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
- Collect URLs from crawls, sitemaps and available traffic data.
- Map important moved pages to meaningful replacements.
- Use suitable permanent redirects without chains.
- Update internal links, canonical, hreflang and sitemap entries.
- Test old URLs and new templates after launch.
- 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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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.
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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