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Website migration SEO

A migration changes addresses, systems or structure. Preserve important content and explain its move through an accurate map of old URLs to relevant new destinations.

How do I verify that a migration preserved important landing pages?

Before the change, save an inventory and decide which pages to retain, move, merge or remove. Assign a matching destination and verification method to every move.

What to do step by step

  1. Collect URLs from crawls, sitemaps and available traffic data.
  2. Map important moved pages to meaningful replacements.
  3. Use suitable permanent redirects without chains.
  4. Update internal links, canonical, hreflang and sitemap entries.
  5. Test old URLs and new templates after launch.
  6. Monitor response errors, indexing and queries.

A practical example

Two overlapping guides merge into one expanded article. Both old URLs point to the new article that actually covers their content, rather than a generic category.

A common mistake

An undocumented lost page is difficult to recover. Redirecting everything to the homepage does not preserve intent, and an immediate score cannot measure a migration’s full outcome.

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fukamo.com/skSeptember 16, 2026

59/ 100

  1. HTML response size · Fukamo 200 kB budget
    Evidence
    314476 bytes of decoded HTML; this is not the transferred compressed size.
    Repair
    Reduce unnecessary HTML and inline data. The 200 kB threshold is a Fukamo budget, not a Google limit or compressed transfer size.
  2. Inline JS size · Fukamo 64 KiB budget
    Evidence
    4 blocks; 179621 bytes before transfer compression.
    Repair
    Reduce inline data exceeding the Fukamo 64 KiB budget. Compare an external cacheable file and measure the impact.
  3. ImageObject · basic data
    Evidence
    1 entity. Missing data ImageObject #1: contentUrl.
    Repair
    Check appropriate properties for this type. Checking a selected set does not replace complete validation or establish rich-result eligibility.
  4. Illustrations have the context they need
    Evidence
    1 of 1 figure element has no text figcaption.
    Repair
    Add a caption where the image needs explanation. Figcaption is optional and does not replace alt.

How to build an inventory of old URLs

Before retiring the old website, collect URLs from the CMS, sitemap, analytics and available records. The migration map also needs pages absent from navigation.

  • Mark addresses bringing visits, orders or important external links.
  • Decide for each URL whether to retain, move, merge or remove it.

Where should old pages redirect?

Moved content should lead to its new equivalent. Redirecting unrelated pages to the homepage loses the purpose of the original visit.

  • For a permanent move, use a server-side 301 or 308 redirect directly to the final destination.
  • If content has no replacement, handle removal deliberately; do not invent an unrelated target merely to obtain a passing check.

Source Google — site moves with URL changes ↗

What to update besides redirects

Redirects are one part of migration. New internal links, canonicals, language alternatives and the sitemap must match the resulting addresses.

  • Test the old URL, final status and correct content after redirection.
  • Preserve topic equivalence between languages; a Slovak product should not end on the English homepage.

How to monitor results after a migration

A deployment record helps connect a URL change with later measurements. Split monitoring by template and language so a sitewide average cannot hide a damaged group.

  • Continue checking redirect errors, indexing and traffic to important destinations.
  • For a problem, compare the specific old and new pair; follow the prepared rollback plan if a reversal is needed.

How to verify the result

Use Fukamo to compare representative URLs, then validate the entire migration map separately. Retain the original inventory for troubleshooting.

Primary documentation developers.google.com ↗

Frequently asked questions

How do I verify that a migration preserved important landing pages?

Before moving, export URLs from traffic data, sitemaps, and known links. Assign every important address a specific new destination or a justified removal. After migration, validate both responses and content relevance. Redirecting everything to the homepage does not preserve the meaning of old answers.

When the task is complete

Each priority old URL has the correct final response and a relevant destination. New internal links and sitemaps use new addresses, and measurement retains comparable segments.

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