In this presentation Aleyda goes through actionable steps to follow to effectively migrate your Websites without losing rankings and traffic and take the opportunity to grow it.
[Expert Panel] New Google Shopping Ads Strategies Uncovered
How to Win SEO in Complex Web Migrations Scenarios #YoastCon
1. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
How to Win SEO in Complex
Moving Web Migrations Scenarios
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
2. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Moving sites, like
moving houses,
can be pijnlijk
3. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Both require a lot of work…
You want
to take your
belongings with you
without leaving,
breaking, losing
anything
important
You want to
update your details,
to refer and be found
in your new
address
You want to
correctly reorganize
your belongings in
your new location
fast
4. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
…that can be shockingly similar, right?
You want
to take your
belongings with you
without leaving,
breaking, losing
anything
important
You want to
update your details,
to refer and be found
in your new
address
You want to
correctly reorganize
your belongings in
your new location
fast
URLS 301-REDIRECT URLS
LINKS & CONFIGURATION
UPDATE
5. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Without proper SEO planning & validation Web
migrations can have terrible consequences
BEFORE AFTER
6. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Like when you move and forget to label all the
boxes and then can’t find your toilet paper
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
7. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Although losing
your organic
traffic after a Web
migration is a
potentially more
business critical
situation and is
also shockingly
common
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.sistrix.com/blog/indexwatch-the-top-100-seo-losers-of-2018/
8. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
However, both can be exciting if you’re
moving to a better place…
9. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Like when you take
the opportunity to
throw what you
don’t need and
better organize
your clothes in a
bigger closet
10. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Or when you improve your site optimization for
better results when doing the Web migration
11. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Over the years I’ve found is mostly about tackling
these common reasons for Web migration failures
Lack of a
clear Web
migration
goal
Lack of
Flexibility to
make changes
Lack of
support to
make
changes
Leaving
Important
Pages out
Migrating
pages
erroneously
Moving to
non-optimized
new pages
destinations
12. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Notice how half of these are not technical related
but have to do with appropriate project planning
Lack of a
clear Web
migration
goal
Lack of
Flexibility to
make changes
Lack of
support to
make
changes
Leaving
Important
Pages out
Migrating
pages
erroneously
Moving to
non-optimized
new pages
destinations
13. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
And how the technical related ones will tend
to intensify with big Websites
Lack of a
clear Web
migration
goal
Lack of
Flexibility to
make changes
Lack of
support to
make
changes
Leaving
Important
Pages out
Migrating
pages
erroneously
Moving to
non-optimized
new pages
destinations
14. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
I’m not Marie Kondo
but today I’ll show
you how to avoid
them and make your
Web migrations to
spark joy
15. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Start by identifying
your moving goal,
feasibility and
scope to support
the process
accordingly
16. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
What are you looking to achieve
with the Web Migration?
Redesign
Move to
HTTPS
Rebrand
Web
Consolidation
17. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Redesign
Move to
HTTPS
Rebrand
Web
Consolidation
The migration will become more complex to
support depending on the required move
Same URLs
Same Domain
Different Domains
18. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Redesign
Move to
HTTPS
Rebrand
Web
Consolidation
As well as the focus of your SEO work,
that will change given the migration nature
301-redirecting
URLs to their
relevant
canonical
Secured URLs
Keeping old brand
& terms rankings
while redirecting
to new domain
URLsKeeping their
crawlability,
indexability &
content
relevance
19. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Given all this, is it necessary, feasible and
profitable to move?
Is there any
other way to
achieve the same
goal without
moving?
Are there
resources and
flexibility to do the
needed technical
and content
changes?
Is it going to
be profitable
given the related
costs?
What would you
need to move and
where?
20. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
In some cases it is, like when moving to a stronger
domain consolidating international versions
ccTLD gTLD
21. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
In others is due to business reasons, like a
rebranding that requires a domain move
Yoast
yoast.com
Marieke
marieke.com
22. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
SEO
Design & UX
Marketing
Development
After assessing
these, agree
with the
project’s
stakeholders to
secure resources
& support
23. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
SEO
Development
We will do whatever
you say, SEOs know
their sh*t and we will
all support you forever
Finally!
Warning, this might not be a realistic scenario
24. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Once you have obtained it… It’s time to start!
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
25. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Let’s work on that rebranding project
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Yoast
yoast.com
Marieke
marieke.com
26. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Avoid leaving any
important page out
by gathering all
URLs to move
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
27. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Identify which are the affected URLs
based on the Web migration scope
Page level
Category level
Site level
Redesign, HTTP to
HTTPS change,
company rebranding,
acquisition or Web
consolidation
Area renaming
Product rebranding
28. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Crawlability
Indexability
Internal linking
Relevance
Rankings
Traffic
Link popularity
Speed
Crawl the affected URLs and gather their
SEO configuration, rankings & traffic metrics
29. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
You can use desktop crawlers for smaller
sites and cloud ones for bigger ones
Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, OnCrawl, Ryte, Deepcrawl, Botify
Desktop Cloud
30. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Rankings
Traffic
Link popularity SSL Certificate
Analyze their SEO status to identify what is
important to keep or improve in these pages
Yoast
yoast.com/yoastcon
Pages Crawlability
Pages Indexability
Pages Content Relevance
Pages Internal linking
Pages Speed
Pages URL Naming Convention
31. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Integrate all possible URLs sources
into your crawl simulation
Screaming Frog & Deepcrawl
Google Analytics
Search Console
XML Sitemaps
Log Files
Backlinks
32. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
This will allow you
to identify orphan
URLs, and to avoid
missing any
important page
33. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Including images, or any resource that you
might be also serving and needs to be migrated
34. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
You will likely find very old URLs that nobody
has heard of though… sigh
35. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Het wordt een rommeltje
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
36. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Give context to
prioritize the
actually meaningful
pages to redirect
and establish rules
for the rest
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
37. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Obtain the traffic and queries for
which all the identified URLs rank for
Screaming Frog, URL Profiler
38. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
You can then put your pages in context with their
traffic, ranked queries along optimization status
Top Pages Technical Configuration Relevance Popularity Traffic Ranked Queries
39. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Which of these actually spark joy by bringing
value: conversions, traffic, rankings & links?
40. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Define rules for
their migration
to give the
best possible
user
experience,
based on
importance
Leave them out
Were they typos and didn’t existed nor
brought rankings, links, traffic?
301-redirect to
parent category
Did they existed but were not indexable,
didn’t brought rankings, links & traffic?
301-redirect to new
page version
Did they existed, were indexable and
brought rankings, links & traffic?
41. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
This is also a
great
opportunity to
prune your
site, and avoid
bringing old
errors to the
new one
42. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Meaningful pages should be 301-redirected to
their new versions where their relevance is kept
Mariekecon
yoast.com/yoastcon/ marieke.com/mariekecon/
Yoastcon
Yoast Marieke
301-Redirects
43. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
If their SEO status is lacking, is then also
important to specify what should be improved
Thin, Duplicate Content
Slow Speed
Hierarchical Navigation
Relevant Title
Page specific, expanded Content
Fast Speed
Hierarchical Navigation
Relevant Title
To Keep
To Improve
yoast.com/yoastcon/ marieke.com/mariekecon/
Yoast Marieke
301-Redirects
44. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Establishing the configuration changes to be
implemented in the new pages versions
Old Pages Titles, Descriptions & H1s New Pages Titles, Descriptions & H1s
45. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Defining also the new pages to create to keep
the rankings for the old branded queries
Yoast Marieke
yoast.com/yoastcon/ marieke.com/mariekecon/
301-Redirect
Yoastcon
is now
Mariekecon
marieke.com/yoastcon/ Links to
Yoastcon
SEO & Online
Marketing Conference
Mariekecon
SEO & Online
Marketing Conference
46. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
While targeting the transactional and new
branded queries with the new ones
New Marieke Pages
Bridge Pages for old Yoast Brands
Old Branded
Queries
Transactional
Queries and
New Branded
Queries
Old Yoast Pages
Transactional
Queries and
Old Branded
Queries
47. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
With rules you can follow in rebranding
scenarios that are known to be complex
48. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
It’s time to prepare
and test your
migration to make
sure the defined
pages are effectively
redirected to their
relevant new
destinations
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
49. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Before launching, it’s critical to test
the migration in a private environment
50. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Validate the changes by comparing first the top
old vs. new types of pages in the stage site
Pages Crawlability
Content Indexability
301-Redirects
SSL CertificatePages Content Relevance
Pages Internal linking
Pages Speed
Home Page
Category Page
Sub-Category Page
Product Page
Main Blog Page
Blog Category Page
Blog post
Each Affected Page Type
Verify
Yoast Marieke
yoast.test.com/yoastcon/ marieke.test.com/mariekecon/
51. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
List crawl the old URLs to check if the
301-redirects have been set as specified
52. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Look for these common redirects issues
and fix them before launching
Non-301
Redirects
Redirects
Loops
Redirects
Chains
Redirects
to Non-
indexable or
Error URLs
Redirects
to Non-
relevant
Pages
53. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Crawl the new Web test version to also check
if its pages are optimized as specified
54. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
And if the SEO improvements & new pages
have been implemented too
HTTP
status
Canonical
tags
Internal
Links
Content
Indexability
Content
Relevance
55. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
It’s all working as
expected? It’s then
time to migrate and
verify these again in
the live environment
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
56. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
If the migration will take a bit, return a 503 HTTP
status to tell Google there’s a maintenance
https://yoast.com/http-503-site-maintenance-seo/
57. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Do a list crawl of the old
URLs to check that they’re
301 redirecting to their
new specified destinations
58. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Look again for and fix any non-301 redirects,
loops, chains, or anything going to incorrect URLs
59. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Prioritize to fix high-traffic pages with
incorrect redirect behavior
60. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Crawl the new live site and make sure
the new pages are accessible & optimized too
61. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Look for URLs that
might be blocked,
no-indexed, linking
or canonicalizing to
the old pages
62. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
If the migration
has included an
HTTPS switch
make sure
there are no
mixed content
issues too
63. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
If it’s a new
Web location,
set GA & GSC,
and update
with the old
settings if
relevant
64. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Once fixed all issues, you can submit your new
URLs & XML sitemaps to be re-crawled
65. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
For domains level migrations, submit it too
with Google’s Change of Address feature
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/83106?hl=en
66. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Check that new site
pages are indexed
and ranked over time
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
67. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Start tracking your targeted queries before
the launch for the new and old Websites
SEOmonitor & Advanced Web Rankings
68. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Set a Web monitoring
service to get alerts
when changes in the
new site pages or old
redirected URLs are
made
Little Warden & ContentKing
69. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Use the Search Console to monitor if the new
URLs get indexed and the old ones disappear
70. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Verify which have been included and which have
been left out the index & the reason, to fix them
71. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Monitor & compare the new vs. old main
ranked queries, pages and SERP features
old website location new website location
72. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Check that rankings & CTR of your top queries
in the new location are regained over time
73. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @oraintiSEOmonitor
Monitor the
trend of
additional
keywords w/
your own rank
tracker,
organizing
them in groups
74. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Look in both desktop and mobile results to
identify inconsistent ranking behavior
SEOmonitor
75. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Track also your top queries vs. your competitors
to check your search visibility share before & after
SEOmonitor
76. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Complement
your own
tracking by
following-up with
visibility indexes
to identify
potential issues
with non-critical
queries
SEMrush, Sistrix, Searchmetrics
77. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
Check for
your rankings
impact on
traffic while
looking on
conversion &
engagement
SEOmonitor
78. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
You should see a positive before and after
migration traffic trend after a while
79. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
It’s about aligning SEO in the Web migration
process to avoid the most common issues
Lack of a
clear Web
migration
goal
Lack of
Flexibility to
make changes
Lack of
support to
make
changes
Leaving
Important
Pages out
Migrating
pages
erroneously
Moving to
non-optimized
new pages
destinations
80. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
While taking the
opportunity to
eliminate
whatever doesn’t
spark joy
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
81. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
In order to achieve business goals successfully
https://marieke.com
Marieke
Marieke
MariekeCon
82. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
If somehow, you
can’t do this
from the start…
don’t worry, I got
you covered too
bit.ly/crawlingmondays6
83. #webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti
You’re now ready to move!
#webmigrations at #yoastcon by @aleyda from @orainti