1. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
MIGRATION
BEST-PRACTICES:
Successfully re-
launching your
website
Key ingredients: Nerves of steel, loads of coffee & this deck!

2. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
NEVER CHANGE A RUNNING SYSTEM!

3. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Every (big) change also means (loads of) opportunity!
But always keep in mind: the price tag for failure is absolutely immense!
Risk Reward
User acceptance “Once in a lifetime” opportunity
Project complexity Greenfield project: question everything
Resilience/Freeze Best chance to really “get shit done”
Interruption Opportunity to eliminate “legacy problems”
Politics Usually more agile vs. regular, daily business
Performance Rethink: RWD/dynamic serving, HTTPS, URL design, etc.

4. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Migration types and their potential impact on SEO
Keep in mind: Often these types overlap – or multiple things are done at once…
Inspired by @jonoalderson: http://pa.ag/2xUCMnJ
Type Example
Hosting migrations You’re changing hosting or CDN provider(s)
You’re changing, adding, or removing server locations
You’re changing your tech stack/caching/lbs
Software migrations You’re changing CMS (or it's version/plugins, etc.)
You’re changing the language used to render the website
You’re merging platforms; e.g., a blog which operated on a separate domain
Domain migrations You’re changing the main domain of your website
You’re buying/adding new domains/subdomains to your ecosystem
You’re moving a website, or part of a website, between domains
Template migrations You’re changing the layout/structure/navigation of important pages
You’re adding or removing template components
You’re changing elements in your code, like title, canonical, or hreflang tags
… and there are more: design migrations, strategy migrations, content migrations, protocol migrations

5. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Make it a granular, multi-step approach
Doing everything at once will make debugging & rolling back an almost impossible task!
Source: http://pa.ag/2yJqT1N

6. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Thorough documentation, in-depth definition of requirements
and on-going testing are absolutely essential!
BE CRAZY ABOUT DETAILS!

7. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
…from someone who has successfully done this type of work before
ASK FOR HELP…

8. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
PLANNING & PREPARATION

9. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
What should go, what can stay? Complete vs. partial site move?
DEFINE YOUR MIGRATION STRATEGY

10. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Consider your crawl budget during migration
Important: How long does it take to re-crawl my site completely (in theory)?
▪ In order to implement the protocol change,
Google needs to crawl the complete domain
and retrieve all URLs.
▪ For a domain with e.g. 100,000 subpages,
Google would have to process 200,000 URLs
(redirects).
▪ On average, Google crawls 30,000 pages/day
(see screenshot) which means this would take at
least 7 days.
▪ However, this assumption is only “half the truth”,
as Google doesn't retrieve all URLs one after
another.

11. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
You will need an arsenal of tools!
A lot comes down to personal taste: you’ll need at least one tool each for crawling, log
files analysis as well as search intelligence – and yes, this usually costs money!

12. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Pre-migration site health check & clean up
A properly optimized domain migrates much easier and more efficiently.
Getting your house in order prior to the move minimizes the risk of losing rankings.
▪ Google Search Console: manual actions, server
errors (DNS, 5XX response codes), Markup
validation errors (AMP, schema.org, rich cards),
robots.txt
▪ Web crawl: internal redirects as well as redirect
chains, broken URLs, and internal links
▪ Log files: broken URLs, suspicious status codes,
crawler traps
▪ Algo issues? Relocating with Panda, Penguin &
Co. makes very little sense...

13. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Be careful with broken pages & broken internal linking

14. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Gather all URLs including static assets
Must haves: log files, XML sitemaps as well as a full website crawl
Extras: analytics (top ranking URLs and/or URLs generating the most traffic)
Mode > List > Upload
small
domains large domains

15. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Monitor your keyword rankings daily
Check critical rankings of keywords. Making this a daily task ensures that you are
only working with the most recent data.

16. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
PROTOCOL MIGRATION

17. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Let’s start with <head>: Canonical tags & rel-alternate’s
Remember to annotate your dedicated mobile site and to adapt your RSS feeds
Canonical tag
<link href="http://www.example.com/deep/url" rel="canonical" />
<link href="https://www.example.com/deep/url" rel="canonical" />
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<link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="http://m.example.com/page-1" />
<link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="https://m.example.com/page-1" />
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Alternate tag

18. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Multilingual setup? Customize hreflang target URLs!
Individual countries can be moved to HTTPS one-by-one, as long as the circular
reference remains intact
Hreflang
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="http://www.example.com/de/" />
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<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="http://www.example.com/fr/" />
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<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://www.example.com/de/" />
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<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="http://www.example.com/" />
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<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://www.example.com/fr/" />
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<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://www.example.com/" />
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19. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Rel=next/prev pagination & Accelerated Mobile Pages
Are you using Google's recommendation for pagination? Or AMPs?
Pagination
<link href="http://www.example.com/deep/url?page=1" rel="prev" />
<link href="https://www.example.com/deep/url?page=1" rel="prev" />
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<link href="http://www.example.com/deep/url?page=3" rel="next" />
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<link href="https://www.example.com/deep/url?page=3" rel="next" />
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AMP
<link rel="amphtml" href="http://www.example.com/amp/" />
<link rel="amphtml" href="https://www.example.com/amp/" />
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20. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update internal links
Simply relying on redirects is not a migration strategy
▪ Links to other internal
URLs
▪ Links to internal image
files
▪ Links to internal video
files
▪ Links to internal web
fonts
▪ Links to internal
JavaScript files
▪ Links to internal CSS
files
JS
HTML
Source code

21. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update internal links (within JavaScript files)
Simply relying on redirects is not a migration strategy
▪ Links to other internal
URLs
▪ Links to internal CSS
files
JAVASCRIPT
Files
▪ Links to internal image
files

22. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update internal links (within CSS files)
Simply relying on redirects is not a migration strategy
▪ Links to internal image
files
▪ Links to internal
web fonts
CSS
Files
▪ Any other internal links

23. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Careful with internal redirects!
Avoid redirect chains: old HTTP URLs should lead directly to the new HTTPS URL
Source: Redirect Chain Report via DeepCrawl

24. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update XML sitemaps #1
Important: if you are using the sitemap index file, you need to update it.
If you reference the sitemap in robots.txt, the URL has to be changed there as well.
<url>
<loc>http://www.example.com/</loc>
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="http://www.example.com/" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang=“de" href="http://www.example.com/de/" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="http://www.example.com/fr/" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="http://m.example.com/" />
<image:image>
<image:loc>http://www.example.com/i-am-an-image.jpg</image:loc>
</image:image>
<video:video>
<video:content_loc>http://www.example.com/i-am-a-video.flv</video:content_loc>
</video:video>
</url>
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25. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update XML sitemaps #2
Important: if you are using the sitemap index file, you need to update it.
If you reference the sitemap in robots.txt, the URL has to be changed there as well.
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/</loc>
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://www.example.com/" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang=“de" href="https://www.example.com/de/" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://www.example.com/fr/" />
<xhtml:link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="https://m.example.com/" />
<image:image>
<image:loc>https://www.example.com/i-am-an-image.jpg</image:loc>
</image:image>
<video:video>
<video:content_loc>https://www.example.com/i-am-a-video.flv</video:content_loc>
</video:video>
</url>
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26. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Structured data update (schema.org)
Update your schema.org Markup references.
Caution: The short annotation “//schema.org” currently does not validate!
<script type="application/ld+json"> {
"@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Product", "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.5", "reviewCount":
"100" },
"description": “here goes the product description",
"name": “this is the product name",
"image": "http://www.example.com/i-am-the-image.jpg",
"offers": { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "http://schema.org/InStock", "price": "55.00", "priceCurrency": "EUR" }
} </script>
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<script type="application/ld+json"> {
"@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Product", "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.5",
"reviewCount": "100" },
"description": " here goes the product description ",
"name": " this is the product name ",
"image": "https://www.example.com/i-am-the-image.jpg",
"offers": { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "price": "55.00", "priceCurrency": "EUR" }
} </script>
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27. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update CDN settings and resource hints
Requests for assets on a CDN need to be on HTTPS now, also any resource hints
(preconnect, dns-prefetch, etc.) need to be changed
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
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<script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
CDN
Alternatively
Resource hints
<link rel="preconnect" href="http://cdn.example.com" pr="0.42">
<link rel="preconnect" href=" https:// cdn.example.com" pr="0.42">
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28. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Update HTTP header & customize cookie settings
If applicable, customize X-Robots header tags. Use Chrome DevTools!
X-Robots rel-canonical via Apache .htaccess
<Files theRequestedFile.pdf >
Header add Link 'https://www.example.com/ebook.html; rel="canonical"'
</Files>
Other HTTP header alternatives:
▪ Link: <https://www.example.com/de/>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="de"
▪ Link: <https://www.example.com/someurl>; rel="canonical"
▪ Link: <https://cdn.example.com>; rel="dns-prefetch"

29. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
You need to find every single reference to
your old HTTP URLs!

30. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Better safe than sorry: let’s test crawl the new HTTPS test version
EVERYTHING UPDATED?

31. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Inventory Sync: Crawl vs. XML sitemaps
Compare both inventories to ensure the same content is available on HTTPS as on the
HTTP original (HTTP vs. HTTPS e.g. via ScreamingFrog+Excel or DeepCrawl)

32. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Make sure there are no more HTTP links
Before migrating, check that there are no more HTTP requests on the HTTPS system

33. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Really helpful: HTTP’s specific crawl output
DeepCrawl also reports HSTS headers and non secure forms

34. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
WORK YOUR SEARCH CONSOLE!

35. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Create HTTPS properties & merge them into a set
Properties for HTTP and HTTPS with and without www = 4 domains
If you use separate mobile domains, there are 6 domains in total!
Prerequisites for a migration:
▪ No manual actions
▪ No significant amount of crawl errors
(DNS, availability, etc.)
▪ No problems with the XML sitemaps
▪ Valid structured data / rich cards markup,
no significant AMP and hreflang errors
http://xxxxxxx.de/
https://xxxxxxx.de/
http://www.xxxxxxx.de/
https://www.xxxxxxx.de/
https://www.xxxxxxx.de/
http://www.xxxxx.de/

36. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Transfer disavow links file in time
Especially for domains with a “questionable” link profile: GSC setup and disavow file
transfer should be done approximately 48 hours prior to going live!

37. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Set your preferred domain and (if necessary) crawl rate
You don’t really need to set the crawl rate, but, if you have done so previously, I would
suggest transferring the original settings (for now)

38. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Configure Geo-Targeting for gTLDs
Synchronize settings for handling URL parameters if necessary (i.e. for “.com” gTLDs)

39. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Before you send to the index: test GSCs fetch & render!
Make sure Google includes and displays all requested components properly!

40. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Test and re-submit all XML sitemaps
Also: synchronize URL parameter settings if you were using them or if they are needed
for your site’s functionality

41. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
WOHOOO… LETS DO IT!

42. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
After all this preparation, all you need to do now is to "just" redirect URLs.
301-REDIRECT ALL THE THINGS!

43. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Even if, as some people say, all redirects are equal:
All we did for this client was change the (chained) 302/307 to 301 redirects!

44. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Keep in mind: this only works for domain migrations!
USE THE GSC SITE MOVE FEATURE

45. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Crawl old URLs again (301’s now) & manual SERP checks
Import HTTP URLs e.g. to ScreamingFrog (list mode), only 301s should appear now.
Additional manual check of indexed URLs e.g. via LinkClump Add-On in Chrome
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46. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
POST MIGRATION TODOS

47. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Focus on 4XX and 5XX status codes first, tackle those “live”!
LOG FILE, GSC & GA ERROR MONITORING

48. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Migration performance monitoring #1
HTTP error status code monitoring (e.g. 40X for Googlebot & Bingbot)

49. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Migration performance monitoring #2
HTTP redirects over time and split by user-agent containing *bot*

50. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Migration performance monitoring #3
Top crawled pages breakdown (daily & weekly)

51. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
AMP, structured data and rich cards error monitoring

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Keep an eye on the crawl frequency!

53. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Ideally it should look like this #1
Domain migration (“de” to “com”), no other changes; fully recovered after 5 weeks!
Source: Searchmetrics

54. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
Ideally it should look like this #2
Protocol migration: from HTTP to HTTPS; 2 weeks visibility dip (-25 %)
Source: Searchmetrics

55. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#10 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

56. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#1 GSCs DNS verification can be pretty helpful
No need to worry about missing meta tags; plus you can also verify prior to actually
deploying a site/frontend to a new domain – and it is faster as well!
More: http://pa.ag/2yJ7xtH

57. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#2 Also move your robots.txt file
When changing domains, make sure to transfer (the contents of) robots.txt as well!

58. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#3 Don’t forget to redirect your images as well
When changing URLs/domains, make sure to implement redirect rules for images
Read the entire post: http://pa.ag/2yJtTLz

59. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#4 Bulk testing all the things: mobile
Mobile-friendliness at scale: technicalseo.com
Check it out: https://technicalseo.com/seo-tools/mobile-friendly/

60. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#5 Bulk testing all the things: hreflang tags
hreflang tags (in sitemaps) at scale: technicalseo.com
Check it out: https://technicalseo.com/seo-tools/hreflang/

61. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#6 Bulk testing all the things: redirects & other headers
HTTP status codes (errors, redirects, etc.) at scale: httpstatus.io
Check it out: https://httpstatus.io/

62. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#7 Simulate Googlebot for smartphone with JS-rendering
ScreamingFrog can do that easily at scale; again pay close attention to rendered
output! Also pretty cool: Extract > Xpath > //head/link[@rel="amphtml"]/@href

63. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#8 HTTP 503 is your friend
Combine with “revisit-after” to throttle crawling; never use “noindex”/4xx instead!
Source: http://pa.ag/2xRiA5T
Webmasters should return a 503 HTTP header for all
the URLs participating in the blackout […] Googlebot's
crawling rate will drop when it sees a spike in 503 […]
as Googlebot is currently configured, it will halt all
crawling of the site if the site’s robots.txt file returns a
503 status code for robots.txt.
„

64. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#9 Fix those redirect chains, especially on legacy sites…
…as multiple requests waste valuable performance and crawl budget!

65. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
#10 Careful: JavaScript frameworks are still tricky!
Check out Bartosz‘ massive research on crawlability and indexability!
Read more: http://pa.ag/2qLqlqH

66. #SMX #22A2 @peakaceag
https://pa.ag/smx17mig
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