SEO migration support for businesses changing website platform, domain, URL structure or replacing an existing website, with a focus on reducing avoidable organic search risk before and after launch.
Protect what already performs before the website changes
A website migration can change the URLs, internal links, templates, content and technical signals that search engines already use to understand the site. If those changes are not planned carefully, important pages can become harder to crawl, redirects can be missed and existing organic visibility can be disrupted.
Vital SEO provides independent consultancy throughout the migration process, working with the developers, designers, marketing teams or agencies responsible for implementation.
What SEO migration support can include
- Reviewing the existing website and identifying URLs and sections that need particular attention.
- Comparing existing and proposed website structures and URL patterns.
- Preparing or reviewing redirect mapping for URLs that will change.
- Checking internal linking, canonicalisation, robots directives and XML sitemap requirements.
- Reviewing staging or pre-launch environments where access is available.
- Checking crawlability and indexation requirements before launch.
- Post-launch validation to identify redirect, status-code, indexation or deployment issues.
- Monitoring relevant Search Console and analytics data after launch to identify material changes.
Redirect planning is important, but migration support goes further
Redirects are a central part of many migrations, but they are not the only consideration. A technically correct redirect map cannot compensate for important content being removed, internal links being changed poorly, pages becoming non-indexable or templates introducing new crawl problems.
The migration therefore needs to be considered as a whole. Recommendations are prioritised according to the website, the scale of the change and the organic search signals that are most important to protect.
Support before, during and after launch
SEO input is most valuable before the new website goes live, while changes can still be made without disrupting the live site. We can also support the project around launch and carry out post-launch checks to identify issues that need attention quickly.
This is consultancy support rather than a full website migration service. Your development or web team remains responsible for implementation, while Vital SEO provides the SEO requirements, review and validation needed to support the transition.