What We Learned About Server Migration and WWW Redirect Issues

Server migrations are complex, and even a small oversight can have significant implications on your site’s SEO and user experience. One common issue that arises after migration is a misconfigured WWW redirect, which can cause duplicate content and other SEO headaches. Here’s what we learned.

The Challenge: Missing Redirects After Server Migration

During a server migration to AWS for one of our clients, the existing redirect setup between the WWW and non-WWW versions of the website was unintentionally removed. This caused both versions of the site to be accessible without the necessary redirection. As a result, search engines and users could access duplicate versions of the site, leading to several SEO and user experience issues.

Signs You Might Be Facing Redirect Issues After a Migration

If you’re experiencing any of the following, you could be facing a redirect configuration problem:

1. Unexpected traffic to redirected pages
2. An increase in the number of indexed pages in search engines
3. Fluctuations in brand search performance
4. User confusion when accessing different versions of the website (with and without WWW)

If any of these sound familiar, it’s time to check your redirect setup.

Why Duplicate Versions Are a Problem

When both WWW and non-WWW versions of your website are accessible, search engines treat them as separate pages, dividing your SEO authority between them. This leads to several problems:

• Impact on SEO rankings: While search engines generally identify a preferred version, they don’t always consolidate signals correctly. A 301 redirect ensures that all SEO authority is directed to the preferred version.
• User confusion: Users might bookmark one version, while search engines serve another, resulting in inconsistent user experiences.
• Increased crawl budget usage: Search engines waste resources crawling duplicate pages, instead of focusing on more valuable content.

The Fix: Restoring the 301 Redirect

To resolve this issue, it’s crucial to implement a 301 redirect from the non-preferred version (either WWW or non-WWW) to the preferred version. A 301 redirect tells search engines that the URL has permanently moved, consolidating all ranking signals.

For example, if your preferred version is https://www.example.com, make sure that all traffic to https://example.com is permanently redirected to the WWW version (or vice versa).

Checklist for Post-Migration Redirect Validation

To ensure the 301 redirect is properly set up, follow this checklist:

1. Check Google Search Console for any indexing issues
2. Review traffic logs to identify unexpected traffic to old URLs
3. Test the 301 redirect across all pages
4. Monitor brand search performance and indexing behavior following the fix

Key Takeaways

• Missing redirects after server migration can cause duplicate content issues, split SEO signals, and confuse users.
• Implement a 301 redirect from the non-preferred version of your site to the preferred version to consolidate SEO authority.
• Validate your redirects using tools like Google Search Console and traffic logs to avoid unnecessary SEO problems.

Taking the time to validate your redirect setup after migration can prevent significant SEO headaches and ensure that both search engines and users have a consistent experience.