Website Migration Without SEO Losses: A 12-Step Plan

Migration Risks

A poorly executed migration can result in the loss of: - 30–70% of organic traffic - Google authority built up over years - Revenue (in the case of e-commerce) - Customer trust

The good news – with the right plan, you can migrate without losses.

12-Step Plan

Before Migration

1. Create a full backup – files, database, emails
2. Audit current SEO – Screaming Frog, Search Console export
3. Document all URLs – every page, category, image
4. Measure baseline – organic traffic, rankings, conversions
5. Plan URL structure – will it change or stay the same?

During Migration

1. Build the new site in a staging environment – test before going live
2. Maintain URL structure as much as possible
3. Set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones
4. Preserve content exactly – same H1, meta tags, body text

After Migration

1. Submit a new sitemap to Search Console
2. Monitor for 30+ days: rankings, errors, traffic
3. Fix issues quickly: 404s, slow-loading pages

301 Redirect Table

Old URL → New URL
/blog/post-1 → /articles/post-1
/about-us → /about
/services/seo → /services/seo-optimisation

Never use 302 (temporary) redirects – Google will not transfer authority.

Technical Checkpoints

• HTTPS maintained (not HTTP)
• WWW vs non-WWW – choose one and stick to it
• Sitemap.xml updated
• Robots.txt correct
• Canonical tags pointing to new URLs
• Hreflang (for multi-language pages)
• Structured data preserved
• Internal links updated
• External backlinks redirected

Expected Timeline for Traffic Recovery

• Ideal migration: 2–4 weeks
• Average migration: 2–3 months
• Poor migration: 6+ months or never

Specifics of the Estonian Market

• Changing an .ee domain may require official confirmation
• URLs containing Estonian characters (õ, ä, ü, ö) must be handled with care
• Google.ee results may vary – use a VPN for testing

Summary

Migration is one of the greatest SEO risks. Investing in professional migration (€1500–€4000) saves thousands of euros in lost traffic. Request a quote for migration.