Website Migration Redirect Checker

Use 301 (permanent) redirects for website migration. 301 redirects pass 90-99% of link equity to the new URLs and signal to search engines that the content has permanently moved. Never use 302 or 307 temporary redirects for migration as they don't pass full SEO value.

Keep redirects active for at least 1 year, preferably indefinitely. Search engines need time to discover and process redirects, and backlinks may point to old URLs for years. The performance cost of maintaining redirects is minimal compared to the SEO benefits.

Properly executed migrations with correct 301 redirects typically preserve 90-99% of SEO value. However, you may see temporary ranking fluctuations for 1-4 weeks as search engines process the changes. Poor redirect implementation or missing redirects can significantly damage SEO.

Redirect chains occur when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C. Each hop adds latency and may cause search engines to stop following the chain. During migration, redirect old URLs directly to their final destination, not through intermediary redirects.

Test in a staging environment using our redirect checker tool. Create a spreadsheet mapping old URLs to new URLs, implement redirects in staging, then verify each one. Check for redirect chains, verify 301 status codes, and ensure destination URLs are correct before launching.

Yes, redirect old URLs that returned 404s if they had backlinks or traffic. Map them to the most relevant new content. However, don't redirect every 404 - pages that never had value can remain as 404s or be removed from your sitemap.

Missing redirects cause 404 errors, lost traffic, broken backlinks, and significant SEO damage. Users and search engines can't find your content, resulting in lost rankings and revenue. Always implement comprehensive redirect mapping before migration and verify with our checker tool.

All resources including images, PDFs, CSS, JavaScript, and videos should be redirected if URLs change. Missing asset redirects can cause broken images and styling issues. Test asset redirects separately to ensure your site displays correctly after migration.

Both approaches work. Phased migrations allow testing and refinement but require managing multiple redirect sets. All-at-once migrations are riskier but simpler to manage. Regardless of approach, thoroughly test redirects for each phase before going live.

Submit both old and new sitemaps to Google Search Console, use the Change of Address tool if changing domains, and monitor the Coverage report for crawl errors. Google will discover your redirects through crawling, but these steps accelerate the process.