Switching to a new CMS can tank your SEO if you’re not careful. A poorly planned migration risks broken links, lost rankings, and traffic drops. But with the right strategy, you can protect - and even improve - your search visibility.
Key Steps to Safeguard SEO:
- Audit Your Current Site: Document metadata, high-performing pages, and backlinks.
- Plan Redirects: Use 301 redirects to preserve link equity and rankings.
- Protect Backlinks: Update or redirect links pointing to old URLs.
- Maintain URL Structure: Keep URLs consistent or simplify them for better organisation.
- Transfer Metadata: Ensure title tags, meta descriptions, and schema markup are carried over.
- Fix Internal Links: Update all internal links to point directly to new URLs.
- Test Post-Migration: Check crawlability, Core Web Vitals, and fix errors like 404s.
Why It Matters
For example, WooCommerce’s 2023 migration caused a 90% visibility loss, while Wise.com recovered and tripled its visibility post-migration. Proper planning makes all the difference.
Start with a solid plan, execute carefully, and monitor results to ensure a smooth transition.
Site Migration Checklist | SEO Marketing Strategies
Pre-Migration Setup
The success of a CMS migration starts with solid preparation. Understanding your current site's structure and SEO performance is critical. This groundwork not only saves time but also helps avoid SEO pitfalls during the migration process.
Run a Complete SEO Audit
Begin by conducting a full SEO audit to capture a snapshot of your site's current performance. This audit acts as your baseline for comparison.
"The first thing to do is run an SEO audit crawl on your current website... It's important that running an SEO audit allows you to have a database of information to compare after the changes. It's a major part of QA (quality assurance)." - LupageDigital.com
Use tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Semrush, or Ahrefs to crawl your site. Export and organise URLs by page type - this categorisation simplifies the migration process.
Your audit should include several key elements. Start by documenting metadata for every page, including title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags. Identify high-performing content by reviewing traffic, rankings, and conversion data. Flag broken links, duplicate content, and technical issues. Don’t forget to check image alt tags, mobile responsiveness, and schema markup.
Additionally, download reports from Google Search Console and Google Analytics to capture indexed URLs, traffic data, and keyword rankings. Tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can help you track pre-migration keyword positions. This data will serve as your quality assurance checklist, ensuring a smooth transition during and after the migration.
"Crawling your existing website helps you understand website structure and download a copy of it so you can use it post-migration for comparison or import." - Growth Minded Marketing
Once your SEO baseline is documented, the next step is to secure your backlinks.
Plan for Backlink Protection
Backlinks are the result of years of effort in relationship building and content marketing. Losing them during migration could damage your SEO performance. Any backlink pointing to a URL that changes without proper redirection loses its value.
Start by pulling your complete backlink profile using tools like Google Search Console, Moz Explorer, or Majestic SEO. Create a spreadsheet listing each backlink, its authority, and the target page. This will serve as your roadmap for backlink protection.
Prioritise high-authority backlinks - those from trusted websites that carry the most SEO weight. Document these links and ensure they are either redirected or updated if your domain changes.
Don’t overlook your own digital properties. If your domain or brand name changes, update links on social media profiles, business listings, and any other platforms you control. These updates are essential for maintaining a strong link profile.
A comprehensive mapping system is vital. Ensure every important backlink has a clear path to its new destination, either through 301 redirects or direct updates.
With your backlinks secured, it’s time to focus on your new site’s URL structure.
Set Up URL Structures
Your URL structure plays a major role in preserving SEO value. Getting it right during the migration process can save you from future headaches.
Maintain your current URL structure where possible. Unless there’s a strong reason to change it, sticking to the same structure minimises the need for complex redirects and reduces the risk of broken links. However, if your current structure is messy or confusing, a migration is an ideal time to reorganise.
When designing your new URL structure, aim for a clear hierarchy and logical organisation. For example:
-
Product or service pages:
www.yoursite.com/category/product-or-service -
Informational content:
www.yoursite.com/topic/keyword-enriched-urlorwww.yoursite.com/topic/subtopic/keyword-enriched-url
Keep folder levels to a minimum - ideally one or two subfolders.
Simplicity is key. Use hyphens to separate words, avoid special characters, and naturally incorporate primary keywords without overloading them. A clean URL structure helps both users and search engines navigate your site more effectively.
The impact of optimised URLs is clear. Skroutz.gr, for instance, reduced its indexed URLs from 25 million to 7 million between February 2018 and June 2019. Despite the reduction, they boosted their monthly sessions to 30 million by focusing on essential pages and improving their site structure.
Accurate URL mapping ensures a smooth migration, safeguarding both user experience and search rankings. Create a detailed URL mapping document to guide your redirection efforts.
Migration Process: Core SEO Tasks
Once your pre-migration audit is complete, it’s time to dive into the core SEO tasks that will help maintain or even improve your rankings. These steps require careful execution, as even minor errors can affect your search visibility.
Set Up Redirects
301 redirects are the backbone of a successful site migration. They signal to search engines that your site has moved and ensure your hard-earned link equity isn’t lost in the shuffle.
"Make sure you're thorough with your redirect mapping while migrating a website. This is the most crucial step of your migration...the search engines need to be told that you've moved your site to a new home and they need explicit change of address instructions. Otherwise, all of that link equity you've acquired over the years, all of those profitable keyword rankings you've earned, all of them will vanish." - Erik Newton, BrightEdge SEO Blog
Start by creating a detailed redirect map. Match every URL from your old site to the most relevant URL on the new site. This helps preserve keyword rankings and ensures users land on the right pages.
Once your redirects are in place, test them thoroughly. Each URL should return a 301 status code, follow a single redirection path, and avoid chains or loops that confuse search engines and weaken link equity.
By the end of the migration, all old URLs should redirect properly - no 404 errors, temporary 302 redirects, or server-side 5XX issues. These errors can disrupt crawling and delay updates to the index.
Keep the redirects active indefinitely. Removing them too soon can cause broken links, leading to lost traffic and frustrated users trying to access bookmarked or external links. When paired with preserved metadata and well-structured internal linking, redirects form a critical part of a smooth migration.
Transfer Metadata and Structured Data
Your metadata and structured data hold vital SEO value, so transferring them accurately is non-negotiable. Ensure meta titles and descriptions remain consistent, retaining keywords and other key elements.
Before migration, audit all metadata - including title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags. Document everything to avoid losing critical information, especially on high-traffic pages.
Structured data markup also needs attention. Schema.org tags for content like products, events, or articles must be carried over correctly to help search engines interpret your content.
During the migration, optimise images as well. Add proper alt tags and use descriptive file names to enhance accessibility and improve image search rankings.
The key is to focus on mapping, transforming, and validating all data to ensure content integrity and functionality remain intact throughout the process.
Fix Internal Linking
Strong internal linking is just as important as metadata when it comes to maintaining site structure and usability. Broken links can harm both user experience and SEO, disrupting navigation and reducing link equity.
"Broken internal links can have major repercussions from an SEO standpoint... Broken links can impact the ability of search engines to index a site properly." - Alex Klugerman, Senior Analyst, Fortune
To identify broken links, use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Semrush. These tools are invaluable for catching overlooked issues, especially on larger sites.
For sites using a CMS, consider plugins or modules that can automatically flag problematic links. This can save time and effort during the migration process.
When broken links are found, fix them by setting up 301 redirects, updating outdated URLs, or removing irrelevant links.
Lastly, update all internal links to point directly to the new URLs. Avoid relying on redirects for internal links, as direct links are more efficient for both users and search engines.
The impact of effective internal linking can be game-changing. For example, after a site migration in April 2023, one client saw a 455% increase in daily traffic, a 78% rise in top 10 rankings, and gained 1,496 SERP features by August 2023 (Source: Search Engine Land, 2024).
Solid internal linking ensures smooth navigation, better indexing, and stronger rankings in the long run.
sbb-itb-ece7665
Post-Migration Testing
Once you've completed the core SEO tasks during migration, the next step is to ensure everything works as expected. This means diving into testing - focusing on three key areas: crawlability, site performance, and error detection.
Check Site Crawlability
Crawlability is all about ensuring search engines can access and navigate your new site effectively. Start by submitting your updated XML sitemap to Google Search Console to help Google quickly discover new and updated pages. Use the URL Inspection tool to confirm that critical pages are accessible and check if Googlebot can fetch them without issues.
Double-check your robots.txt file to ensure it’s not accidentally blocking important pages. The robots.txt tester in Search Console makes this process easier by highlighting any problematic rules. To dig deeper, analyse your server log files to see how Googlebot interacts with your site and identify any crawling errors.
For a quick snapshot of what Google has indexed, perform a "site:" search in Google (e.g., "site:yourdomain.com"). This provides a high-level view of indexed pages. Additionally, tools like Semrush Site Audit or JetOctopus can help uncover crawl errors and broken links that might not appear immediately in Search Console. If your site runs on WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO can automatically handle XML sitemap updates for you.
Once crawlability checks are complete, it’s time to evaluate how well your pages perform.
Test Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are critical for user experience and play a role in Google’s ranking factors. A migration can significantly impact these metrics, so it’s essential to review them both before and after the transition.
Leverage field data, such as the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), through tools like Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights to see how real users experience your site. For more detailed diagnostics, use lab tools like Google Lighthouse. These tools can help pinpoint performance issues in a controlled environment.
Don’t forget to test your site across different browsers and check the console for any resource loading errors. Missing resources can harm performance and user experience. For example, in March 2025, The Telegraph improved its Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) by over 250% using WebPageTest's Highlight Layout Shift feature, led by developer Chris Boakes. This case highlights the importance of staying on top of performance metrics post-migration.
Find and Fix SEO Errors
Post-migration errors can sneak in, and ignoring them could hurt both user experience and search rankings. Common issues include 404 and 500 errors, incorrect resource loading, or pages mistakenly returning a 200 status code when they shouldn’t.
Google Search Console is your go-to tool here. Regularly check the Coverage report in the weeks following the migration to catch indexing issues early. Use the URL Inspection tool to dig into specific pages and resolve any problems.
Server logs can also reveal errors that might not appear in other tools. Make it a habit to test areas of your site where non-existent URLs could return a 200 status code, as this can confuse search engines.
Ensure that noindex tags are removed from pages you want indexed, and verify that your robots.txt file isn’t unintentionally blocking access to essential content. Update internal links to point directly to the new URLs instead of relying solely on redirects - this improves navigation for both users and search engines. Lastly, use Google’s Rich Results Test to confirm your structured data and Schema markup have been correctly implemented.
If you’re looking for extra support to maintain strong SEO performance during and after the migration, consulting with specialists in digital solutions can be a smart move. Proper testing ensures your site is ready to perform at its best.
Long-Term Monitoring and Fixes
The work doesn’t stop once your CMS migration is complete. To ensure your SEO remains strong and continues to improve, you’ll need to monitor performance over time and address any issues that arise. This ongoing effort is key to spotting early problems and seizing growth opportunities.
Keep an Eye on Keyword Rankings
Post-migration, tracking how your keywords are performing is essential to understanding visibility changes. Tools like Semrush Position Tracking and Google Analytics annotations can help you monitor keyword rankings over 30, 60, and 90 days. This timeframe often reveals both issues and areas of recovery, giving you a clearer picture of your site’s performance[19].
Set achievable recovery goals for these intervals, as many websites stabilise within this period. Remember, the top three organic search results on a SERP account for nearly 54% of clicks. Even small ranking boosts can lead to noticeable traffic gains. By keeping a close watch on rankings, you can quickly tackle any errors that might crop up.
Establish a Process for Fixing Errors
Regular audits are critical to catching and resolving issues like broken links, duplicate content, and misconfigured redirects. Use weekly crawl reports and Google Search Console alerts to stay informed. Create a priority system for addressing errors - fix critical 404 errors on high-traffic pages immediately, while scheduling less urgent issues for routine maintenance.
Redirects should be checked regularly, and broken links updated as soon as possible. Set up alerts to notify you of sudden spikes in error rates. A good example of this approach in action is Asset Digital Communications, a Canadian HR firm. After their SEO migration, they saw a 35% jump in organic traffic and improved rankings within three months. Their strategy included thorough SEO audits, mapping old URLs to new ones, implementing 301 redirects, optimising metadata, and closely monitoring performance to resolve issues quickly.
Optimise for Long-Term SEO Gains
Once immediate errors are fixed, use the insights gathered from monitoring to refine and improve your site further. This is your chance to not just maintain but enhance your SEO performance. Monitoring data can uncover patterns in user behaviour, content effectiveness, and technical areas needing improvement.
Focus on site speed by compressing images, enabling browser caching, and using Core Web Vitals data to guide your efforts. Use the keyword ranking information you’ve collected to fine-tune your content strategy. Additionally, train your team to ensure they’re comfortable managing the new CMS and workflows. Routine maintenance - like updating the CMS and plugins, applying security patches, and keeping an eye on performance - can prevent small issues from growing into major problems.
The benefits of this proactive approach are clear. For instance, companies that switched to a headless CMS reported a 61% boost in profitability and saved 58% of their content management time. Investing in SEO tools can also provide deeper insights and help you fine-tune your strategies.
For expert support, consider working with specialists like MOCA Digital. They offer tailored digital solutions, including SEO optimisation and ongoing maintenance for platforms like Craft CMS and Webflow, ensuring your site stays competitive long after migration.
Conclusion: Key Points for SEO-Safe CMS Migration
Migrating your CMS without jeopardising your search rankings requires a solid plan, careful execution, and ongoing oversight. Start with thorough preparation - conduct an SEO audit, plan redirects, and map out your URLs to sidestep common migration missteps.
When it’s time to migrate, focus on the essentials that protect your SEO value. Set up proper 301 redirects to guide users and search engines from old URLs to new ones. Ensure all metadata is transferred correctly, and keep your content structure intact. This attention to detail during the process lays a strong foundation for success after the migration.
The stakes are high: a poorly managed migration can hurt your rankings, but a well-executed one can be a game-changer. Take R.J. Classics as an example - their move to Shopify led to a leap in market visibility from 11% to over 50%, along with a staggering 114% growth in organic traffic year-over-year.
Once the migration is complete, consistent monitoring becomes critical. Regularly check performance metrics, track errors, and keep an eye on your rankings to quickly address any issues and continue building momentum.
For many businesses, partnering with experts can make all the difference. Specialists like MOCA Digital bring the knowledge and experience needed to navigate the complexities of migration, ensuring your SEO performance stays intact and setting the stage for future growth. With proper planning, execution, and monitoring, your CMS migration can be a seamless step toward greater success.
FAQs
What are the risks of not properly planning a CMS migration, and how can it impact your site's SEO?
Failing to plan a CMS migration thoroughly can result in serious SEO setbacks, such as losing search rankings, broken links, and a drop in site traffic. For instance, if you don't maintain the existing URL structure, search engines might struggle to properly index your pages, which can lead to frustrating 404 errors. Skipping proper redirects is another major pitfall - it can leave both users and search engines landing on non-existent pages, further damaging your site's visibility.
Other frequent mistakes include mishandling metadata like title tags and descriptions or overlooking the need to update internal links. These oversights can disrupt your site's navigation and harm its SEO performance. On top of that, search engines may take longer to reassess a poorly managed migration, potentially causing a temporary - or even permanent - decline in rankings. To safeguard your site's authority and visibility, meticulous planning and execution are absolutely critical.
How do I protect my backlinks and maintain their value during a CMS migration?
When migrating your CMS, protecting your backlinks is crucial to maintaining their value and preserving your SEO rankings. One of the key steps is setting up 301 redirects from your old URLs to the new ones. This helps ensure that the authority and equity from those links remain intact.
Before you start the migration, conduct a backlink audit to pinpoint your most valuable links. These should be your top priority during the transition. Once the migration is complete, keep a close eye on your backlink profile. Regular monitoring allows you to quickly spot and fix any issues, ensuring your site's SEO stays on track throughout the process.
How can I monitor and protect my SEO rankings after migrating to a new CMS?
After moving your site to a new CMS, keeping a close eye on your SEO performance is key to maintaining your rankings. Start by diving into Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor organic traffic, keyword rankings, and crawl errors. These tools can quickly flag issues like broken links or sudden traffic drops, allowing you to address them before they escalate.
Double-check that all your 301 redirects are functioning properly to ensure link equity is preserved and users are directed to the correct pages. Tools like Screaming Frog are great for auditing redirects and spotting any errors. It’s also a good idea to compare metrics from before and after the migration - things like page load times and bounce rates can reveal whether the migration has affected the user experience.
Don’t stop there - keep refining your content based on performance analytics and fresh keyword research. This ongoing effort can help improve rankings and drive engagement, ensuring your SEO stays strong post-migration.
Related posts
