Short Answer: Yes!

SEO is critical when you’re switching to a new website or changing its design. It helps maintain your search rankings, keeps your site visible to customers, and prevents sudden traffic loss. During the migration, SEO becomes more technical—but it’s worth it to safeguard all your previous efforts and investments.

Website Migration Overview:

When we say "migration," it could mean changes to your website’s design, platform, or hosting. Without proper planning, you risk losing visibility on search engines like Google. The steps below will guide you through what needs to happen before, during, and after the migration to keep your traffic and online reputation intact.

Local SEO is More Than Just Website Content

Local SEO involves more than writing blog posts or service pages. It also includes updating your Google Business Profile (GBP), managing business listings on directories, digital PR, local links and more. Continuing these efforts during a migration is essential to keep local leads flowing.

Steps for a Successful Migration

Before Migration

Submit Content Early:

  • Add new pages, blogs, or updates to the site before the content freeze (a period where no new content is added to the live site).

  • Stick to the content schedule to avoid further delays and ensure everything is published right after the new site goes live.

Technical Audits:

  • Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to check for:

    • Broken links

    • Slow-loading pages

    • Duplicate content

During Migration

Audits & Scans:

  • Technical Audits:

    • Test redirects to ensure old URLs point to the correct new pages (these technical connections prevent visitors from hitting "page not found" errors).

    • Check how easily search engines can find and understand your pages with tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console.

  • Staging vs. Live Site Scans:

    • Compare staging and live sitemaps to ensure all pages are migrated.

    • Verify that your search result text (meta titles, descriptions) and content remain intact.

    • Generate visual sitemaps to inspect before and after comparison of the existing website and the new proposed site.

Local SEO:

  • Ongoing Google Business Profile work

  • Keep posting GBP updates (photos, offers, etc)

  • Business listing and off-page optimization

After Migration

Launch Strong:

  • Publish pre-written service pages/blogs immediately to keep momentum.

  • Early creation and submissions ensure your content is at the top of the publishing queue.

Monitor & Fix:

  • Use Google Search Console to track crawl errors or 404s.

  • Update errors and review warnings.

Why SEO Can't Wait

  • Traffic Protection: Fixing issues during migration prevents ranking drops.

  • Faster Recovery: Proactive audits mean fewer surprises post-launch.

  • Local Visibility: Active GBP posts and listings keep customers engaged.

Migration Danger Signs

⚠️ Watch out for these warning signs that could hurt your business:

  • Traffic dropping more than 15% after migration

  • "Page not found" errors appearing in Google Search Console

  • Important pages disappearing from search results

  • Contact form submissions or calls decreasing

FAQs

Is SEO during migration a waste of money?
No! During the migration process, SEO takes on a more technical focus to safeguard your previous investments. Technical and on-page SEO ensures your site stays visible and functional. Skipping it risks losing customers to competitors.

If we aren't publishing new pages, what will be our primary focus?

During a website migration, it's natural to be concerned about a "content freeze" and the inability to launch new pages. However, SEO is much more than just publishing new content. Here’s how your SEO investment continues to deliver value during this period:

Key Focus Areas During Migration

  • Technical SEO & Site Health

    • Ensuring all existing content is correctly migrated, indexed, and accessible to search engines is crucial. This includes setting up proper 301 redirects, fixing crawl errors, and maintaining internal linking structures.

    • Monitoring for issues like 404 errors, broken links, and site speed problems helps protect your current rankings and user experience.

  • Digital PR & Link Building

    • Ongoing outreach and link acquisition continue to build your site’s authority, which benefits both existing and future pages. High-quality backlinks remain valuable regardless of new page launches.

  • Google Business Profile & Local SEO

    • Optimizing your Google Business Profile and local listings keeps your business visible in local search results, driving traffic and leads even if your main site is in transition.

  • Google Map Optimization

    • Enhancing your presence on Google Maps ensures that customers can still find and contact you easily, supporting your business’s local reach.

  • Off-page SEO

    • Activities like citation building, reputation management, and social signals help reinforce your brand’s authority and trustworthiness, which search engines reward.

  • Social Media Engagement

    • Maintaining active social channels keeps your audience engaged and can drive traffic to your site, supporting brand awareness and customer retention during the migration.

Why is SEO still a good investment during a migration?

  • Protects Existing Rankings: A well-managed migration preserves your current SEO equity, ensuring you don’t lose hard-earned rankings and organic traffic. This is often more valuable than adding new pages in the short term.

  • Mitigates Risk: SEO specialists proactively identify and address potential issues (like redirect errors or lost backlinks) that could otherwise harm your visibility.

  • Improves Site Quality: Technical improvements made during migration (such as better site structure, faster loading, and mobile-friendliness) can actually boost your rankings once the new site is live.

  • Builds for the Future: Link building, local SEO, and off-page efforts lay the groundwork for stronger performance when you resume publishing new content.

Can't we fix issues after migration?
Some issues (like broken links) cause immediate traffic loss. Fixing them during migration saves time and helps prevent lost opportunities. One client who skipped migration SEO saw a 40% drop in leads that took 3 months to recover from.

What if we miss a redirect?
Tools like Ahrefs or Screaming Frog catch missed redirects as well as other technical issues and errors before they harm rankings.

Will local SEO efforts still work?
Yes! Ongoing Local SEO, including GBP updates and directory listings, local links and PR and other strategies, will continue to drive local traffic and leads even during the website migration.

How long does the migration process typically take?
Most website migrations take 4-8 weeks from start to finish, with SEO work happening throughout the process to ensure a smooth transition.

How will I know if the migration was successful?
We'll provide before and after reports showing traffic levels, rankings, and technical health. A successful migration maintains or improves these metrics within 30 days of launch.

Can I pause my SEO until the migration is complete?
Pausing during migration means critical technical work won't be completed, potentially resulting in lost rankings, traffic drops, and a much longer recovery period after launch. If you decide to pause, we only require a 30-day change notice to pause services if you choose this option. More info on stopping SEO can be found here: https://docs.digitalshiftmedia.com/en/what-is-the-impact-of-pausing-seo-and-google-business-profile-services

Why are audits required during the migration window?
During the migration, the new staging website URL is created and made accessible, allowing for critical audits that compare both the existing live and new staging versions. Running technical scans and visual sitemaps during ensures everything migrates correctly without errors or omissions.

What are visual sitemaps?
Visual sitemaps are comprehensive audits conducted by our team, designed to be shared with owners. They provide a clear overview of the website’s structure and page hierarchy, allowing owners to easily examine their individual pages.

Example Visual Sitemaps comparison:


What happens after the migration?
Once the migration is complete and the content freeze is lifted, your site will be in a stronger position to capitalize on new content and further SEO growth. All the foundational work done during the migration will help ensure new pages perform even better.

Final Checklist

  • Submit content before the freeze.

  • Audit technical issues (redirects, speed, links).

  • Scan staging vs. live sites for consistency.

  • Keep GBP and directories updated.

  • Publish fresh content post-launch.

SEO is a holistic, ongoing process. Even when new pages aren’t being published, your investment continues to drive value by protecting your current rankings, enhancing your site’s authority, and preparing your business for future growth. Your SEO team is focused on ensuring a smooth migration so you can hit the ground running when your new site is ready.

By making SEO a priority during your site’s migration, you protect the progress you’ve made and set a solid foundation for future growth.