Site migration checklist for SEO
Name the URL, the redirect, and the risk — so the migration earns the rank, not the drop.
- Google Search Console
- Ahrefs
- Screaming Frog
- Notion
Audit our site migration from old.com to new.com.
- Pulled the URLs120 URLs, 80 with traffic, 40 redirects
- Named the URL/blog/onboarding-fix — 2,400 visitors, the key URL
- Named the redirect301: /blog/onboarding-fix → /onboarding-fix
- Named the riskTraffic drop: 40% if redirect missing, 0% if 301
The audit named the URL (/blog/onboarding-fix, 2,400 visitors), the redirect (301 → /onboarding-fix), and the risk (40% drop if missing, 0% if 301). The migration shipped with 0% traffic drop, vs the 40% risk. The template earned the rank because it named the URL, not counted the pages.
A site migration checklist is the audit that earns the rank. It fixes the URL, the redirect, and the risk — so the migration reads as a source, not a drop. An SEO who counts the pages earns the drop; a site migration checklist that names the URL and the redirect earns the rank and the traffic.
What is an SEO migration risk audit?
A reusable audit shape for the migration — the URL, the redirect, the risk — that earns the rank and the traffic. The template fixes the shape so the migration reads as a source, not a drop.
Build the audit
- URL named — the one page the migration moves
- Redirect named — the one link the URL needs
- Risk named — the one thing the migration breaks
Ship the migration
- Name the URL, do not count the pages
- One redirect per URL, not five
- Mitigate the risk, do not ignore it
What URL does a site migration checklist name?
The one page the migration moves — the old URL, the new URL, the URL — that earns the rank. The URL is the part that earns the rank, because an SEO who counts the pages earns the drop; an SEO who names the URL earns the rank.
What redirect does a site migration checklist name?
The one link the URL needs — the 301, the canonical, the redirect — that earns the rank. The redirect is the part that earns the rank, because a URL without the redirect earns the count and loses the rank; a URL with the redirect earns the traffic.
What risk does a site migration checklist name?
The one thing the migration breaks — the traffic, the rank, the risk — that earns the rank. The risk is the part that earns the rank, because a redirect without the risk earns the link and loses the traffic; a redirect with the risk earns the rank.
How the site migration checklist fits your stack
The agent reads your URLs and the redirects, drafts the URL, the redirect, and the risk, and ships the audit. It pairs with the site architecture plan and the internal link optimization templates.
- Google Search Console
- Ahrefs
- Screaming Frog
- Notion
Who uses this site migration checklist
- SEO leads
- Name the URL, do not count the pages.
- Engineers
- One redirect per URL, not five.
- Founders
- Mitigate the risk, do not ignore it.
How to run this site migration checklist in Metaflow
Pull the URLs
The old, the new, the redirects.
Name the URL
Agent names the one page.
Name the redirect
The 301, canonical, or map.
Name the risk
The traffic, rank, or index risk.
What you provide
- URL inventory
- Redirect map
- Risk data
What you get back
- SEO migration risk audit
- URL named
- Redirect named
- Risk named
Why use this site migration checklist?
Names the URL, does not count the pages
One redirect per URL, not five
Mitigates the risk, does not ignore it
Pairs with the site architecture plan and internal link templates
Site migration checklist FAQs
How do you audit an SEO migration?
Name the one URL, the one redirect, and the one risk. The audit reads as a source, not a drop, which is why the migration earns the rank, not the count.
What is an SEO migration risk audit?
The audit that earns the rank — the URL, the redirect, the risk. An SEO who counts the pages earns the drop; an SEO who names the URL and the redirect earns the rank and the traffic.
How do you avoid a migration traffic drop?
Name the one link the URL needs — the 301, the canonical. A URL without the redirect earns the count and loses the rank; a URL with the redirect earns the traffic, because the redirect is what earns the rank.
What makes a site migration checklist convert?
A URL that earns the rank, a redirect that earns the traffic, and a risk that earns the mitigation. The checklist that counts earns the drop; the checklist that names the URL earns the rank.
Similar SEO templates
Key takeaways
- Names the URL, does not count the pages
- One redirect per URL, not five
- Mitigates the risk, does not ignore it