SEO Website Migration Checklist [Downloadable Excel Template]

Description

Why Do I Need A SEO Checklist For My Website Migration?

Wondering why the heck you need an SEO Migration checklist when you make changes to your website? It boils down to the fact that any time you make big changes to a site – be it a new CMS platform, moving a subdomain, changing your domain name, or otherwise – Google bots need to be kept in the loop so that you don’t lose all of the SEO “web cred” that you’ve built up/invested in over the years. SEO traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks from other websites, all of that stuff. When you have a comprehensive SEO checklist, no small details will be left through the cracks. Meaning, that your SEO traffic will be able to remain even-keel… and even rise in the weeks/months after a website migration. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Google’s John Mueller went on record in Search Engine Journal in 2022 saying the following:

“Unfortunately, while this may at first sound like a small change within a website, it’s not that simple for search engines. In particular, search engines like Google store their index on a per-page basis. So if you change the address or the URL of a page, that page’s data has to be forwarded somehow, otherwise, it gets lost. It doesn’t matter if you’re completely rebuilding a website or if you’re just removing a slash from the end of URLs. These are all essentially site moves.”

What Counts As A Website Migration?

Not sure if the change you’re going through counts as a migration? Fair enough. Here are a few examples:

• If you plan to move your website from HTTP > HTTPS (i.e., http://website.com –> https://website.com)
• If you plan to move a section of your site from a subdomain to a subfolder (i.e., blog.website.com –> website.com/blog)
• Changing your website name (i.e., website.com –> thewebsite.com)
• Moving from one content management system to a different system (i.e., Shopify –> WordPress)
• Changing your website structure/design (i.e., a big shake-up in the look, feel, and URL structure that your website’s pages are organized)

Why Pay For A Pre-Built Checklist When There are Free Blog Articles Out There?

This file takes the hassle out of scouring dozens of long blog articles to make sure every SEO checklist item is accounted for (especially if they only list 10 things… all out of order… 🙂 .) This Excel file includes all of these basics, plus, many other items that even seasoned SEOs can sometimes miss. Did I mention they’re organized by time and level of priority? I’ve built this checklist based on ten years of SEO consulting experience, and dozens of high-profile website migrations I’ve consulted through across high-tech, entertainment, real estate, and e-commerce. Trust me, you’ll be happy you have it. No matter how many migrations you’ve gone through.

What’s The Deal, How Detailed Is It, And How Does It Work?

A comprehensive SEO migration checklist is a must-have item for website owners, SEO consultants, and web developers alike.

• If you’re a website owner, this asset is ready as-is to be passed to your web dev/product team – as each action item has a clear description. Plus, tool recommendations along the way to get ‘er done.
• If you’re an SEO consultant or web developer, this can be an extra tool in your belt to make sure migrations go off without a hitch. (It can happen – even on big websites with big resource budgets. I’ve seen it). It’s also way faster than creating this type of asset from scratch for your client.

Note that this template comes pre-filled out as a template, and is meant to be updated/worked off of by your team in the months, weeks, and days leading up to – and after – migrating your organization’s website.

Once downloaded, you can keep it as an Excel file or upload it to Atlassian, Google Sheets, or any other tool your organization uses to allow everyone to work off of it together. I also offer 1:1 consulting services as an add-on if you want to chat it out and talk about specific SEO concerns.

How Do I Convert This Excel Document Into Google Sheets?

Easy. Google has a great resource you can check out here, otherwise, you can shoot me a note if you have trouble.

Key Features Of This Excel File:

• The product is a comprehensive Excel file with 3 tabs: pre, during, and post-migration recommendations ready as-is to share with your team. Plus, an SEO wishlist organizer.
• Note that the “Item Name” you see in the Excel screenshot/product image is replaced with the true checklist item names in the actual downloadable file – along with their description. Upon purchase, your confirmation page will show an option to download the Excel file which you can save to your desktop.
• Detailed checklists of action items at each stage of the website migration process
• Clear explanations of each checklist item, so you can communicate the ask effectively to your web dev/product team
• Action item priority, status, and notes columns – to ensure clear communication on progress/roadblocks between team members

Any other questions? Feel free to contact me here.