SEO Website Migration Checklist (Old Website → New Website)

During website migration you must be very careful with SEO. If migration is done incorrectly, traffic and rankings can drop significantly. A proper SEO migration checklist helps preserve rankings and organic traffic.

1. Take Backup of the Old Website

• Backup database
• Backup media/images
• Backup website files
• Backup content
• Backup SEO data

This ensures the website can be restored if something breaks during migration.

2. Export All Existing URLs

Create a complete list of all URLs from the old website.

/home
/services
/blog/seo-tips
/contact

Knowing all URLs prevents missing pages and 404 errors.

3. Identify High Traffic Pages

• Top ranking pages
• High organic traffic pages
• Pages with backlinks
• Important landing pages

These pages must continue working after migration.

4. Create 301 Redirect Mapping

Example ASP.NET redirect:

app.UseRewriter(new RewriteOptions() .AddRedirect("^old-page$", "new-page", 301));

301 redirects preserve SEO ranking and prevent broken links.

5. Keep the Same URL Structure (If Possible)

Good:

old: /services/web-development
new: /services/web-development

Bad:

old: /services/web-development
new: /solutions/web

Maintaining URL structure helps preserve rankings.

6. Migrate Meta Tags

• Title tag
• Meta description
• Canonical tag
• H1 headings
• Image ALT text

These elements are essential for SEO.

7. Check Internal Links

• No broken links
• Correct internal linking
• Updated URLs
• Working navigation

8. Generate New XML Sitemap

/sitemap.xml

Submit the sitemap in Google Search Console to help Google crawl new pages.

9. Check robots.txt

Incorrect robots.txt example:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

This blocks the entire website from search engines.

10. Test Website on Staging

• Check crawl errors
• Fix broken links
• Verify meta tags
• Test page speed
• Check mobile responsiveness

11. Verify Analytics and Tracking

• Google Analytics
• Google Tag Manager
• Conversion tracking
• Marketing pixels

12. Monitor SEO After Launch

• Google Search Console
• Indexing errors
• Crawl errors
• Traffic changes
• Keyword rankings

Simple SEO Migration Checklist

• ✔ Backup website
• ✔ Export all URLs
• ✔ Identify top traffic pages
• ✔ Create 301 redirect mapping
• ✔ Preserve meta tags
• ✔ Fix internal links
• ✔ Generate XML sitemap
• ✔ Check robots.txt
• ✔ Test staging site
• ✔ Monitor SEO after launch

Important for ASP.NET / Umbraco Migration

• URL structure
• Image URLs
• Media folder paths
• 301 redirects in middleware
• Content migration
• Block List / Block Grid migration