A migration can be a new platform, a new domain, a new URL structure or a merger of sites. Whichever it is, years of organic visibility are at risk if old addresses do not lead to the right new ones. We handle the search side: URL mapping, redirects, indexing rules and catalog data. The build stays with your developers, and our job is that search engines and customers can still find the result.
It is the set of technical and content checks that keeps a site visible when something fundamental changes: the platform, the domain, the protocol, the URL structure or the design. The principle is simple. Every address that mattered needs a destination, and search engines must be able to crawl what replaces it.
Google’s documentation on site moves with URL changes says to avoid changing several things at once, to schedule the move for a quiet period and to expect rankings to fluctuate while Googlebot visits each old and new URL. It also says small and medium sites can move all at once, while larger sites can move section by section.
Same domain, new system
Addresses change because the new system builds them differently, even though the domain stays.
New address for the whole site
Every URL moves, and the Change of Address tool in Search Console comes into play.
New categories or paths
The platform may stay the same, but renamed or merged paths still need redirects.
These checks apply to any destination. The platform guides add the checks that belong to each source system.
| Check | Why it matters | How we test | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory | You cannot map what you have not listed | Sitemaps, Search Console, CMS lists and logs combined | Master URL list |
| Destinations | Old pages without a clear new home | Each URL tagged keep, merge or retire | Mapping file |
| Redirects | Chains, loops and wrong codes | Sample tested before and after switch-on | Redirect test report |
| Indexing rules | Test blocks reach production | Robots.txt, noindex and canonicals compared | Go-live checklist |
| Sitemaps | Old URLs submitted after the move | Old sitemap removed, new one submitted | Sitemap handover |
| Links | Internal links still point to old URLs | Link crawl on the new site | Link fix list |
The steps follow Google Search Central guidance on site moves with URL changes. Platform-specific tables live on our Magento and WooCommerce guides.
Whatever the platform, the work follows one sequence: list, decide, test, launch, watch. Each stage ends with a document your team can act on.
Typical triggers
Probably not needed
Businesses that often benefit include ecommerce brands changing platform, manufacturers and distributors with large catalogs, and companies merging several sites into one. If you already know your starting point, our Magento to Shopify and WooCommerce to Shopify guides go deeper.
Google lists the places to watch after a move, and our reports are built around them.
Google also asks you to confirm that your server can handle heavier Googlebot crawling after the move, so we ask your team to check that before launch.
No promises and no guaranteed dates, only the order of the work.
As early as the project allows, we agree the scope, build the inventory and write the mapping while the new site is still being built.
We follow a written sequence: turn on redirects, test them, check canonicals and noindex rules, submit the new sitemap and, for domain moves, file the Change of Address.
We keep checking the reports above and decide with your team when the project can be closed.
The method on this page works for any destination. When the destination is Shopify, the Shopify Help Center adds its own rules: redirects can be imported from a CSV file in the admin, they only fire on URLs that return an error, and a standard store can hold 100,000 redirects (20,000,000 on Shopify Plus). Our guides for Magento to Shopify and WooCommerce to Shopify apply those rules to each source platform.
Related work includes Google Merchant Center feeds, catalog integrations and eCommerce SEO. New country stores belong with international SEO, and catalogs fed by a PIM or ERP with ACE for PIM and ERP.
The earlier we join, the more we can plan instead of repair. Ideally we start before the new site is built.
If the new site already exists, we crawl the old and new versions and work from the differences, agreeing in advance who implements each fix.
Searches such as SEO migration agency or site migration SEO point to the same need: an owner for search during a change.
Inventory, mapping, indexing rules, sitemaps, data checks and monitoring.
The build, the hosting and the implementation of the rules. We hand over specifications and test the result.
Share the type of change and the launch window. We will point out which URL groups and data need a decision first. The first audit is free.
