4. Engineering tickets. Each change written as a ticket with acceptance criteria your developers and QA team can test. You get: tickets ready for your backlog, in your format.
5. Staging crawl and sign-off. I crawl staging and compare it with the live site: redirects, status codes, titles, canonicals, internal links, structured data, indexing rules. You get: a sign-off list. Launch waits until the high-value items pass.
6. Launch-day checks. In the first hours after go-live I check the top-value URLs first, then the rest: redirects, robots.txt, noindex, sitemaps, tracking, Search Console. You get: a launch-day log and a clear go or fix call.
7. Post-launch monitoring. Checks after launch, measured against the baseline from step 1. Removed URLs checked with GONE, redirects with DRIFT. You get: short reports that show traffic and revenue against what was at risk, not just sessions.
8. Rollback triggers. Agreed before launch, not after. If a named metric drops past a named line, we know who acts and how. You get: a one-page plan everyone has signed.

My SEO website migration services cover the full technical side of the move. Website migration SEO services often stop at a redirect spreadsheet. This one runs from the first planning meeting to the checks after launch.

• Value-at-risk baseline by URL group
• Master URL inventory
• Redirect map with priority, owner and status columns
• Template comparison, old against new
• Engineering tickets with acceptance criteria
• Staging crawl and pre-launch sign-off
• Launch-day checks and log
• Post-launch monitoring against the baseline
• Rollback triggers and owners
• A short handover so your team can keep watching after I step back

If you only need the technical SEO migration services part (redirects, staging checks and launch day), that works too.

Before launch

• Baseline traffic, rankings and revenue by URL group
• Full URL inventory from every source, not just a crawl
• Redirect map signed off, top-value URLs first
• Staging crawled and compared with live
• Staging blocked from Google, with a ticket to remove the block at launch
• Tracking tested on the new templates
• Rollback triggers written

Launch day

• Top-value redirects tested first: one 301 to a page that returns 200
• robots.txt, noindex and canonicals checked on live
• New XML sitemaps live and submitted
• Change of Address tool used in Search Console (domain moves only)
• Analytics and conversion tracking firing

After launch

• Checks after launch against the baseline
• Search Console indexing and crawl errors read weekly
• 404s from old URLs fixed in order of value
• Internal links updated to point straight at new URLs
• Redirects kept in place: at least 180 days for a domain move, as Google advises
• Rollback triggers watched

As your SEO web migration consultant, I lead the SEO side at every step. Your developers build, your content team decides what stays, and your data team checks the numbers.

I work inside your existing process: your ticket system, your sprint rhythm, your release calendar. If an outside team is building the new site, I work with them in the same way.

If the move changes URLs, templates, content or the domain, yes. The cheapest time to fix an SEO problem is before the new templates are built.

• At planning: agree which URLs and sections must survive, and what the platform must support.
• During build: template reviews and the redirect map.
• Before launch: staging crawl and sign-off.
• Launch and after: launch-day checks and post-launch monitoring.

If you're already close to launch, a risk review is still worth doing. It finds the biggest problems fast.

Fixed fees, agreed before work starts. All prices excluding VAT. No success fees.

I'm taking on my first 2-3 migrations at a reduced rate, in return for permission to publish an anonymised write-up of the work. Ask about it when you get in touch.

Nobody can honestly promise zero ranking movement after a migration. Some short-term movement is normal while Google recrawls the new site. I won't promise a date for full recovery either. What I can promise is that the pages that earn you the most are mapped, tested and watched first, problems get found in hours rather than weeks, and you'll always know what changed and why.

What are website migration services?

Help moving a site without losing what it already earns. There are two sides. The build side moves the site itself: design, platform, hosting and content. The SEO side makes sure Google can find the new pages, understand them and pass the old pages' rankings across. I do the SEO side and work alongside whoever does the build.

What does a website migration cost?

For the SEO side: a migration risk review is £495-750. Plan and launch support for a standard site is £1,800 fixed. Larger sites and domain changes start from £3,500 and are quoted after a short call. All excluding VAT, no success fees. The build itself is priced by whoever builds the site.

What is the first step in a website migration?

Write down what you have before anything moves. That means every URL that gets search traffic, links or revenue, and what each one is worth. That baseline drives the redirect map and the launch checks, and you can't rebuild it after launch.

How long does a website migration take?

The build timeline is set by your build team. For a standard site, the SEO work runs alongside the build, then after launch. The earlier I join, the less rework there is.

What is the process for an SEO site migration?

Baseline, URL inventory, redirect map, engineering tickets, staging sign-off, launch-day checks, post-launch monitoring and agreed rollback triggers. Each step is set out above, with what you get from it.

How do I migrate a website without losing SEO?

Baseline what each page earns. Map every old URL to its closest new one with a single 301 redirect. Check the staging site before launch, then check redirects, indexing and tracking on launch day and for the weeks after. Some movement while Google recrawls is normal. The method is there to catch the avoidable mistakes behind big, lasting drops.

Will we lose rankings?

Some movement is normal for a few weeks while Google recrawls. Big, lasting drops usually come from avoidable mistakes: missing redirects, chains, a noindex left in place, or content cut in the redesign. The method is built to catch those before and on launch day.

How do I move a website to a new domain?

Redirect the old pages to the new ones with 301s, page by page. Then use the Change of Address tool in Search Console to tell Google about the move. Google says to keep the redirects for at least 180 days, and to keep paying for the old domain for at least a year so nobody else can take it. If you change the domain and the URL structure at the same time, Google says to expect some traffic loss while it reassesses the pages. That's a good reason to change one thing at a time where you can.

Will a domain migration increase SEO traffic?

Not by itself. A new domain is a risk to manage, not a ranking boost. If the new site is faster, better built or better organised, that can help over time, but the move alone won't.

What is a domain migration SEO audit?

A check of everything that has to move when you change domain: URLs, redirects, internal links, canonicals, sitemaps, Search Console setup and the links pointing to your site. My migration risk review covers this for domain moves.

What is website content migration?

Moving the words, images and files from the old site to the new one. For SEO it matters because content often gets cut or rewritten in a redesign, and pages that lose their content can lose their rankings too. I flag which pages earn traffic, so the content team knows what to keep.

Do I need an SEO migration consultant or an SEO migration agency?

Either can work. An SEO migration agency usually brings a team and an account manager. A consultant brings one senior person who does the work directly. I'm a consultant: you deal with me, and I work alongside your developers and any agency you already use. If you're comparing an SEO migration company or agency against a consultant, ask each one to show you their redirect map and a sample ticket.

Can you work with our developers or our build agency?

Yes. That's most of the job. I write tickets in your format and test against your releases.

Can our marketing team keep doing SEO work during the rebuild?

Yes, with care. New content and fixes on the old site are fine, as long as every new URL gets added to the redirect map. I'll set up a simple way to log them.

What access do you need?

Read access to Search Console and analytics, the staging site, the URL list or sitemap of the new build, and someone on your data team who can share revenue or lead data by page. I don't need access to your CMS to start.

We already migrated and lost traffic. Can you help?

Yes. That's a different job. Start with a traffic drop audit. It finds what broke and ranks the fixes by what they're worth.

Nikko Nanji, independent technical SEO consultant. You work with me directly, not a junior team.

Planning a migration? Tell me what's moving and when. I'll reply with the risks I'd look at first.

Related services: Google penalty recovery, Traffic drop audit, Technical SEO audit.