Export the baseline
Without a pre-migration reference, every decline becomes an opinion.
We retain indexed URLs, clicks, impressions, landing pages, external links, conversions, canonicals and indexation rules.
That separates genuinely useful pages from content that survived only because nobody dared remove it.
- Search Console and Bing
- Analytics and forms
- Inbound links
- HTTP codes and canonicals
Decide URL by URL
A blanket homepage redirect looks tidy but loses the original intent.
Every retained URL stays or receives its closest successor. Duplicates may consolidate into one stronger page; removed content without an equivalent should honestly return 404 or 410.
Internal links, menus, sitemaps and campaigns point directly at the new addresses.
- Retain
- Consolidate
- Redirect
- Remove intentionally
Do not turn migration into a total rewrite
Changing technology, URLs, structure and message together makes diagnosis impossible.
We first protect the answer that works: title, facts, media, evidence and useful links. Editorial improvements can follow in measurable batches.
Google recommends changing one major thing at a time when possible. It is less dramatic and far easier to read.
- Useful content retained
- Changes sequenced
- Metadata compared
- Structured data matches
Monitor both sides
Crawlers need to revisit old and new URLs before the move is fully processed.
We keep old properties accessible, submit the new sitemap and inspect priority destinations.
Temporary fluctuation can happen. A redirect chain, forgotten noindex or broken form is not normal.
- Old URLs accessible to crawlers
- New sitemap
- Errors monitored
- Enquiries compared
Decide before cutover
Replace the engine without losing the route
- Baseline exported
- URL register approved
- Critical content frozen
- Redirects tested
- Several weeks of monitoring planned
Official sources