Transitioning to a new website platform is often a vital move for businesses seeking expansion or technological advancement. Nevertheless, such migrations carry substantial SEO challenges.

Without well-considered SEO strategies and meticulous implementation, a platform migration can result in substantial reductions in organic traffic, revenue, and market presence.

To help you navigate this process successfully, we’ve outlined 12 prevalent SEO pitfalls that should be diligently sidestepped during a website platform migration.

 

1. Overlooking the Necessity of a Migration Plan

 

Similar to any substantial undertaking, the transition to a new platform demands a meticulously crafted execution plan. SEO professionals should become involved in the process from the outset, allowing sufficient time and room to:

• Collaborate with product and engineering teams.
• Define technical and content requisites.
• Offer continuous support for pre-and post-migration quality assurance.

A comprehensive migration plan should incorporate a complete checklist encompassing critical aspects of technical SEO, content, page speed, performance, analytics benchmarking, and more.

 

2. Disorganized Information Architecture

 

A website migration serves as an opportunity for a fresh start. It’s an ideal moment to reassess the overall SEO framework and uncover potential avenues for enhancing fundamental aspects such as information architecture, taxonomy, and navigation.

A straightforward and user-friendly information architecture surpasses an outdated or convoluted one. However, any functional site navigation structure that contributes to organic traffic growth is an invaluable asset. Should any modifications be contemplated, they should be introduced gradually and with vigilance, accompanied by continuous monitoring.

An abrupt overhaul can disrupt the established order. Alterations to core navigation and browsing paths may influence user behavior and the distribution of link equity, leading to consequences such as:

• Shifts in PageRank.
• Reductions in long-tail traffic.
• Fluctuations in keyword rankings and organic traffic.

The risks are particularly magnified for large, well-established websites with significant organic market share within their respective niches.

A case in point is a few years ago when a classifieds website opted to streamline its category structure during a platform migration significantly. Regrettably, they were unaware that this structure was a primary driver of organic traffic. The outcome was a nearly 40% loss in SEO market share, and they have yet to recover fully.

 

3. Excessive Content Pruning

 

During site migrations, many marketers seize the opportunity to assess their content repository, searching for gaps, redundancies, and content that needs to be updated or relevant.

This examination often leads to significant content pruning. Part of this is the perception that retiring entire sections and blogs is a simpler alternative to migrating them.

However, it’s far wiser to devise a thoughtful strategy for content updates, maintenance, consolidation, and retirement than to engage in overly enthusiastic content pruning. The latter is almost guaranteed to result in the deletion of valuable content and traffic loss.

Rather than occasional purges, it’s a best practice to conduct periodic content inventory reviews to prevent the accumulation of abandoned and forgotten pages that are no longer supported or actively maintained.

 

4. Inadequate 301 Redirects

 

Even if a 301 redirection strategy is executed flawlessly, it won’t assure SEO parity before and after the migration. Some temporary traffic loss is almost inevitable.

However, the absence of proper 301 redirects or the use of sloppy ones will lead to permanent traffic reductions.

It’s crucial to dedicate time and effort to creating a comprehensive 301 redirection map to safeguard link equity and facilitate a seamless transition for users and search engines. This involves:

• Ensuring all internal links are updated to align with the new URL structure.
• Eliminating any redirect chains that may exist.
• Neglecting On-Page SEO Elements

Website migrations often involve site redesigns as an essential component.

Collaborate closely with UX and engineering teams to verify that the page layout adheres to a cohesive structure. It’s vital to confirm that all fundamental elements, including titles, headings, breadcrumbs, metadata, and the like, are consistently present and correctly labeled on all indexable page types and landing pages.

Particular emphasis should be placed on elements featuring structured markup to retain all critical components within the page and the underlying HTML.

 

6. Overlooking Mobile Optimization

 

Seven years after Google announced its commitment to transitioning to mobile-first indexing, the project has reached its culmination. However, for many websites, particularly those primarily dependent on desktop users for revenue, providing a robust mobile experience remains an afterthought.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of significant platform migrations and the focus on revenue-generating initiatives, it’s easy for crucial elements to slip through the cracks, with potential repercussions for SEO.

It’s essential to pay attention to rigorous testing on mobile devices, verifying mobile responsiveness, and ensuring consistency across critical features and on-page components. Give particular attention to internal linking within the mobile experience.

Since Google predominantly employs the mobile version of a site’s content, crawled using the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking, optimizing the mobile experience is indispensable for overall SEO success.

 

7. Sluggish Page Load Times

 

The introduction of something new doesn’t necessarily equate to swifter performance. Achieving optimization in terms of page loading speed, user experience, and Core Web Vitals metrics is both a nuanced art and a systematic science, demanding a profound comprehension of page components and their influence on performance.

The adoption of a new design or framework brings forth fresh performance challenges. Addressing these issues typically involves months of dedicated effort to identify and implement solutions, often through incremental adjustments, optimizations, and rigorous testing.

Consequently, it’s advisable to embark on the optimization journey well in advance, long before the launch date. Foster a performance-first mindset among designers and engineers from the outset.

 

8. Crawlability and Indexing Hiccups

 

Issues related to crawlability and indexing rank among the top SEO migration challenges.

Oversights can render key page components or navigation elements uncrawlable. In some cases, entire directories or page types might inadvertently fall under the shadow of robots.txt disallowance, receive noindex directives, or get subjected to bulk canonicalization pointing to the homepage.

While these issues can sometimes arise, they are most prone to manifest during or immediately following a significant migration when teams are engrossed in bug-fixing and other migration-related tasks. It is crucial to maintain vigilant oversight in this regard and engage in daily monitoring.

For extensive ecommerce marketplaces, bulk indexing bugs can exact a steep cost on the business. They have the potential to swiftly erode SEO traffic, requiring weeks or even months to recuperate the lost traffic as Google undertakes the recrawling, processing, and re-indexing of removed content.

 

9. Neglecting Analytics and Tracking Setup

 

Failing to transfer or establish tracking scripts such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or other essential tracking mechanisms can leave you navigating unthinkingly after a migration.

Having these tools in place is paramount for monitoring website performance and promptly addressing any emerging issues.

Even better, consider crafting custom dashboards that facilitate the comparison of performance metrics for critical sections of your site before and after the migration.

These specialized analytics dashboards can serve as additional quality assurance tools, enabling early detection and resolution of potential issues before they escalate.

Alterations in taxonomy, content consolidation, and content pruning can influence user behavior, leading to fluctuations in metrics such as engagement, conversion rates, time spent on site, and bounce rates.

For instance, a reduction in the organic conversion rate for a specific page type might be entirely anticipated if the page begins to receive significantly more pageviews and traffic for lower-intent keywords due to a content consolidation initiative.

 

10. Disregarding XML Sitemaps

 

Maintaining current XML sitemaps can significantly expedite discovering, crawling, and indexing your new URLs.

Creating distinct sitemaps for various page types, content categories, or other relevant criteria can enhance your ability to monitor the discovery and indexing rate of content within essential segments, providing a more detailed perspective.

 

11. Neglecting Non-Indexable Content

 

SEOs often emphasize what should be indexed, sometimes overlooking the critical task of preventing non-indexable content from finding its way into search engine indices.

This goes beyond addressing non-SEO URL parameters or sorting filters; it encompasses various types of restricted content, such as:

• System folders.
• Order tracking pages.
• Segments within checkout flows.
• Pages containing sensitive user data and personally identifiable information (PII) are not intended for public access.

The accidental exposure of user data presents substantial reputational and financial risks. SEOs must take every precaution to prevent such occurrences.

 

12. Neglecting Post-Migration Monitoring

 

Occasionally, despite meticulous preparations, unexpected issues can still surface. Bugs may evade detection as developers and QA teams acquaint themselves with a new platform.

Recognizing these issues promptly is crucial. The completion of the migration does not signify the end of the work.

Vigilant monitoring after the launch is imperative for success, encompassing:

• Routine crawls.
• Live production quality assurance.
• Evaluation of vital metrics and dashboards, which include overall SEO impressions, rankings, click-through rates (CTR), and visibility.

Taking a Proactive Stance on SEO during Website Platform Transitions

Website platform migrations present an opportunity to enhance user experience, embrace new technologies, and rejuvenate a brand’s online image. However, without careful planning and execution, there’s a potential for disrupting SEO performance.

Remaining aware of these pitfalls and taking measures to sidestep them can facilitate a seamless transition while preserving your performance.

If you still find everything perplexing and challenging, consider exploring our monthly SEO packages and allow our experts to assist you.