A website migration — new domain, new platform, or a restructured URL set — is the single most common way to accidentally destroy your organic traffic. The good news: the losses are almost always self-inflicted and avoidable. This is the playbook we follow.
Why migrations lose traffic
When URLs change and the old ones aren’t correctly redirected, three things happen: search engines drop the old pages, the accumulated authority (“link equity”) doesn’t transfer, and users hit 404s. A clean 301 redirect map is what carries rankings and equity from the old URLs to the new ones.
The pre-migration checklist
- Crawl the current site and export every indexable URL. This is your source of truth.
- Baseline your rankings and traffic before you touch anything, so you can measure what survived.
- Inventory backlinks to know which pages carry the most external authority — protect these first.
- Map old URL → new URL one-to-one wherever possible. Every removed page needs a redirect to the closest relevant replacement, not a blanket redirect to the homepage.
301 vs. 302: use the right one
Use a 301 (permanent) redirect for a permanent move — it passes ranking signals to the new URL. A 302 (temporary) redirect tells engines the move is temporary and is the wrong choice for a migration. Getting this backwards is a classic, costly mistake.
Redirect rules that preserve SEO
- Redirect one hop: old URL straight to final new URL. Avoid chains (A→B→C), which leak equity and slow crawling.
- Match intent, not just structure — send each page to its true equivalent.
- Preserve HTTPS and canonical consistency on the destination.
- Keep the redirect map live permanently; don’t remove it after launch.
Launch day and after
- Deploy redirects before or at the moment of switchover.
- Update the XML sitemap to new URLs and resubmit in Search Console.
- Fix internal links to point directly at new URLs (don’t rely on redirects internally).
- Monitor crawl errors, coverage, and rankings daily for the first few weeks and fix any missed redirects fast.
A short-term dip during reprocessing is normal; a sustained drop means something is broken. If you’re moving domains or platforms, our WordPress migration service builds and QAs the full redirect map, and a pre-move website audit baselines exactly what needs to survive. It pairs well with a technical SEO audit on the destination.
Frequently asked questions
How do I do 301 redirects without losing SEO?
Map every old URL to its closest new equivalent one-to-one, use permanent 301s in a single hop, deploy them at switchover, update internal links and your sitemap, then monitor Search Console for missed redirects. Redirecting everything to the homepage is the mistake that loses rankings.
Why did my traffic drop after a domain migration?
Almost always because redirects were missing, pointed to the wrong pages, or formed chains — so rankings and link equity didn’t transfer. A full crawl comparison of old vs. new URLs usually surfaces the gaps quickly.
How long does it take to recover rankings after a migration?
With clean redirects, expect a brief dip and recovery within a few weeks as engines reprocess the new URLs. Larger sites can take longer. A sustained drop beyond that indicates a redirect or indexation problem to investigate.