The playbook
Website Migration SEO: Checklist
Use this website migration SEO checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect priority migrated URLs passing checks. Check an actual page or query record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.
Put the task in context
Create the old-to-new URL map before release, including high-value pages, downloads, and linked resources. Test a representative set in staging and production. After launch, investigate missing destinations and redirect errors separately from expected short-term measurement variability.
Before you use the checklist
Name the exact item being checked and its purpose. Gather old URL, new URL, priority, launch check. If one of those details is unknown, mark it as unknown and assign a way to resolve it. An invented value makes the checklist look complete while weakening every later decision.
Working checklist
| Check | Evidence to keep | Responsible role |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory current URLs and their search value | A dated observation showing how old URL was verified | SEO lead |
| Map destinations and test redirects before launch | A dated observation showing how new URL was verified | content or development owner |
| Compare indexing traffic and errors after release | A dated observation showing how priority was verified | analytics owner |
Check the failure path
- Look specifically for this failure: launching without a complete mapping of important old pages.
- Restore missing destinations and repair mappings using the inventory. Record the actual correction, not just the intention to make it.
- Repeat the affected task after the correction and check launch check.
- Make sure the next owner can find the decision and supporting evidence.
Use three outcomes for each check
Mark an item as complete only when the expected behavior or information has been observed. Mark it as incomplete when a required condition is absent. Use not applicable when the condition genuinely does not belong to the chosen scope, and write a short reason. These states keep a review useful without forcing every process into an identical mold.
For example, if the check is “Inventory current URLs and their search value,” a meeting about the subject is not the evidence itself. Retain the relevant old URL and new URL, the decision made from them, and the result of checking that decision. The record should allow someone who missed the meeting to understand what changed.
Decide what must be resolved first
An incomplete item that prevents preserve valuable content and discovery paths during a site move or redesign deserves attention before a cosmetic improvement. Assign an owner and a next action to that issue. Keep optional refinements visible, but do not let them obscure a failure in the core process.
Close the review
Recheck corrected items and note anything still uncertain. The checklist is finished when the next owner understands what was verified and what remains open. Follow priority migrated URLs passing checks using a consistent definition so later reviews can connect execution quality with useful results.
Keep a dated record of the page or query being examined. Search interfaces and external references can change. A saved observation should include enough context to distinguish an old issue from the current state.
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