How to Recover Your Traffic After a Web Migration
Getting Started
Introduction- "Trust Arrives on Foot and Leaves on Horseback"
Introduction- "Trust Arrives on Foot and Leaves on Horseback"
There's a well-known saying: "Trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback," highlighting how it takes time to build trust but only a moment to lose it. This truth extends to SEO value as well. While SEO efforts steadily grow over time, they can quickly diminish if things go wrong.
The Vulnerability of Web Migrations
One of the most vulnerable periods for SEO value is during a web migration. It's not uncommon for websites to experience a significant drop in organic search traffic post-migration.
The Good News: Recovery is Possible
The good news is that there are proactive steps you can take before migration to safeguard your SEO value. And if you've already experienced a decline, quick actions can help you recover lost traffic effectively.
There's a well-known saying: "Trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback," highlighting how it takes time to build trust but only a moment to lose it. This truth extends to SEO value as well. While SEO efforts steadily grow over time, they can quickly diminish if things go wrong.
The Vulnerability of Web Migrations
One of the most vulnerable periods for SEO value is during a web migration. It's not uncommon for websites to experience a significant drop in organic search traffic post-migration.
The Good News: Recovery is Possible
The good news is that there are proactive steps you can take before migration to safeguard your SEO value. And if you've already experienced a decline, quick actions can help you recover lost traffic effectively.
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
What is a Website Migration?
What is a Website Migration?
A website migration refers to the process of transferring a website from one environment to another. It’s a significant event that involves structural changes, which can potentially impact a site's SEO value. Proper planning and execution are essential to minimize risks and preserve organic search performance.
Common Types of Website Migrations
There are various types of migrations, each with unique implications for a website's structure and SEO. The most common types include:
Platform Migration
Involves moving a website from one content management system (CMS) to another, such as transitioning from WordPress to Shopify or from Joomla to Squarespace or Shopify to Medusa.Content or Design Migration
Entails a complete overhaul of the site’s look and feel, which may involve restructuring content, redesigning layouts, and updating user interfaces.Domain Migration
Involves changing the site’s root domain, such as switching from ecommerce.biz to ecommerce.com, or from yoursite.com to mysite.com.Host Migration
Refers to moving the website's hosting service, for example, from GoDaddy to BlueHost.
Combining Migration Types
In some cases, multiple migrations occur simultaneously. For instance, a business may choose to redesign its website and change platforms to better support the redesign’s objectives. This combination can add complexity and further increase SEO risks, making it critical to approach each change strategically.
A website migration refers to the process of transferring a website from one environment to another. It’s a significant event that involves structural changes, which can potentially impact a site's SEO value. Proper planning and execution are essential to minimize risks and preserve organic search performance.
Common Types of Website Migrations
There are various types of migrations, each with unique implications for a website's structure and SEO. The most common types include:
Platform Migration
Involves moving a website from one content management system (CMS) to another, such as transitioning from WordPress to Shopify or from Joomla to Squarespace or Shopify to Medusa.Content or Design Migration
Entails a complete overhaul of the site’s look and feel, which may involve restructuring content, redesigning layouts, and updating user interfaces.Domain Migration
Involves changing the site’s root domain, such as switching from ecommerce.biz to ecommerce.com, or from yoursite.com to mysite.com.Host Migration
Refers to moving the website's hosting service, for example, from GoDaddy to BlueHost.
Combining Migration Types
In some cases, multiple migrations occur simultaneously. For instance, a business may choose to redesign its website and change platforms to better support the redesign’s objectives. This combination can add complexity and further increase SEO risks, making it critical to approach each change strategically.
Why Would Traffic Drop After a Web Migration?
Why Would Traffic Drop After a Web Migration?
The primary reason websites experience a drop in traffic after a migration is a loss of organic search rankings. If a migration is not carefully planned with search engines in mind, it can trigger issues that signal to Google and other search engines that the site is broken. This may result in error messages, broken links, or missing pages, prompting search engines to lower or even remove the site’s rankings from search results.
Other Common Causes of Traffic Loss
While search ranking loss is the most common culprit, other factors can contribute to a drop in traffic post-migration:
Brand or Domain Changes
When a site changes its brand name or domain, traffic may drop as users are less familiar with the new name, leading to fewer direct searches and visits.Reduction in Number of Pages
If a site removes or consolidates pages during the migration, it may lose traffic that was previously directed to those now-missing pages.User Database Migration Errors
Errors during the migration of user accounts and login data can cause login issues, resulting in fewer returning users.External Factors
It’s essential to consider external factors that may impact traffic independently of the migration itself. For example, decreased ad spending or a temporary decline in social media activity could also contribute to lower visitor numbers.
The primary reason websites experience a drop in traffic after a migration is a loss of organic search rankings. If a migration is not carefully planned with search engines in mind, it can trigger issues that signal to Google and other search engines that the site is broken. This may result in error messages, broken links, or missing pages, prompting search engines to lower or even remove the site’s rankings from search results.
Other Common Causes of Traffic Loss
While search ranking loss is the most common culprit, other factors can contribute to a drop in traffic post-migration:
Brand or Domain Changes
When a site changes its brand name or domain, traffic may drop as users are less familiar with the new name, leading to fewer direct searches and visits.Reduction in Number of Pages
If a site removes or consolidates pages during the migration, it may lose traffic that was previously directed to those now-missing pages.User Database Migration Errors
Errors during the migration of user accounts and login data can cause login issues, resulting in fewer returning users.External Factors
It’s essential to consider external factors that may impact traffic independently of the migration itself. For example, decreased ad spending or a temporary decline in social media activity could also contribute to lower visitor numbers.
How to Recover Traffic After a Web Migration
How to Recover Traffic After a Web Migration
Recovering your website traffic after a migration starts with pinpointing the root cause of the traffic loss. Acting quickly is essential; if you can reverse the underlying issue within the first couple of weeks, there’s a high likelihood of regaining the lost traffic. However, if left unaddressed for too long, the chances of a full recovery decrease significantly.
Here are some common causes of traffic loss and the steps you can take to address them:
1. Incorrect or Missing Redirects
When a website undergoes a URL change—whether through a domain switch or folder structure alteration—redirects need to be implemented to guide users and search engines from the old URLs to the new ones.
Why It Happens:
If you migrated from your-site.com to yourwebsite.com, all the previous URLs need 301 redirects to preserve SEO equity. Without proper redirects, users accessing the old URLs will encounter error messages, leading to a drop in organic and direct traffic.
How to Fix It:
To check for broken or missing redirects, paste the old URLs into your browser or use SEO tools like Google Search Console or Ahrefs. Address any identified issues by setting up 301 redirects within your CMS or server configuration.
2. Lost or Changed Content
Content may not always migrate correctly due to oversight, intentional consolidation, or technical errors. This can significantly impact SEO rankings and traffic.
Why It Happens:
If high-ranking content was removed or significantly altered during the migration, search engines might interpret it as a change in the page’s relevance or purpose, causing drops in rankings.
How to Fix It:
Monitor analytics for drops in organic traffic to previously well-performing pages. Consider restoring the original content at the same URL or updating the new content to better align with the old version's purpose. Note that content-based ranking recovery can take time.
3. Metadata Issues
Metadata, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and canonical tags, plays a crucial role in SEO. During migration, these may get overlooked, leading to placeholder text that doesn’t convey the page's true purpose.
Why It Happens:
Common placeholders like "Home" or "Page 1" can cause search engines to misunderstand the page's purpose, resulting in lower rankings.
How to Fix It:
Update the metadata on all key pages to reflect their original, optimized state, ensuring that title tags and meta descriptions are informative and include relevant keywords.
4. Indexing Settings
Search engines rely on indexing settings in the HTML and robots.txt files to understand which pages should appear in search results.
Why It Happens:
If the migration leaves "noindex" settings from the staging environment active, it can prevent the website from appearing in search results, drastically reducing visibility.
How to Fix It:
Update your HTML tags and robots.txt file to "index" and "follow," allowing search engines to crawl and index your site again. This should help restore visibility quickly.
5. Speed Issues
A slower website post-migration can negatively impact both traffic and conversions, as Google considers page speed a ranking factor.
Why It Happens:
The migration might involve a platform change, host change, or code modifications that increase load times due to unoptimized images, third-party scripts, or heavy JavaScript files.
How to Fix It:
Use tools like Google Lighthouse to audit site speed. Address issues such as large image files, excessive third-party code, or JavaScript errors. If the problem is server-related, consult your hosting provider to explore options like server optimization or content delivery network (CDN) usage.
6. Broken Links
Links that lead to a "404 Not Found" page signal a poor user experience to search engines and can harm SEO rankings.
Why It Happens:
Broken links may occur from outdated internal links, changes to URLs during the migration, or pages that were removed.
How to Fix It:
Use link-checking tools like Screaming Frog or Semrush to identify broken links. Go to the source pages and update them with the correct URLs to ensure a seamless user experience.
Recovering your website traffic after a migration starts with pinpointing the root cause of the traffic loss. Acting quickly is essential; if you can reverse the underlying issue within the first couple of weeks, there’s a high likelihood of regaining the lost traffic. However, if left unaddressed for too long, the chances of a full recovery decrease significantly.
Here are some common causes of traffic loss and the steps you can take to address them:
1. Incorrect or Missing Redirects
When a website undergoes a URL change—whether through a domain switch or folder structure alteration—redirects need to be implemented to guide users and search engines from the old URLs to the new ones.
Why It Happens:
If you migrated from your-site.com to yourwebsite.com, all the previous URLs need 301 redirects to preserve SEO equity. Without proper redirects, users accessing the old URLs will encounter error messages, leading to a drop in organic and direct traffic.
How to Fix It:
To check for broken or missing redirects, paste the old URLs into your browser or use SEO tools like Google Search Console or Ahrefs. Address any identified issues by setting up 301 redirects within your CMS or server configuration.
2. Lost or Changed Content
Content may not always migrate correctly due to oversight, intentional consolidation, or technical errors. This can significantly impact SEO rankings and traffic.
Why It Happens:
If high-ranking content was removed or significantly altered during the migration, search engines might interpret it as a change in the page’s relevance or purpose, causing drops in rankings.
How to Fix It:
Monitor analytics for drops in organic traffic to previously well-performing pages. Consider restoring the original content at the same URL or updating the new content to better align with the old version's purpose. Note that content-based ranking recovery can take time.
3. Metadata Issues
Metadata, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and canonical tags, plays a crucial role in SEO. During migration, these may get overlooked, leading to placeholder text that doesn’t convey the page's true purpose.
Why It Happens:
Common placeholders like "Home" or "Page 1" can cause search engines to misunderstand the page's purpose, resulting in lower rankings.
How to Fix It:
Update the metadata on all key pages to reflect their original, optimized state, ensuring that title tags and meta descriptions are informative and include relevant keywords.
4. Indexing Settings
Search engines rely on indexing settings in the HTML and robots.txt files to understand which pages should appear in search results.
Why It Happens:
If the migration leaves "noindex" settings from the staging environment active, it can prevent the website from appearing in search results, drastically reducing visibility.
How to Fix It:
Update your HTML tags and robots.txt file to "index" and "follow," allowing search engines to crawl and index your site again. This should help restore visibility quickly.
5. Speed Issues
A slower website post-migration can negatively impact both traffic and conversions, as Google considers page speed a ranking factor.
Why It Happens:
The migration might involve a platform change, host change, or code modifications that increase load times due to unoptimized images, third-party scripts, or heavy JavaScript files.
How to Fix It:
Use tools like Google Lighthouse to audit site speed. Address issues such as large image files, excessive third-party code, or JavaScript errors. If the problem is server-related, consult your hosting provider to explore options like server optimization or content delivery network (CDN) usage.
6. Broken Links
Links that lead to a "404 Not Found" page signal a poor user experience to search engines and can harm SEO rankings.
Why It Happens:
Broken links may occur from outdated internal links, changes to URLs during the migration, or pages that were removed.
How to Fix It:
Use link-checking tools like Screaming Frog or Semrush to identify broken links. Go to the source pages and update them with the correct URLs to ensure a seamless user experience.
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
Ready to boost your online presence and recover your traffic post-migration?
Book a free strategy call with OutreachRight today!
FAQ's
FAQ's
How can you migrate without losing traffic?
To migrate without losing traffic, it’s essential to create a comprehensive migration checklist that addresses all SEO and user experience (UX) considerations. Key items to include in your checklist are:
Redirect Map: Ensure all old URLs redirect to their new counterparts to maintain SEO value.
Metadata Review: Verify that all metadata is correctly migrated to prevent issues with search engine indexing.
Page Speed Audit: Assess and optimize the site’s speed to enhance user experience and SEO performance.
Additionally, consulting with SEO professionals can help you develop a tailored checklist specific to your site's needs.
Will domain migration increase SEO traffic?
No, a domain migration does not inherently increase SEO traffic. While a high-quality domain can enhance your brand's online trust and credibility, potentially leading to increased traffic over time, there is no direct SEO benefit from simply changing the domain name.
When should you do a web migration?
A web migration should be undertaken when there is a clear business rationale for the change. Once the decision is made, it’s best to choose a day and time with expected low traffic, as migrations can take up to 24 hours to fully propagate. Depending on the migration type, there may be some downtime during this period, so planning accordingly is crucial.
How can you migrate without losing traffic?
To migrate without losing traffic, it’s essential to create a comprehensive migration checklist that addresses all SEO and user experience (UX) considerations. Key items to include in your checklist are:
Redirect Map: Ensure all old URLs redirect to their new counterparts to maintain SEO value.
Metadata Review: Verify that all metadata is correctly migrated to prevent issues with search engine indexing.
Page Speed Audit: Assess and optimize the site’s speed to enhance user experience and SEO performance.
Additionally, consulting with SEO professionals can help you develop a tailored checklist specific to your site's needs.
Will domain migration increase SEO traffic?
No, a domain migration does not inherently increase SEO traffic. While a high-quality domain can enhance your brand's online trust and credibility, potentially leading to increased traffic over time, there is no direct SEO benefit from simply changing the domain name.
When should you do a web migration?
A web migration should be undertaken when there is a clear business rationale for the change. Once the decision is made, it’s best to choose a day and time with expected low traffic, as migrations can take up to 24 hours to fully propagate. Depending on the migration type, there may be some downtime during this period, so planning accordingly is crucial.
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