Winning SEO when doing Web Migrations #SMSSYD19
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The document discusses best practices for conducting successful web migrations from an SEO perspective. It recommends thoroughly auditing the current site to identify all pages, their importance and technical attributes. Rules should be set to determine how each page will migrate, such as redirects, new content or pruning. A testing phase is important to validate all pages migrate as intended before public launch. The goal is to retain traffic, rankings and links through the transition.
Winning SEO when doing Web Migrations #SMSSYD19
- 1. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti The Australian 2019 Edition Winning SEO when doing Web Migrations
- 2. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti The Australian 2019 Edition Winning SEO when doing Web Migrations
- 3. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Moving sites, like moving houses, can be painful #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 4. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Both require a lot of work… You want to take your belongings with you without leaving, breaking, losing anything important You want to update your details, to refer and be found in your new address You want to correctly reorganize your belongings in your new location fast #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 5. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti …that can be shockingly similar, right? You want to take your belongings with you without leaving, breaking, losing anything important You want to update your details, to refer and be found in your new address You want to correctly reorganize your belongings in your new location fast URLS 301-REDIRECT URLS LINKS & CONFIGURATION UPDATE #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 6. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Without proper SEO planning & validation Web migrations can have terrible consequences BEFORE AFTER
- 7. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Like when you move and forget to label all the boxes and then can’t find your toilet paper #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 8. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Although losing your organic traffic after a Web migration is a potentially more business critical situation and is also shockingly common #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.sistrix.com/blog/indexwatch-the-top-100-seo-losers-of-2018/
- 9. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti However, both can be exciting if you’re moving to a better place… #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 10. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Like when you take the opportunity to throw what you don’t need and better organize your clothes in a bigger closet #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 11. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Or when you improve your site optimization for better results when doing the Web migration
- 12. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Over the years I’ve found is mostly about tackling these common reasons for Web migration failures Lack of a clear Web migration goal Lack of Flexibility to make changes Lack of support to make changes Leaving Important Pages out Migrating pages erroneously Moving to non-optimized new pages destinations
- 13. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Notice how half of these are not technical related but have to do with appropriate project planning Lack of a clear Web migration goal Lack of Flexibility to make changes Lack of support to make changes Leaving Important Pages out Migrating pages erroneously Moving to non-optimized new pages destinations
- 14. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti And how the technical related ones will tend to intensify with big Websites Lack of a clear Web migration goal Lack of Flexibility to make changes Lack of support to make changes Leaving Important Pages out Migrating pages erroneously Moving to non-optimized new pages destinations
- 15. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti I’m not Marie Kondo but today I’ll show you how to avoid them and make your Web migrations to spark joy #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 16. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Start by identifying your moving goal, feasibility and scope to support the process accordingly #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 17. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti What are you looking to achieve with the Web Migration? Redesign Move to HTTPS Rebrand Web Consolidation
- 18. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Redesign Move to HTTPS Rebrand Web Consolidation The migration will become more complex to support depending on the required move Same URLs Same Domain Different Domains
- 19. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Redesign Move to HTTPS Rebrand Web Consolidation As well as the focus of your SEO work, that will change given the migration nature 301-redirecting URLs to their relevant canonical Secured URLs Keeping old brand & terms rankings while redirecting to new domain URLsKeeping their crawlability, indexability & content relevance
- 20. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Given all this, is it necessary, feasible and profitable to move? Is there any other way to achieve the same goal without moving? Are there resources and flexibility to do the needed technical and content changes? Is it going to be profitable given the related costs? What would you need to move and where?
- 21. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti In some cases it is, like when moving to a stronger domain consolidating international versions ccTLD gTLD
- 22. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti In others is due to business reasons, like a rebranding that requires a domain move Nine nine.com.au Ten ten.com.au
- 23. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti SEO Design & UX Marketing Development After assessing these, agree with the project’s stakeholders to secure resources & support #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 24. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti SEO Development We will do whatever you say, SEOs know their stuff and we will all support you forever Finally! Warning, this might not be a realistic scenario
- 25. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Once you have obtained it… It’s time to start! #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 26. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Let’s work on that rebranding project #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Nine nine.com.au Ten ten.com.au
- 27. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Avoid leaving any important page out by gathering all URLs to move #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 28. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Identify which are the affected URLs based on the Web migration scope Page level Category level Site level Redesign, HTTP to HTTPS change, company rebranding, acquisition or Web consolidation Area renaming Product rebranding
- 29. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Crawlability Indexability Internal linking Relevance Rankings Traffic Link popularity Speed Crawl the affected URLs and gather their SEO configuration, rankings & traffic metrics
- 30. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti You can use desktop crawlers for smaller sites and cloud ones for bigger ones Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, OnCrawl, Ryte, Deepcrawl, Botify Desktop Cloud
- 31. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti As well as look for any URL attracting traffic, rankings or links within the migration scope Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Semrush, Ahrefs, Sistrix
- 32. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Rankings Traffic Link popularity SSL Certificate Analyze their SEO status to identify what is important to keep or improve in these pages Nine nine.com.au Pages Crawlability Pages Indexability Pages Content Relevance Pages Internal linking Pages Speed Pages URL Naming Convention
- 33. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Integrate all possible URLs sources into your crawl simulation Screaming Frog & Deepcrawl Google Analytics Search Console XML Sitemaps Log Files Backlinks
- 34. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti This will allow you to identify orphan URLs, and to avoid missing any important page
- 35. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Including images, or any resource that you might be also serving and needs to be migrated
- 36. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti You will likely find very old URLs that you might have never heard of though…
- 37. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti A common issue when moving #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 38. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Give context to prioritize the actually meaningful pages to redirect and establish rules for the rest #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 39. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Obtain the traffic and queries for which all the identified URLs rank for Screaming Frog, URL Profiler
- 40. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti You can then put your pages in context with their traffic, ranked queries along optimization status Top Pages Technical Configuration Relevance Popularity Traffic Ranked Queries
- 41. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Which of these actually spark joy by bringing value: conversions, traffic, rankings & links?
- 42. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Define rules for their migration to give the best possible user experience, based on importance Leave them out Were they typos and didn’t existed nor brought rankings, links, traffic? 301-redirect to parent category Did they existed but were not indexable, didn’t brought rankings, links & traffic? 301-redirect to new page version Did they existed, were indexable and brought or have potential to bring rankings, links & traffic?
- 43. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti This is also a great opportunity to prune your site, and avoid bringing old errors to the new one
- 44. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @oraintihttp://bit.ly/contentpruningseo Follow the “should you prune or optimize a page from your site” flowchart
- 45. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Meaningful pages should be 301-redirected to their new versions where their relevance is kept 10 News nine.com.au/9news/ ten.com.au/10news/ 9 News Nine Ten 301-Redirects
- 46. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti If their SEO status is lacking, is then also important to specify what should be improved Thin, Duplicate Content Slow Speed Hierarchical Navigation Relevant Title Page specific, expanded Content Fast Speed Hierarchical Navigation Relevant Title To Keep To Improve 301-Redirects nine.com.au/9news/ ten.com.au/10news/ Nine Ten
- 47. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Establishing the configuration changes to be implemented in the new pages versions Old Pages Titles, Descriptions & H1s New Pages Titles, Descriptions & H1s
- 48. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Defining also the new pages to create to keep the rankings for the old branded queries 301-Redirect 9 News is now 10 News ten.com.au/9news/ Links to 9 News Latest Australian News 10 News Latest Australian News nine.com.au/9news/ ten.com.au/10news/ Nine Ten
- 49. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti While targeting the transactional and new branded queries with the new ones New Ten Pages Bridge Pages for old Nine Brands Old Branded Queries Transactional Queries and New Branded Queries Old Nine Pages Transactional Queries and Old Branded Queries
- 50. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti With rules you can follow in rebranding scenarios that are known to be complex
- 51. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Verify that you’re not leaving anything out before moving on with the Web migration You will achieve the desired goals with the specified changes You have taken into consideration all the relevant Web properties URLs You have correctly mapped each old URL to a new relevant destination The new URL destinations are correctly configured from a technical perspective The new URL destinations content is relevant to the targeted queries You have correctly established the new “bridge” pages to keep the rankings for the old brand or terms
- 52. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti It’s time to prepare and test your migration to make sure the defined pages are effectively redirected to their relevant new destinations #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 53. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Before launching, it’s critical to test the migration in a private environment
- 54. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Validate the changes by comparing first the top old vs. new types of pages in the stage site Pages Crawlability Content Indexability 301-Redirects SSL CertificatePages Content Relevance Pages Internal linking Pages Speed Home Page Category Page Sub-Category Page Product Page Main Blog Page Blog Category Page Blog post Each Affected Page Type Verify Nine Ten nine.test.com.au/9news/ ten.test.com.au/10news/
- 55. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti List crawl the old URLs to check if the 301-redirects have been set as specified
- 56. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Look for these common redirects issues and fix them before launching Non-301 Redirects Redirects Loops Redirects Chains Redirects to Non- indexable or Error URLs Redirects to Non- relevant Pages
- 57. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Crawl the new Web test version to also check if its pages are optimized as specified
- 58. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti And if the SEO improvements & new pages have been implemented too HTTP status Canonical tags Internal Links Content Indexability Content Relevance #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 59. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti It’s all working as expected? It’s then time to migrate and verify these again in the live environment #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 60. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti If the migration will take a bit, return a 503 HTTP status to tell Google there’s a maintenance https://yoast.com/http-503-site-maintenance-seo/
- 61. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Do a list crawl of the old URLs to check that they’re 301 redirecting to their new specified destinations
- 62. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Look again for and fix any non-301 redirects, loops, chains, or anything going to incorrect URLs
- 63. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Prioritize to fix high-traffic pages with incorrect redirect behavior
- 64. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Crawl the new live site and make sure the new pages are accessible & optimized too
- 65. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Look for URLs that might be blocked, no-indexed, linking or canonicalizing to the old pages
- 66. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti If the migration has included an HTTPS switch make sure there are no mixed content issues too
- 67. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti If it’s a new Web location, set GA & GSC, and update with the old settings if relevant
- 68. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Check again that the key Web migration criteria have been implemented in the live site All the old relevant Web properties URLs have been 301-redirected as specified There are no old URLs left out to be migrated The new URL destinations are correctly configured from a technical perspective The new URL destinations content is relevant to the targeted queries The new “bridge” pages to keep the rankings for the old brand or terms have been correctly launched and are indexable
- 69. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Once all issues are fixed, submit your new and old URLs XML sitemaps to be re-crawled
- 70. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti For domains level migrations, submit it too with Google’s Change of Address feature https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/83106?hl=en
- 71. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Check that new site pages are indexed and ranked over time #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 72. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Start tracking your targeted queries before the launch for the new and old Websites SEOmonitor, STAT & Advanced Web Rankings
- 73. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Set a Web monitoring service to get alerts when changes in the new site pages or old redirected URLs are made Little Warden & ContentKing
- 74. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Use the Search Console to monitor if the new URLs get indexed and the old ones disappear
- 75. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Verify which have been included and which have been left out the index & the reason, to fix them
- 76. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Monitor & compare the new vs. old main ranked queries, pages and SERP features old website location new website location
- 77. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Check that rankings & CTR of your top queries in the new location are regained over time
- 78. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @oraintiSEOmonitor Monitor the trend of additional keywords w/ your own rank tracker, organizing them in groups
- 79. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Look in both desktop and mobile results to identify inconsistent ranking behavior SEOmonitor
- 80. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Track also your top queries vs. your competitors to check your search visibility share before & after SEOmonitor
- 81. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Complement your own tracking by following-up with visibility indexes to identify potential issues with non-critical queries SEMrush, Sistrix, Searchmetrics
- 82. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti Check for your rankings impact on traffic while looking on conversion & engagement SEOmonitor
- 83. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti You should see a positive before and after migration traffic trend after a while
- 84. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti It’s about aligning SEO in the Web migration process to avoid the most common issues Lack of a clear Web migration goal Lack of Flexibility to make changes Lack of support to make changes Leaving Important Pages out Migrating pages erroneously Moving to non-optimized new pages destinations
- 85. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti While taking the opportunity to eliminate whatever doesn’t spark joy #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti
- 86. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti In order to achieve business goals successfully ten ten
- 87. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti If somehow, you can’t do this from the start… don’t worry, I got you covered too bit.ly/crawlingmondays6
- 88. #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti You’re now ready to move! #webmigrations at #smssyd19 by @aleyda from @orainti