SEO Migration's all myths uncovered on how they will work against you and why you need to plan for them.

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by: mediarun
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Word Count: 554
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 Time: 4:40 AM
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In no other industry on the planet is change and development as important to survival as it is in marketing, and nowhere is this more true and prevalent than it is online and in digital marketing.

As an SEO Agency we expect that our clients will approach us from time to time with the desire to change and modernise their website.
As a website owner, you may not know that by simply altering your website you actually place yourself in danger of unravelling months or possibly years of SEO work, whether it be:

• Changing your Domain name,
• Tweaking or changing your URL
• Upgrading your web design,
• Switching your CMS platform or

3 out of 4 of all web redesigns result in some form of dip in the rankings on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). A typical website will gain anywhere from 50% up to 85% of their web traffic from search engines like Google, therefore a slip in the rankings could potentially be catastrophic for business.

In Search Engine Optimisation, there is a service known as SEO Migration which is particularly useful to counter this problem. As a process it works in 3 stages:

Analysis
It is imperative to understand where you are now, knowing this basic fact will educate you on how you are progressing. By having knowledge of how each of your pages ranks in the SERPs, and the value of their link equity, you can plan what is necessary for each page to maintain or even improve upon their rankings on the new site. What needs to be analysed:

• Traffic evaluation (split of your traffic)
• Defining high priority keywords
• Establishing top landing pages
• Analysis and benchmark of existing link equity

Planning
Like at the beginning of any project, planning is vital. The window of opportunity for change or site alteration is incredibly limited if you want to avoid losing rankings. You have to make sure that any team members and developers are on board, and are fully aware of what they need to be doing and when. What should be planned:

• Benchmark rankings and traffic of keywords
• Mapping URLs on a like for like basis
• Setting 301 rules
• List of high quality links

Implementation
Once everyone is clear with the timing of the process and their responsibilities, it's time to get cracking! This is where a confident, experienced project manager becomes valuable. You need to have someone leading the development team and ensuring everything is completed in time, given the strict time restrictions. As stressful as it may be, this is what needs doing:

• Collaboration with Web Development teams
• Rolling 301's
• Cross checking HTTP status headers
• Assistance repurposing links
• Controlling and monitoring

To ensure none of your SEO work is wasted, it is strongly advised that you employ an SEO specialised agency to plan and implement a successful migration. By getting this right, you can enjoy the fruits of a fresh and modern website whilst keeping the same authority and structure that pulled traffic to your site.

About the Author

Mediarun helps companies find customers online by focusing on enhancing online visibility. As an SEO agency based in central London we specialise in performance (SEO), PPC management, Social Media Optimisation (SMO), Mobile marketing, website optimisation and design related services.