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How To Move A Website And Stay Alive On Google? - Semalt Tips



Anyone who has ever moved their website from one address to another or even between two different content management systems knows that it is not always an easy task: sites today are becoming more and more complex and every little mistake in the middle can cause the new site to malfunction and lose a lot of traffic mostly from the organic channel (but not only). In fact, errors during site transfer are probably the most common cause of traffic loss and rankings after manual penalties from Google.

Fortunately, today we have a lot of tools that allow us to communicate with the search engine directly through the Search Console and see what its situation is with Google. But there are still many other things that need to be checked before and when to do it.

Is it worth moving the site at all?

If the site is moving to a new content management system, it could very well be worthwhile, especially if the content management system offers options that did not exist in the previous system such as creating pages more easily or performing better.

Even beyond the HTTPS standard, it can contribute to the site and especially to its image as a reliable and secure site. If it is a site that also transmits sensitive information, this is a real must.

Conversely, if it's just a move to a new address, it's not sure the move will be worth it. Many sites today receive large portions of their traffic through Google itself or social networks, and only a small portion of surfers use the address bar. Transition due to a change of address is especially relevant if it is a change of brand name and do not want to make automated referrals that are problematic in themselves.

Preview site errors

It is important to check the site with a tool like Screaming Frog that crawls the site in a similar way to Google's crawler and can detect broken links and avoidable references. Please note that to save reports for future use, a paid version must be used.

Sometimes there are also remnants of orphaned pages (to which there is no link from any other page) that can be seen in Google Analytics or through services that look for external links to the site.

Checking the server

It is highly advisable to check the site on the final server where it will be presented to the surfer to identify issues like slowly rising pages, compatibility errors (e.g., different versions of PHP), incorrect format references, and so on. If the site is temporarily blocked from Google through Robots.txt, it is important to leave a reminder to remove the blockage.

When to move?

In the best-case scenario, we may end up moving the site within a few minutes, but in reality, things can get complicated, and even having done all the testing, the site may not be available for a few hours or even days. Therefore, it is possible to take advantage of less attractive periods of the year such as those between the holidays to make the transfer.

Identify problematic sources of traffic or pages

In the best-case scenario, we may end up moving the site within a few minutes, but in reality, things can get complicated, and even having done all the testing, the site may not be available for a few hours or even days. Therefore, it is possible to take advantage of less attractive periods of the year such as those between the holidays to make the transfer.

Page names and hierarchy

In an ideal situation where the page names before and after the transition are the same, it is relatively easy to make the references through the htaccess file. However, if both the URL and the page name change, this can already be a problem and the references will also need to be performed manually.

Internal links

Internal links can be relative links (without the domain address) and absolute links (along with the domain name and everything in front of it). In any case, it is very unwise to rely on memory but rather check the recurring pattern in the database and change it. At best, it will be possible to do this using a simple "Find and Replace" command, but sometimes there will be no choice but to get your hands dirty.

Canonical badges

Canonical tags are primarily intended to separate similar pages within the site. But if used between sites, and especially with the tags still pointing to the old site, this may be a problem for Google's crawler. In order not to take a bet, it is advisable to rewrite the badge with a self-referral or to another page on the new site.

Duplicate content

Apart from the whole issue of invalid referrals and canonical tags, duplicate content can also be created in other ways, for example:
  • Turning some of the old content of the site into a permanent template without deleting it from the old pages
  • Development versions and final versions that sit on the same server
  • Duplicate check that all links refer to only one format of the address (HTTP / HTTPS and WWW or without WWW)

Missing pages and errors 404

Removing certain pages or embedding their content on other pages is not necessarily a bad thing and can even be effective in the long run. However, referring these pages to the home page is not a good idea. Attempting to access these pages must return code 404 or create a 301 referral to another relevant page.

Remember, a 404 error does not have to lead to an ugly browser error and you can create a custom 404 page that points to the home page via a standard link, search box, or popular pages on the site.

Search Console and scan for scan errors

The Search Console has a special tool for changing the address. The tool itself does not support the transition from HTTP to HTTPS so in such a case, you'll need to make sure the authentication method works in the new structure as well, add the structure to the webmaster tool manually and then follow the instructions in the next section.

The Search Console is also the best place to track for scan errors. For example, if you have a parameter that returns pages without content, those pages will appear as Soft 404 (pages that behave like non-existent pages, even though they do not return an appropriate error to the server).

Sitemaps

If the address change tool is not used, it is advisable to leave the old map in the Search Console so that Google will find it easier to find the references. The old map can be removed after Google indexes all the pages from the new map.

Google Analytics

The installation of Google Analytics must be done at the moment when the site is opened to Google so that there will be no critical information and it will be possible to track the incoming traffic of the surfers.

If you make any changes to the site, it would be a good idea to create a custom report that lasts from that day to see how it affects inbound traffic (segment).

Scheduling referrals

All referrals must work properly in the moment of truth before opening the site to Google. If there are manual references, you must check that the automatic references. Do not override them so that references to non-existent pages or pages do not work properly.

Control of the old domain

When moving a domain, it is advisable to maintain control of the previous domain, and the cost of holding it dwarfs the advantages of doing so. The reason is that even today we cannot be sure that the effect of links attaching to the old domain also fully affects the new domain after a referral is made and what happens if some of these links are removed. Which can certainly happen if the domain is owned and the new site owner is no longer charged?

Tracking various ratings and metrics

Aside from tracking traffic, it is advisable to keep track of keyword placements with the help of appropriate tools (the Search Console will not really help, as it only shows keywords that the site appeared on the results pages of). Over time, the old site should drop in rankings, and the new site rises in them until the situation is completely stabilized.

If changes are made to external links that we have control over, internal metrics of these tools like Majestic's Trust Flow will also be updated accordingly.

Promoting funded

Do not forget to change the landing pages of your campaigns accordingly, especially pay attention to the settings of Goals in Google Analytics so that you can still track conversions.
It is important to emphasize that even if you have created referrals on this site it is not enough and the addresses in the ads must be updated.

Do not forget links

If your site is relatively old, you may over time have "collected" quite a few external links, whether from link exchanges or guest posts, or any other source. Select the most important links and make sure to update them so that they point directly to the updated addresses. Worth investing in its time, but not too much.

Alternative links from social networks and other sites

Apart from direct links that affect our ranking in Google, there are also many other types of sites that refer to us, from credit pages, through social networks to links within YouTube videos. We updated them as well, at least the ones on the main profile pages.

Recheck

Once the transition is made, it is not enough to check the data within the Search Console, but a Scream Frog must be re-checked for each URL separately to identify faults or situations of links linked in a loop.

In summary, the important points in moving to a new site

  • Mapping the addresses on the old site and creating a permanent referral table 301 * It is also recommended to check through GA what the leading pages are in terms of traffic and make sure that they are not missed in referrals
  • Update internal links
  • Verify the integrity of the Canonical tag and other tags that use URLs (og, schema, etc.)
  • Verify the integrity of sitemaps and update in the search console
  • Ensure implementation of analytics and settings (events, goals, filters, other)
  • Update Addresses in Ads - Campaigns * Referrals not good enough
  • Monitor the rate of indexing and errors - continue to make references and corrections accordingly
  • Make sure there is no block to Google in robots.txt or at the page level (noindex)
  • Update links from other sites to changed pages

If you change domain then also:

  • Domain 301 Reference
  • Update domain in analytics
  • Verify the new domain in the Search Console
  • Update domain in social profiles

Advice

We just understood that you can move your site and stay alive on google. However, if you have followed the details of this article you can understand that moving a site can only be done by a qualified expert. So, don't take the risk of destroying your site if you haven't mastered this field. However, if you have such a project, the best thing for you is to entrust it to a qualified SEO agency such as Semalt. We have a team of qualified experts, equipped with the necessary tools to answer all your concerns. So if you need anything, don't hesitate to contact us.