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SEO Migration Services

Misguided Website Migrations Can Erase Your Organic Revenue

A website migration can pose significant risks to your SEO, potentially wiping out organic revenue if not handled correctly. At Climb & Conquer, we specialise in SEO website migration services designed to safeguard and enhance your search rankings and traffic. Leveraging AI, we streamline the migration process, from URL mapping to redirects, ensuring efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

What is an SEO Website Migration?

SEO website migration covers more than just moving your site to a new domain or platform—it also encompasses significant redesigns that can affect site structure and content. Each type of migration, whether it’s changing domains, platforms, or undergoing a complete redesign, carries substantial risks if SEO is not a core part of the strategy. These changes can lead to significant drops in traffic and visibility if mishandled.

Shane Parkins

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The Risks of Not Considering SEO When Migrating

Overlooking SEO during a website migration can have severe repercussions on your organic traffic and revenue from search. Key risks include:

  • Loss of Search Rankings: Without proper SEO considerations, a migration can result in the loss of established search engine rankings.
  • Drop in Organic Traffic: SEO oversights during migration often lead to a substantial decrease in organic traffic, as search engines struggle to locate and index new pages.
  • Deterioration of User Experience: Broken links and changes in site structure without SEO guidance can lead to a poor user experience, increasing bounce rates and reducing conversion opportunities.
  • Compromised Domain Authority: Failing to manage SEO effectively during a migration – especially a domain migration – can weaken your site’s authority and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines.

To help illustrate just how bad the consequences can be, we’ve included a search console chart of a client who came to us after suffering a botched website migration.Their organic traffic dropped by 57.4%.

Example of a failed website migration

What a Good Site Migration Should Look Like

A successful and properly managed migration usually results in only a slight, temporary decrease in traffic—about 5-10%—which typically recovers quickly. Additionally, the migration process offers the opportunity to significantly increase your traffic post-migration by enhancing the quality and helpfulness of your content site-wide with our SEO content services.

Again, this may be hard to visualise so we’ve included a search console screenshot of what a successful migration looks like. This client migration their site towards the start of the chart, experienced no movement for a week after and then the site began growing substantially. Three months later, their organic traffic increased by 56% compared to pre-migration levels.

Example of a good site migration

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Contact our team today for a thorough consultation on how our SEO website migration services can help your business.

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Minimise Risk, Maximise Upside: Our SEO Migration Strategy

At Climb & Conquer, our SEO migration service is designed to minimise risk and maximise the benefits of your website’s transition. We start with comprehensive data benchmarking using Google Analytics and Search Console to establish a clear performance baseline. Our in-house AI agents handle the bulk of URL mapping and 301 redirects, ensuring that the crucial pages that drive your organic traffic are maintained without error. We also pay close attention to updating all internal links, metadata, and canonical tags to reflect the new site architecture.

Additionally, we manage updates to your schema and configuration settings in Google Search Console, ensuring that search engines can seamlessly continue to crawl and index your site. Our approach includes rigorous pre-live and post-live testing of the new site, which helps to identify and rectify potential issues before they impact your organic traffic.

By taking these steps, we ensure a smooth transition, protecting your existing SEO authority while setting the stage for future growth. This strategic approach not only safeguards your site but also enhances its performance, often resulting in increased organic traffic and revenue post-migration.

SEO Site Migration Checklist

To ensure a seamless SEO site migration, we follow a detailed migration process designed to mitigate risks and enhance site performance:

  • Data Benchmarking

    We start by capturing baseline data for key metrics using Google Analytics and Search Console to measure impact accurately.

  • URL Mapping

    Systematically map old URLs to their new equivalents, ensuring no high-value pages are lost.

  • 301 Redirects Setup

    Implement 301 redirects for all changed URLs to maintain link equity and redirect traffic to the appropriate pages.

  • Consolidating or Deleting Legacy URLs

    Review and either consolidate or remove outdated or unnecessary URLs to streamline site structure and prevent 404s on the new site.

  • Updating Internal Links

    Ensure all internal links point to the correct URLs post-migration to avoid broken links.

  • Updating Canonical Tags and Metadata

    Adjust canonical tags and update metadata to reflect the new site structure and ensure consistency across the site.

  • Schema Update

    If applicable, update or implement schema markup to enhance SEO and improve search engine’s understanding of page content.

  • Search Console Configuration

    Reconfigure Google Search Console settings for the new domain (if applicable) to ensure Google continues to crawl the site without any hiccups.

  • Sitemap Update

    Generate and submit new XML sitemaps to search engines to aid in faster indexation of the new site structure.

  • Pre-Live Testing

    Conduct thorough testing in a staging site to identify and fix any potential issues before going live.

  • Post-Live Testing

    After going live, closely monitor the site for any issues and ensure all SEO adjustments are functioning as expected.

Following this checklist not only ensures a seamless transition but also sets the stage for increased organic traffic. Leveraging our SEO content services to improve the quality and helpfulness of your site-wide content can significantly enhance your rankings and traffic in the 3-6 months following the migration.

Why Choose Us?

As a SEO website migration agency, we bring a unique blend of expertise, dedication, and a client-first approach to every SEO website migration. Here’s why you should consider partnering with us for your SEO site migration needs:

  • Proven Track Record

    Proven Track Record

    We have a history of substantial growth, leveraging SEO to transform our business and the businesses of our clients. We’re not just about maintaining your current success during migrations; we’re about amplifying it.

  • Expertise and Innovation

    Expertise and Innovation

    Our team is deeply experienced in handling complex migrations across a variety of platforms including Shopify, WordPress, BigCommerce, and Webflow. We use advanced automation to efficiently manage URL mappings and redirects, reducing the risk of errors and saving time and cost.

  • Comprehensive Service

    Comprehensive Service

    From technical SEO support to detailed post-migration checks, we handle every aspect of your migration. Our approach ensures minimal disruption and maintains, if not improves, your organic search performance.

  • Client-Centric Approach

    Client-Centric Approach

    We genuinely care about the results we deliver. Our agency operates on short contracts that let our results speak for themselves, allowing you the flexibility to continue based on satisfaction.

  • Educational and Supportive

    Educational and Supportive

    We believe in empowering our clients. Not only do we take the time to understand your industry and specific business needs, but we also offer continuous learning and improvement opportunities throughout our collaboration.

Climb & Conquer is committed to your success, providing tailored strategies that align with your business objectives and drive significant improvements in organic traffic and revenue from search. Ready to discuss how we can support your next website migration? Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.

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Some case studies

We support over 50 brands, from small businesses to multi-million pound companies, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Our approach is simple but rare: our staff stay on accounts and work with fewer clients, allowing them to truly understand each business and drive growth. With expert training and support, this leads to outstanding results. We’re only as good as our next round of results, so speak to us today to see what we can do for your business.

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Reading Solutions UK

Reading Solutions UK

When we excel above client expectations and targets there is a major feel good factor that goes with it, we also have some clients that make a real difference to communities that just elevate that feeling. Reading Solutions UK are one of those companies, helping children to read more efficiently throughout the UK with their […]

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Shane Parkins

Shane Parkins

Which case study should we start with? Well our very own site of course. We know how to grow a business using SEO because we’ve done it with the very company you are looking at; 90% of our growth came from SEO. The website started out as a very small shop front for our original […]

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FAQs Answered by an Expert SEO Migration Agency

Website migrations vary significantly in duration depending on several factors. The size of your site, the SEO health of your existing setup, and the complexity of the move all play crucial roles. Additionally, the number of teams involved—such as developers and graphic designers—can also impact the timeline. Generally, a migration could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

Yes, we are proficient in migrating websites across all popular platforms, including WordPress, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Our team also has extensive experience with custom solutions, ensuring a smooth transition regardless of the technology or platform your site currently uses.

It’s normal to experience a temporary drop in traffic, typically around 5-10%, following a migration. This happens as search engines need time to re-crawl and reassess your site after significant changes. Although this drop is usually temporary, traffic levels should normalise and potentially exceed previous levels within a few weeks as Google and other search engines like Bing or Yahoo update their understanding of your site. 

The decision to migrate a site should consider various factors beyond SEO. While from an SEO standpoint alone it might seem risky, migrations often bring substantial benefits in terms of brand visibility, user experience, and conversion rates. If you are unsure about the value of a planned migration, consulting with our team can provide clarity and help weigh the benefits against potential risks. A migration can be incredibly diverse and yield a lot of problems without expert advice, errors ranging from page title errors, through to canonical tags, using an expert to create a clear map of pre, during and post migration will help mitigate a lot of this risk. 

While it’s possible to undertake a site migration on your own, the complexity and detailed nature of the process make it advisable to work with experts. Proper handling of technical SEO elements and minute details is crucial to avoid long-term negative impacts on your site’s SEO health. Partnering with an expert SEO agency, especially one that specailises in seo website migration services, can help ensure a successful transition.

Website Migrations Are Completed, You Must Have Some Questions...

Whether you're interested in our SEO migration services, want to find out more about our offerings or have a question about your migration, drop us a line - our SEO experts are happy to help.

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