E-commerce SEO migration: a checklist before launch

An SEO migration starts before the new site goes live. Its central document maps every useful old URL to the most relevant destination on the new store.

Inventory the current site

Export product, category, article and information page URLs. Add pages that receive visits or links, even if they no longer appear in the menu. Record each page's current status and the page that will meet the same need after launch.

Do not redirect every retired category to the homepage. If an equivalent category exists, use it. If the content is gone, decide individually whether a truly relevant alternative remains.

Prepare redirects and content

Build the old-to-new URL map before release. Check redirect chains, 404s and internal links that still point to old paths. Preserve useful information from important pages, including buying guidance, images and product data, while updating anything out of date.

Publish the new sitemap

The sitemap should list the final indexable URLs. It helps discovery but does not replace redirects. Update internal links, canonical URLs and structured data that still refer to the former domain.

Watch the following weeks

Monitor indexing reports, crawl errors, redirects and leading landing pages in Search Console. Compare like periods and account for seasonal campaigns or stock changes before attributing every movement to the migration.

Source: Google Search Central's site move guide.

Build a URL mapping sheet

Use one row per old URL: address, page type, HTTP status, useful traffic or impressions, known inbound links, new destination and the reason for that choice. Combine CMS exports, sitemap files, a crawl and Search Console; no single source guarantees a complete inventory. Include discontinued products and historical variant URLs. A redirect should lead to the closest useful answer, not automatically to the homepage. If no equivalent exists, document the decision rather than sending visitors to an unrelated page.

Test the mapping automatically on a sample and manually on the most valuable pages. An old category should reach its intended new category through one permanent redirect. An old product should reach the same item at its new address. Check historic parameters and URLs that received external links.

Rehearse the release

In a protected staging environment, review every template: homepage, category, product, article, policy, sold-out item and 404. Confirm that internal links already use final URLs, canonicals refer to the correct domain and the sitemap contains only indexable pages. Match structured data to facts visible on the page. Staging robots or noindex rules must be removed from the public release at the right moment.

Place a test order on a phone and another with a complex cart. A migration that protects search visibility but breaks payment is not successful. Keep a rollback plan, named owners and timestamps for actions. A quiet release window makes diagnosis easier, although it cannot guarantee stable rankings.

Monitor the following weeks

Immediately after release, check several old and new URLs, the sitemap, robots.txt and major navigation paths. Watch server errors, 404s and redirect behavior daily during the critical period. In Search Console, track crawling, indexing and important landing pages. Compare like periods and separate seasonal demand from observed technical faults.

Archive the mapping and test results. If an important page falls, they show its former address, new destination and moved content. Fix an identifiable cause before repeatedly requesting indexing. A new sitemap submission helps discovery, but it cannot repair a poor redirect or an empty page. Refer to Google's site move guidance when planning the checks.

A monitoring table that leads to action

Keep four columns after launch: observed problem, affected URL, verified cause and next check. A sitewide traffic fall is an observation, not a cause; a category returning 404 or a canonical pointing at staging is a cause you can test. Rank incidents by the number of pages affected and their commercial role. Fix a template fault across every product before isolated exceptions.

At the end of each week, compare important pages with their expected state: redirect present, new page accessible, useful content retained, navigation link intact and crawling visible. Save dates beside observations. This distinguishes a recent technical correction from a search-report effect that may take longer to appear.

Keep the buyer path intact

Open old links from a newsletter, a social post and a third-party article. Follow them through category to product to checkout on a phone. A redirect may return the correct status but still land on a page that no longer offers the promised item. Check price, variants and availability after import. Ask customer support to record confused visitors in the first weeks; their reports may reveal routes that automated URL tests miss.

When an item is discontinued, explain the status and present a genuinely comparable choice if one exists. Sending every expired product to a broad category can mislead both people and search engines. A migration is complete when old entrances still help buyers reach an honest answer.