A customer has bookmarked your service. They click the link and land on the new homepage instead. The service still exists, but its address has changed. The project team sees a successful redesign; the customer has lost the route to what they wanted.
An SEO migration starts with an inventory of old addresses and ends with evidence that important journeys reach the right content. Redirects are one part. You also need a baseline, a tested new website and monitoring of errors and business outcomes after launch.
If you are still deciding whether to rebuild, read when a website needs a redesign. This guide covers the transition once that decision has been made.
Are you changing the design, the addresses or both?
Keeping the same addresses does not require redirects simply because the design changes. You still need to check content availability, internal links and indexability. Changing the domain or paths adds the job of mapping old URLs to new ones.
Google recommends separating changes where possible and notes that results may fluctuate while it recrawls the website. Changing the domain, platform, structure and content together makes problems harder to diagnose.
Write down what changes and what stays. One service may retain its subject and content but move to a new URL. Another may combine two pages. These situations need separate decisions, not one blanket rule.
Migration types by risk
Not every migration is equally demanding. The risk grows with how many addresses change and how many things you change at once:
| Type of change | What changes | Risk | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
New design, same addresses |
Look and template |
Low |
Keep content, headings, internal links and indexing |
HTTP to HTTPS |
Protocol |
Low |
301 redirects from HTTP, update canonicals and the sitemap |
New URL structure |
Paths on the same domain |
Medium |
A map of old and new addresses, 1:1 redirects |
Platform change (e.g. WordPress to Next.js, Shoptet to a custom build) |
System, templates, often addresses too |
Medium to high |
URL map, checks of metadata, structured data and speed |
Domain change |
The whole site address |
High |
URL map, redirects, the Change of Address tool, keeping the old domain |
Merging sites or language versions |
Content and addresses |
High |
A page-by-page decision on what merges and what is retired |
If you can, don't combine a domain change, a platform change and a new structure in one step. When something goes wrong after launch, with one change you find the cause; with three at once you're guessing.
Build the address map before the old site disappears
Combine the sitemap, content export, Search Console, analytics and, where available, server logs. Each can reveal a different part of the website. The navigation menu alone will miss articles, documents and older landing pages.
Assign a destination, reason and test result to every important address. Start with pages generating enquiries or orders and those receiving traffic or valuable links.
The following is an illustrative example:
| Old path | Decision | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| /services/webdesign | Move to /services/website-design | Permanent redirect to the corresponding service |
| /blog/choosing-a-website | Keep the address and content | A normal page with HTTP 200 |
| /offers/spring-package | Expired offer with no replacement | A genuine HTTP 404 or 410 response |
Do not automatically send an expired offer to an unrelated homepage. Where a replacement exists, it should meet the expectation created by the old address. Google describes server-side 301 and 308 redirects for permanent moves. Test the final content, not just the presence of any redirect.
Worked example: Every old URL needs a decision
example map
| Old URL | New destination | Expectation |
|---|---|---|
| /webdesign | /services/website-design | 301 → 200, same service |
| /blog/choosing-a-site | Same address | 200, content retained |
| /spring-offer | No replacement | 404 or 410 |
| /bicycle-repairs → / | Unrelated homepage | Fix the map |
Expected map outcomes; redirects are not executed in this example.
Before launch, test complete journeys
Give the supplier concrete scenarios: someone arrives through an old article, follows a service link and submits an enquiry. Another person opens a PDF linked in an email. A third uses the English version. Your tests should reflect real use.
Before launch, check that:
- New destination pages return the right content without unintended indexing restrictions.
- Canonical and language links identify the correct corresponding addresses.
- Internal links point directly to new destinations rather than through old URLs.
- Transferred images and documents load.
- Forms, telephone links and important purchase steps work on mobile.
- A usable backup and a response to serious faults have been agreed.
The technical SEO checklist covers technical checks in more detail. Assign each finding an owner. "We will check at launch" is not a completed task unless someone is responsible.
Launch day: agree intervention criteria in advance
Name an owner on the company and supplier sides and choose a time when both are available. A broken checkout has a different urgency from a minor typographic error. Decide the priorities before launch.
After switching over, test important old addresses, their destinations and the main commercial journey. Check production indexing settings and the sitemap. Submit the new sitemap in Search Console and request crawling of a few key pages via URL Inspection. For a domain change, assess the Change of Address tool using Google's documentation; it is not used merely to change paths on the same domain.
The Change of Address tool in Search Console
When you change domains (for example from company-ostrava.cz to company.cz), tell Google through the Change of Address tool as well. Requirements and limits according to Google's help:
- You must be an owner of both the old and new properties in Search Console and manage both with the same Google account.
- The tool is not used for HTTP to HTTPS moves, path changes on the same domain or switching between www and non-www.
- The effect lasts 180 days from the start of the migration. Keep redirects for at least 180 days, longer if visitors from Search still reach the old addresses.
- You can cancel the request within 180 days.
The tool doesn't replace redirects; it only confirms to Google that the move is intentional. Without working 301 redirects it won't help.
Keep redirects working after launch
Google generally recommends retaining redirects for at least a year; keeping them longer can help visitors. For a domain move, assign responsibility for renewing the old domain and maintaining the redirect service. Letting the old domain expire breaks the continuity of those links.
What drop is normal after a migration
In its site move guide, Google says you may experience ranking fluctuations while it recrawls and reindexes the site, and that for medium-sized websites it can take a few weeks or more for Google to gradually start showing the new URLs instead of the old ones. Short-term fluctuation is therefore normal and not a reason to panic on its own.
Pay attention when:
- important old addresses return a 404 or lead to an unrelated page,
- new addresses are still not indexed after several weeks,
- the drop is concentrated on a specific group of pages (for example all services or a whole category),
- enquiries or orders fall while traffic holds (then the problem is more likely the form or tracking),
- the drop doesn't reverse after the first weeks but deepens.
In that case, don't wait for things to "settle". Check the address map against the server's actual behaviour and fix the specific paths.
After launch, investigate causes rather than one chart
A one-day drop does not explain what happened. First separate tracking from operations: did traffic change, or did events stop being recorded? Do forms work but lack tracking? Or can customers no longer reach the form?
Compare corresponding periods and groups of pages. Watch four areas:
- Availability: important URLs, new errors and correct redirect destinations.
- Search: clicks and impressions for old and new addresses in Search Console.
- Business: received enquiries or completed orders.
- Measurement: working data collection and recorded configuration changes.
Keep a short change log. The date of a navigation change or redirect repair helps explain later trends. Avoid abandoning the plan because of a single daily fluctuation, but fix a demonstrably broken journey promptly.
For a website redesign, ask for the URL map and test results as deliverables. If traffic has already fallen after a move, begin an SEO review with the pages that lost traffic and their current destinations. A new sitemap alone does not repair an incorrect migration.
Worked example: A falling chart does not reveal the cause
illustrative example
| Layer | Finding to verify | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Redirect | /webdesign → / | Compare with service map |
| Destination content | Homepage, not website design | Set relevant destination |
| Canonical and indexing | No result yet | HTML + new URL inspection |
| Visits and enquiries | No result yet | Same period + tracking changes |
The wrong destination is a specific defect. Its share of a traffic decline is not quantified.
Frequently asked questions
Do redirects guarantee the same rankings?
No. They help connect old addresses with new ones, but do not guarantee unchanged search results. Content, availability and other changes also matter. Temporary fluctuations can occur during a migration.
Can all old addresses go to the homepage?
An unrelated destination is often a dead end for the visitor. Map equivalent content. If a page has no replacement, treat it as removed rather than moved to an arbitrary address.
When is a migration finished?
Technical launch and search-engine processing do not finish at the same moment. Tie project acceptance to agreed checks and a monitoring period. The launch date alone does not prove that all important journeys work.
How long does it take Google to process a migration?
According to Google, for a medium-sized website it can take a few weeks or more before results gradually replace old addresses with new ones. A small site with clear redirects tends to be faster, a large e-shop with thousands of addresses slower. Ranking fluctuation in this period is normal.
How long should I keep redirects?
Google recommends keeping redirects generally for at least a year, and for a domain change via the Change of Address tool at least 180 days, longer if people still reach the old addresses. In practice, keep them permanently if it costs you nothing; old links from other sites and emails live for years.
When should I use the Change of Address tool in Search Console?
Only for a domain change, for example from company-ostrava.cz to company.cz. It is not used for HTTP to HTTPS, path changes on the same domain or switching between www and non-www. You must own both the old and new properties in Search Console under the same account.
How much does an SEO migration during a redesign cost?
With me, the SEO migration (URL map, 301 redirects and post-launch checks) is part of the website redesign Standard package from €1,200. For e-shops it is part of the e-shop redesign Standard package from €2,400. A separate review of a migration that has already happened is handled within an SEO audit from €400.