SEO Migration Services
Plan it properly to avoid upset.
Whether you’re replatforming, changing domain, or merging websites, SEO should never be an afterthought. A poorly executed migration can wreck your organic traffic overnight but with the right strategy, it’s a chance to clean up legacy issues and build stronger foundations for growth.
I’ll help you plan your migration the right way or recover if it’s already gone wrong.
What This Service Covers
This isn’t just a checklist of redirect tasks. It’s a strategic migration plan, built around preserving visibility, protecting rankings, and avoiding hidden pitfalls.
Typical scenarios I help with include:
- Moving to a new CMS (e.g. WordPress, Shopify, headless builds)
- Changing domain name or consolidating multiple domains
- Switching URL structures (e.g. removing /category/ or adjusting parameters)
- Rebranding, redesigning, or rebuilding a site from scratch
- Recovering from migrations that were already botched by other teams
I’ll work closely with you, your developers, and your content team to make sure everything from technical SEO to keyword mapping is accounted for before, during, and after launch.
Real-World Experience
I’ve worked on dozens of migrations including several where I was brought in to solve problems caused by others. Some were seamless. Others required stepping in quickly to prevent serious SEO damage.
In one ecommerce migration from Magento to Shopify (plus a domain change), I supplied a full redirect map with one-to-one page matches. But instead of following it, the hosting provider redirected every single URL to the homepage. That error created immediate SEO risk and I had to intervene fast to prevent long-term traffic loss.
In another migration project, I spotted dozens of inbound URLs that hadn’t been accounted for, including legacy blog posts and historical landing pages still receiving links and traffic. Using data from Ahrefs and Google Search Console, I created a structured redirect plan to preserve link equity and clean up missed URLs. This wasn’t just a technical task it was about protecting hard-earned visibility and catching issues before they caused damage.
The difference? I knew what to look for and I knew when to push back.
What You’ll Get
Every migration is different, but my service typically includes:
- Pre-migration technical SEO audit
- Keyword mapping and URL structure planning
- Redirect mapping (page-by-page, not lazy bulk redirects)
- Backlink preservation planning (including disavow file management)
- Google Search Console migration handling (if changing domains)
- Benchmark reporting (traffic, rankings, crawl health)
- Pre-launch QA support (staging checks, noindex flags, canonicals)
- Post-launch monitoring, issue detection, and support
If your site’s already live and something doesn’t feel right, I can also step in to diagnose the problem and help you recover.
When Things Go Wrong: Migration Recovery
Sometimes clients come to me after a migration, when traffic’s dropped, rankings have vanished, and no one knows why.
Common issues I help fix include:
- Homepage-only redirects that kill relevance
- Important URLs left out of the redirect plan
- Staging noindex tags left live post-launch
- Internal linking gaps that confuse crawlers
- Lost metadata, broken sitemaps, or missing canonical logic
Whether the issues are technical, structural, or related to poor planning, I’ll audit the damage and help you recover as cleanly as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
1What’s the ideal time to involve an SEO in a site migration?
As early as possible. Ideally, before any design, development, or content work starts. But if you’re mid-process, or even post-launch, I can still help.
2Can you work with our developers or project manager?
Yes, I’ve worked alongside in-house devs, agencies, freelancers, and technical teams. I’ll make sure your developers have clear, specific instructions, not SEO jargon or vague requests.
3Do you do the redirects yourself?
No, I create the redirect map and support your dev or hosting team in implementing it. I’ll then test and QA it before and after launch to make sure it’s done correctly.
4What if we’ve already migrated and traffic’s down?
I’ll start with a post-migration audit to identify what’s gone wrong. This could include redirect issues, content changes, indexing problems, or missed technical details. Once we know the cause, I’ll help you fix it.
5Do you work with ecommerce migrations (e.g. Shopify, WooCommerce)?
Yes, I’ve worked on migrations involving Magento, Shopify, WordPress, and custom ecommerce platforms. I understand the SEO challenges that come with product pages, filters, collections, and seasonal traffic patterns.
6What do you enjoy most about site migrations?
They’re high stakes, but also high reward. There’s a real sense of satisfaction in getting it right, spotting risks early, and guiding people through what can be a really stressful project. It’s like being the calm in the chaos.
Ready to Take SEO Seriously?
If you're ready to invest in SEO that’s intelligent, honest, and driven by real business goals, I’d love to hear from you.
