Website migration SEO: a step-by-step runbook

Any change that alters the address Google has stored for your pages counts: a new domain, a new platform that changes your URLs, a new URL structure, or moving from http to https. Moving to a new host without changing URLs is a smaller move with its own steps. Each type needs different tools, so name yours first.

Google's advice for all of them: "Plan your changes to your site one after the other, not everything at the same time." A new domain, a new platform and a new page structure in one weekend is three migrations at once, and it makes any drop hard to trace.

Rankings drop when Google can't connect old pages to new ones, or the new pages are weaker. The usual causes: missing or temporary redirects, many old pages sent to the home page, ranking pages cut, the new site blocked from crawling, and internal links still pointing at old URLs. Some movement happens even when everything is right.

Google describes the normal part plainly. For a "small to medium-sized website," it "can take a few weeks for most pages to move, and larger sites take longer," and the visibility of your content "may fluctuate temporarily during the move." That is Google recrawling and reprocessing each page.

The avoidable part is the rest. Google warns against sending many old URLs "to one irrelevant single URL destination, such as the home page of the new site," because it can be treated as a soft 404, an error page in disguise. A town page that brought calls and now redirects to the home page has, in effect, been deleted.

Before launch, record how the old site performs, list every old URL, decide where each one goes, and build the new site on a test copy that Google can't see yet. Google says "it's important to map your old site's URLs to the URLs for the new site." Most of the work of a safe migration happens here.

Step 1. Take a benchmark. Export the last few months of pages and queries from Search Console and your analytics, note calls and forms by page if you track them, and save the current sitemap.

Step 2. List every old URL. Combine the sitemap, Search Console's pages list, analytics landing pages and a crawl. Include PDFs and old campaign pages that still get visits, and flag the pages that bring calls.

Step 3. Build the redirect map. One row per old URL. Google says: "Once you have the listing of old URLs, decide where each one should redirect to." A simple sheet works:

Send each page to its closest match. Where nothing new matches, a 404 is more honest than a redirect to an unrelated page.

Step 4. Prepare the new site on a test copy. Keep it hidden from Google until launch, then make sure that block comes off. Google asks you to update every URL detail on the new site: "Change the internal links on the new site from the old URLs to the new URLs," give each page a self-referencing canonical tag, and set up a robots.txt that blocks only what you mean to block.

Step 5. Carry the tracking over. Analytics, call tracking and form notifications must work on day one, or you'll have nothing to compare.

Use a permanent, server-side redirect: a 301 or a 308. Google's redirect documentation says these tell its indexing system to treat the new URL as the main one. Temporary redirects (302, 303, 307) don't. Google says to "use server side permanent redirects if technically possible" and to keep them "generally at least 1 year."

Source: Google Search Central, Redirects and Google Search (updated April 14, 2026) and Site moves with URL changes (updated August 20, 2026), read November 1, 2026.

Some checklists say six months is enough. Google's guidance is longer: "Keep the redirects for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year." Old bookmarks and directory links keep working too.

On launch day, the redirects go live with the new site and you test them straight away. Remove any block that kept the test copy out of Google, submit your sitemaps in Search Console, and check that calls, forms and tracking work. Fix anything broken that day, while the old site's numbers are still fresh.

A launch-day checklist:

1. Turn on the redirects from the map, all at once.
2. Test them. Open a sample of old URLs, starting with the ones that bring calls, and confirm each lands on the right page with a permanent redirect.
3. Open the new site to crawlers. Remove any noindex tag or password, and check robots.txt.
4. Submit sitemaps. Submit the new sitemap in Search Console. Google's monitoring advice also has you submit the old one, so you can watch its indexed count fall as the new one rises.
5. Test the call path and tracking. Tap the call button, send a test form, and confirm analytics and call tracking record both.

If the domain changed, launch day is also when you start the Change of Address request, covered next.

Only when you move to a new domain or subdomain, or move a whole domain into a folder on another domain. Google says to use it "when you move your website from one domain or subdomain to another," and not for an http to https move or path changes on the same domain.

How it works, from Google's help page:

• Prerequisites. "You must be an owner of both the old and new properties in Search Console," using the same Google account, and the tool works "only on properties at the domain level." Set up a 301 from the old home page to the new one first.
• What it checks. Ownership, and "301s on a few pages on your site." Critical failures must be fixed before you can continue.
• What it does. It tells Google to prioritize crawling the new site and to pass signals from the old one. Google says this continues for 180 days, and that you should keep redirects at least that long, or longer if old URLs still get visits from Google Search. Google's site-move guide sets the longer bar: at least a year.
• What it doesn't do. It doesn't remove the old site from Google's index straight away. Old URLs can still show for a while.
• What to keep. The tool doesn't move subdomains, including www, so file the move for the exact property you use. Google also recommends "continuing to pay for the old domain for at least a year," so no one else can buy it and use your old address.

Update every record that links to your old URLs or shows your old domain: your Google Business Profile website link, call-tracking numbers on the site, your license and BBB records, review profiles, directories and your own email signatures. Redirects catch most visitors, but these records are what homeowners and AI tools check.

• Google Business Profile. Edit the website link to the new URL. Google asks you to "enter the full URL, which includes 'http://' or 'https://'" and to "make sure that Googlebot isn't blocked on your site." It also says: "We review your changes before we update them live on your profile," so the change may not show at once. If a booking or appointment link points to a page that moved, update it too.
• Name, address and phone. With a rebrand, your business name must match across your site and listings; see NAP and local citations.
• Call tracking. If tracking numbers are swapped in by script, check they still appear on the new pages (call tracking).
• License, BBB and review profiles. These often carry your website address. When we asked ChatGPT about named contractors, BBB was cited in 10,582 of 11,982 answers, so an old link there travels.
• Ownership. Put the new domain, hosting and Search Console property in your name; our guide to who owns your website and Google profile shows how to check.

Watch three things in Search Console: the old URLs dropping out of the index while the new ones come in, the new pages starting to earn impressions and clicks, and errors. Google says "ideally the traffic on the old site will go down, while on the new site the traffic goes up." Compare calls and forms against your benchmark.

Source: Google Search Central, Site moves with URL changes; Search Console Help, Change of Address tool; read November 1, 2026.

If a page that brought calls loses traffic and doesn't recover, check its redirect first, then whether the new page still answers the same question. Server logs and analytics, which Google also suggests, show errors.

If your URLs stay the same and only the host changes, you don't need redirects or the Change of Address tool. Google's hosting guide says to lower your DNS time-to-live "at least a week in advance of the move," copy the site to the new host, switch DNS, and keep the old hosting running until its traffic reaches zero.

Google adds that "it's normal to see a temporary drop in Googlebot's crawl rate immediately after the launch," with a steady increase over the next few days. Check that forms, call tracking and email still work on the new host.

When a Mindflow website project replaces an existing site, the migration is part of the build: every changed URL is mapped and gets a permanent redirect, tested before launch, and tracking carries over. Our website redesign page covers what the work protects and how the project runs.

A website build is a separate project from our marketing program: from $5,000, larger sites from $8,500, built in 3–6 weeks, with no marketing contract required. The website files and copy are yours once paid.

To talk through a move, ask about a website. For everything else your site needs, see the contractor website handbook.

Will I lose my Google rankings if I change my domain? Expect some movement; Google says visibility "may fluctuate temporarily during the move" and that "a site's rankings will settle down over time." A full redirect map, permanent redirects, the Change of Address tool and an updated Business Profile link give Google what it needs. A small to medium site can take a few weeks for most pages to move.

How long should I keep redirects after a migration? Google says "generally at least 1 year," and as long as possible. The Change of Address tool's own period is 180 days, but that is a minimum for domain moves, not a reason to remove redirects. Keeping them costs little, and old links on directories and bookmarks keep working.

Do I need redirects if I'm keeping my domain? Yes, for every URL that changes. A new platform or page structure usually changes many URLs even on the same domain. Pages whose URLs stay exactly the same don't need one. The Change of Address tool isn't needed when the domain stays the same.

Should I redirect old pages to my home page? No, not in bulk. Google warns that sending many old URLs to one unrelated page, such as the new home page, can be treated as a soft 404. Send each old page to its closest new match, and let pages with no equivalent return a 404.

Can I change my domain and my website at the same time? You can, but Google advises making changes "one after the other, not everything at the same time." If you must do both, map every URL carefully and expect a longer settling period, because a drop will be harder to trace to its cause. Our technical SEO checklist covers the checks for the new site.

All sources read November 1, 2026.

• Google Search Central, Site moves with URL changes (updated August 20, 2026)
• Search Console Help, Change of Address tool
• Google Search Central, Redirects and Google Search (updated April 14, 2026)
• Google Search Central, Changing your hosting (updated December 10, 2025)
• Google Business Profile Help, Edit your Business Profile
• Mindflow, What ChatGPT checks before recommending a contractor, OpenAI API with web search, collected October 3–17, 2026

More website guides are in Websites. Want to know how your business shows up on the map and in AI answers before you move your site? Get a free AI Visibility Review.