The Single Most Important Step in Any Site Migration
Come closer. Listen.
Redirect mapping is not the fun part of a site migration. It is tedious. It is time-consuming. It is the part everyone wants to rush through.
It is also the part that determines whether your organic traffic survives the migration or dies.
What Redirect Mapping Means
Every URL on your old site needs to be mapped to the most relevant URL on your new site. Not a generic homepage redirect. A page-specific, content-matched redirect.
`/old-site/blue-widgets` -> `/new-site/products/blue-widgets`
Not:
`/old-site/blue-widgets` -> `/new-site/`
The Process
1. Crawl the old site. Get every URL. Use Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or your XML sitemap.
2. Prioritize by traffic and backlinks. Pages with organic traffic and backlinks are critical. Get these redirects perfect.
3. Map each old URL to the most relevant new URL. Same content or closest match. If no match exists, map to the closest category or parent page.
4. Implement 301 redirects. Not 302. 301. These are permanent moves.
5. Test. Spot-check redirects before and after launch. Use a redirect checker to verify every mapping works.
The Aftermath
Monitor Search Console for crawl errors. Watch organic traffic daily for 4-6 weeks. Fix any missed redirects immediately.
Expect some fluctuation. A well-executed migration may see a temporary 10-20% dip before recovering. A botched one can drop 50%+ and never recover. Watch for redirect chains forming and run a redirect audit within the first month. Google's SEO documentation has additional migration guidance.
The Insurance Policy
After 500+ campaigns, we know what works: a systematic checklist approach. Our 113-task SEO checklist covers migration planning. Free. No credit card. 30 seconds to set up.
Do not rush the redirects. They are not optional.