How to Manage a Site Migration Successfully (SEO POV) | Development & Pre-Migration

Pre-Migration: The Essential Phase

The pre-migration phase sets the stage for a smooth transition. It involves preparation, testing, and setting up critical benchmarks that will help mitigate any negative impact during and after the migration. By planning ahead, you ensure everything aligns for post-migration success.

What Does the Pre-Migration Phase Include?

This phase covers the foundational work needed to prepare both the website and team for the migration. Key activities include testing, providing guidance, and making critical recommendations to prevent potential migration hiccups.

Four Core Areas of Focus

1. Guidance & Guidelines for Development
   Offering clear instructions to the technical stakeholders, ensuring everyone understands the process before the migration begins.
2. Creating Benchmarks and Backups
   Setting performance and technical benchmarks before the migration. This is crucial for tracking the website’s status post-migration.
3. Testing and QA of the Test Environment
   Running tests on the test environment to identify issues early on, ensuring no major problems arise during the actual migration.
4. Providing Critical Pre-Migration Recommendations
   Giving detailed guidance for the team to avoid issues on migration day.

Actions During Pre-Migration

• Technical Guidelines & Definitions
  Provide the development team with Operad’s guidance materials. Walk them through the documents to ensure clear understanding.
  Deliverable: Operad’s guidance materials.
• Create a URL Redirects List
  Establish clear redirects for old URLs to ensure a smooth transition without losing traffic.
  Deliverable: A well-organized URL redirects list.
• Market Research & Recommendations
  Conduct research into the business’s market to gather insights for building the new site.
  Deliverable: Market research report.

Creating Benchmarks: Technical & Organic

Technical Benchmarks

Before migrating, it’s crucial to understand the current state of the site. Conduct a comprehensive website crawl to gather critical technical data.

• Crawl Website & Benchmark SEO Data
  Key SEO elements to benchmark include:
  • Titles, descriptions, H1 tags, canonical and hreflang tags, etc.
  • Index status using Google Search Console (GSC) API.
  • Performance on Core Web Vitals.
• Deliverables:
  • Full website crawl export (CSV/spreadsheet)
  • Spreadsheet with Google Index status
  • Performance benchmarks (if applicable)
• Page Load & Performance Testing
  Gather performance data from Google PageSpeed Insights or Google Search Console.
  Deliverable: Core Web Vitals performance data.

Organic Performance Benchmarks

Analyze both Page Performance and Query Performance for organic traffic.

• Page Performance Benchmarks
  Back up data for the last 16 months using GSC API. Track key metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position.
  Deliverables:
  • Spreadsheet of page performance data
• Query Performance Benchmarks
  Use the GSC API to extract the most relevant queries and their performance data.
  Deliverable:
  • Spreadsheet of query performance data

Testing & QA of the Test Environment

Once access to the test environment is granted, perform these essential tests:

1. Crawl the New Site
   Verify that all URLs are discoverable and that index status is correctly set.
2. Check Redirects
   Make sure all the redirects from old URLs work properly in the test environment.
3. Evaluate Website Optimization
   Use tests like mobile responsiveness, HTML semantics, and page load performance.
4. Ensure Google Analytics & GSC Continuity
   Double-check that Google Analytics and GSC accounts are connected and tracking correctly on the new site.

Deliverables:

• Spreadsheet of crawl data
• QA report with identified issues

Critical Pre-Migration Recommendations & Guidance

1. Prioritize Critical Fixes
   After testing and QA, provide prioritized recommendations for fixes before migration.
2. Prepare for Migration Day
   Create a client-facing checklist outlining the essential tasks for migration day.
   Deliverable:
   • A simple one-page client checklist

Pre-migration Checklist

• Server Downtime: Use a 503 status code if necessary.
• Redirects: Ensure all URLs mapped for redirection use 301 redirects.
• Google Analytics & GSC: Add migration annotations in Google Analytics and notify Google via GSC if domains change.
• Sitemaps: Submit new sitemaps to GSC and robots.txt.
• Meta Tags: Remove “noindex” tags from the test environment pages.

Stay tuned for the next part, where we discuss all that is needed for a smooth-sailing migration day.