URL Redirects Best Practices During a Site Migration

URL changes will undoubtedly occur during a site migration. So, URL redirects seamlessly direct search engines and visitors from the old URLs to the new ones. 

URL redirects also help maintain the SEO value of a page when the URL changes, and ensure you minimize 404 error pages. 

With the URL redirects best practices outlined in this guide, you can keep both visitors and search engines happy and engaged with your site.

In this guide:

Understanding URL Redirects

There are several types of URL redirects, each serving a specific purpose. 

You may have heard of the most common types — 301 and 302 redirects — and 301 redirects are usually the best pick during a site migration. 

(In some scenarios, 308 redirects may also be appropriate.)

301 redirects are permanent redirects. When you move content to a new URL and want to retain the SEO value of the original page, a 301 redirect is the best choice. 

It signals to search engines that the content has permanently moved, helping to transfer link equity to the new URL.

301 redirects are also crucial for maintaining SEO health. They ensure that users find the correct page, enhancing user experience and keeping your SEO efforts intact.

Depending on your server or CMS, setting up 301 redirects can be done in various ways. 

There are server-side methods for Apache, IIS and NGINX, as well as CMS-specific methods like using plugins for WordPress or redirect tools in Shopify.

At the end of the day, these URL redirects best practices help preserve link equity when pages move.

Creating a URL Inventory

Taking stock of a website’s URLs is the key to a successful site migration. Here are some tools and methods to help you gather all your current URLs:

SEOToolSet®: The SEOToolSet Site Spider can scan a website and get a list of indexable URLs. The crawl is automatic and will start as soon as a project is added to the system. You can view a list of the URLs and some associated data in the Site Analysis > Meta Tags report. You can also see a visual representation of your site in the Site Analysis > Link Graph report.

• Screaming Frog: This site crawler can scan a website and list all URLs. To use it, simply enter your website URL and let the tool crawl your site. You can then export the list of URLs for further analysis.
• Google Analytics 4: You can use GA4 in addition to a site crawler to gain additional insights into URLs. For instance, GA4 shows which pages drive traffic and engagement. While crawlers identify all URLs, including those hidden or less obvious, GA4 focuses on active URLs that drive traffic. For GA4, navigate to the Pages and Screens report and consider the Landing Page report for URL-level insights.
• Google Search Console: Check out the Page Indexing report to see which pages are indexed, which are excluded, and any issues affecting discovery or indexing. This is useful during migrations for identifying redirect errors, duplicate URLs and pages Google can’t index.
• XML Sitemap: Your website’s XML sitemap should have a list of the most important pages on your site. To learn more, see What Is An XML Sitemap and How Do I Make One?

Related: How do I create a comprehensive URL inventory that covers every critical page?

Redirect Strategy Planning

A redirect strategy requires meticulous planning. If your site has a large number of URLs, you can prioritize redirects in tiers. 

Start with high-value pages such as top traffic URLs, pages with strong backlinks, revenue-driving pages and high-ranking content. 

Then move to secondary pages and lower-value URLs. This process helps ensure the most important pages are protected first. 

Let’s go over some of the steps to ensure all URLs are moved correctly during a site migration.

Mapping Old URLs to New Ones

Here’s how to map out your redirects during a site migration:

Identify URL Changes

• Document URL inventory. As discussed in the previous section, use SEO and analytics tools, as well as your XML sitemap, to get an inventory of all your URLs.
• Determine the new site structure. Define the new URL structure, ensuring it aligns with your SEO strategy. Learn about SEO siloing for more information on how to align your structure with SEO goals. 

Map Old URLs to New URLs

Create a spreadsheet. Document each old URL and its corresponding new URL. Group URLs by category, such as blog posts, product pages and landing pages. This helps manage and track them better. Include columns for notes and HTTP status codes (like 301 redirects, etc.) to track progress. (Check out my ultimate guide to status codes on Search Engine Land.)

Ensure logical and relevant redirects. In many cases, it will be obvious where to redirect the old URL, for instance, from one service page with the old URL to the same service page with a new URL. But sometimes it’s not that simple. 

Sometimes, you have an old webpage or blog article without an equivalent to redirect it to. In some cases, you can pick the next most relevant page to redirect it to. This might be an article or service page on the same or similar topic. 

For more help, review how to remove a webpage.

But this also has the potential to confuse visitors. So, carefully consider what to do with each URL. If there isn’t an equivalent, return a custom 404 page to help users navigate to a relevant next step. 

Review filtered, faceted and parameter-based URLs separately during mapping. 

Decide whether these URLs should redirect, remain live, use canonical tags or be excluded from indexing based on their SEO value. Avoid bulk redirecting all parameter URLs without reviewing their purpose.

Consider absolute URLs. If you’re not already using absolute URLs, now is the time to consider changing that. To learn more, read Absolute vs. Relative Linking. 

Double-check for completeness. Cross-reference your URL inventory with site analytics and crawl data to ensure no URL is missed. You can conduct manual checks for high-priority pages to ensure they are included and everything is correct.

Maintaining Link Equity

Update canonical tags across the new site so they reference the new URLs, not the old ones. 

Each migrated page should typically have a self-referencing canonical unless there is a specific reason to consolidate duplicate content. Incorrect canonicals can delay indexing and confuse search engines.

Here’s how to help preserve link equity during a site migration: 

Update Internal Links

Update all internal links within your site to point directly to the new URLs. This helps improve user experience and ensures link equity is passed internally. 

Because this has the potential to be time-consuming, you may think that you can skip this step because your internal links should redirect to the new URL anyway.

However, skipping this step can negatively impact SEO, user experience and site performance. 

Just some of the problems this can cause are redirect chains, redirect loops, wasted crawl budget, slower page load times and more.

Fortunately, you can use tools and scripts to help automate this process. Most modern content management systems, like WordPress, have plugins or built-in features to facilitate bulk updates of URLs.

If you have a custom-built site or need more control, you can use scripts to automate the URL replacement.

Check URLs in the Staging Site

Once you have the staging site up and are in the testing phase, ensure all navigation menus, sitemaps and internal links are updated to reflect the new URL structure.

Optional: Update High-Value Backlinks

If possible, request updates from important external sites linking to old URLs so users and search engines reach the new URLs directly. Focus on high-value backlinks only to preserve resources.

Use SEOToolSet’s Link Reports to analyze your site’s backlinks. 

The Inbound Link Report will list the links that point to your site along with some useful information about the link. 

You can sort by Citation Flow or Trust Flow to get the highest value links in order to request updates.

A site migration is also a good time to review the quality of your inbound (and outbound) links, and the Link Reports tools can help you determine how to move forward.

Setting Up the Redirects

Upload the redirect file to your server. Ensure that the server configuration allows for reading these rules. 

If you’re using a CMS, you might need to use plugins or built-in tools to implement these redirects.

Ensure each old URL redirects directly to its final destination in one hop. Remove redirect chains and loops that slow crawling and waste crawl budget. 

If you are also changing protocol or hostname, consolidate redirects into a single step whenever possible. 

For example, redirect old HTTP or old www URLs directly to the final preferred URL instead of creating multiple hops. 

Testing Redirects

Before launching your site migration, it’s important to test your redirects on a staging site. Prelaunch QA is one of the most important URL redirects best practices.

Pre-launch testing allows you to identify and fix any errors in your redirect setup before they affect your live site. This can include broken redirects, incorrect URL mappings or syntax errors in your .htaccess or configuration files.

Submitting an Updated Sitemap

After the migration is complete, submit the updated XML sitemap to Google. Submitting the new sitemap can make the discovery process of new URLs faster.

By following these steps, you can create an effective URL mapping and redirect strategy that maintains link equity, preserves SEO value and ensures a seamless user experience during and after the migration.

Related: How do I submit an updated sitemap for faster URL discovery?

Monitor Redirects

Using tools like SEOToolSet and Google Search Console, you can review updates and quickly address any issues that arise.

SEOToolSet

The SEOToolSet Site Checker can be used to check for redirects and other information for a single page.

Google Search Console

You can also use Google Search Console to monitor issues. 

Monitor Crawl Errors

Check the Crawl Stats report to review Googlebot activity, response trends and crawl issues. 

Inspect URL Tool

If you need more detail, use the URL Inspection tool to check the status of individual URLs. This tool shows whether a URL is indexed and whether Google sees any issues with it. It’s particularly useful for verifying that your redirects are functioning as expected.

Page Indexing Report

The Page Indexing report provides an overview of the indexing status of your site. It highlights any issues with URLs, including errors and warnings, and offers insights into how many of your pages are indexed. This report helps ensure that your redirects are guiding search engines to the correct pages.

Final Thoughts

A successful site migration depends on many things, one of which is following URL redirects best practices. Getting this step right helps protect rankings, preserve link equity and create a smoother experience for users and search engines. 

Ensure your website’s SEO integrity during a site migration:

Contact Us to Learn About Our Site Migration Services!

Quick Solutions

FAQ: How do I ensure redirects preserve SEO value without causing any technical errors or issues?

Preserving SEO value during the implementation of URL redirects is essential for maintaining the integrity of your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. 

Redirects serve as a bridge between old and new URLs, ensuring that both users and search engines can access the content they need seamlessly. 

Properly planned and executed, redirects can effectively transfer link equity and prevent errors, minimizing disruption to your site migration process.

To preserve SEO value, it’s essential to implement redirects that accurately point to relevant new pages, ensuring both user satisfaction and search engine optimization. 

The starting point for a successful redirect strategy is a comprehensive URL audit, which identifies all existing URLs and their associated ranking power. Each URL should be assessed for its usage, traffic and relevance to prioritize the redirection process.

301 redirects are widely recommended for permanent URL changes, as they inform search engines of the permanence of the move and pass considerable link equity to the new page. 

Avoiding temporary redirects like 302s in situations requiring permanence is crucial, as they do not transfer the same level of SEO value. 

Choosing the appropriate redirect method depends on the specific needs of the site, such as whether all pages are moving to a different domain or just restructuring within an existing one. 

Careful mapping of old URLs to their corresponding new URLs ensures that no link equity is lost during this process.

Testing redirects in a staging environment before implementing them on the live site can prevent errors and ensure smooth operation. Issues such as redirect chains or loops can arise if the setup is not carefully checked, leading to crawl inefficiencies and user frustration. 

Tools such as Google Search Console, SEOToolSet and Screaming Frog can assist in identifying and fixing these problems early. 

Submitting an updated sitemap to search engines is a key step in ensuring that new URLs are indexed quickly and old ones are removed from search results. This facilitates a smoother transition and helps search engines understand the new site structure. 

Additionally, updating internal links to reflect the new URLs eliminates reliance on redirects for navigation within the site, enhancing both user experience and crawl efficiency. 

Engaging with an experienced SEO partner can offer valuable insights and tools to execute the strategy effectively.

Action Plan

1. Conduct an audit of all existing URLs to compile a comprehensive inventory.
2. Identify high-value pages based on traffic and backlinks.
3. Determine the appropriate type of redirect for each URL.
4. Map old URLs to corresponding new URLs in a detailed document.
5. Use a spreadsheet to track the status of each redirect.
6. Upload the redirect file to a staging environment for initial testing.
7. Validate the redirects in the staging site for accuracy and functionality.
8. Fix any broken redirects or mapping errors identified during testing.
9. Configure server settings to support the redirect plan.
10. Implement redirects for all live pages using server configuration files or CMS tools.
11. Test redirects again in a live environment to ensure they function as intended.
12. Check for redirect chains and loops and resolve them immediately.
13. Update internal links to point directly to the new URLs.
14. Generate and submit a new XML sitemap to search engines.
15. Monitor the site’s performance using Google Analytics.
16. Review Search Console reports for indexing and crawl errors.
17. Conduct a full crawl of the site with tools like Screaming Frog.
18. Document any issues and report them to the development team.
19. Resolve any identified issues promptly to maintain user experience.
20. Educate stakeholders on the results of the redirect process.
21. Review and refine the redirect strategy based on analytics data.
22. Conduct a follow-up audit to confirm the redirects’ long-term effectiveness.
23. Schedule regular checks to ensure no new errors arise.
24. Provide training for the team to maintain best practices in URL management.

About Us

Bruce Clay Inc. has been a leader in search engine optimization since 1996. Our expertise spans from foundational SEO practices to advanced projects like website migrations. Discover our legacy and services at our About Us page.

Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing firm providing search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media marketing, SEO-friendly web architecture, and SEO tools and education. Connect with him on LinkedIn or through the BruceClay.com website.

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