Free guide / Website rebuild

Redesigning or moving your website? Do this so Google keeps sending customers.

Every page on your site has an address, and Google learned those addresses. When a new site goes live, the addresses often change. Google keeps sending people to the old ones, they land on an error page, and they call your competitor instead. SEO people call this a website migration. Here's my checklist for one: what I check before, on and after launch day.

BeforeBefore the new site goes live

You have a list of every old page that gets clicks. How to check: In Search Console, open Performance, then the Pages tab. Set the date to the longest range it offers and export it. Every page on that list with clicks needs a home on the new site.
Every old address has a new address next to it. How to check: In that export, add a column with the new page each old one becomes: same topic, closest match. Only send a page to the home page if nothing on the new site covers it.
The pages that bring customers keep what they say. How to check: Put each old page next to its new version. If the new one dropped the service, the area or the questions the old page answered, put them back.

Launch dayLaunch day: redirects and your sitemap

Each old address redirects to its new page. How to check: That's called a redirect (a permanent one, a 301). Paste an old address into your browser. It should land on the new page by itself, not on an error page and not on the home page. Try every page on your list, or have your web person send you the redirect list and spot-check it.
The new sitemap is submitted. How to check: In Search Console, open Sitemaps, submit the new one and check that it says Success.

AfterThe weeks after: errors and traffic

You watch Search Console for errors. How to check: In Search Console, open Pages (under Indexing) and look for Not found (404). An old address in that list is missing its redirect. Fix it the same day. Check every day for the first few weeks.
Clicks are holding up. How to check: In Performance, click the date and choose Compare: the weeks since launch against the weeks before. If one page dropped, check its redirect and what its new version says first.

FAQWebsite redesigns and SEO

Will redesigning my website affect SEO?

It can. If page addresses change and the old ones aren't redirected, Google keeps sending people to pages that are gone. If a page that brought customers loses what it said, it can drop. Keep what those pages say and redirect every old address, and a redesign doesn't have to cost you your Google traffic.

What is a 301 redirect?

A permanent redirect from an old address to a new one. Someone who opens the old address lands on the new page by itself, and Google learns where the page moved.

Should old pages redirect to the home page?

Only when nothing on the new site covers that page. Send each old page to its closest match on the new site, same topic. Someone who wanted one service and lands on the home page has to start over.

How do I find broken pages after a website migration?

In Search Console, open Pages under Indexing and look for Not found (404). An old address in that list is missing its redirect. Fix it the same day, and check every day for the first few weeks.

Rather hand it off?

I rebuild websites this way.

If you'd rather I handle the rebuild, or just the move so you keep your Google traffic, book a call.

Book a call →

← More free guides