A seamless migration with improved traffic, enhanced site speed, and resolved SEO issues for better performance.
Case Study
How We Migrated This Website Without Impacting SEO
Here’s a detailed look at the Seamless Migration and SEO Strategy we implemented for a Client.
Services We Provided:
Key Takeaways:
- Increased traffic post-migration.
- Enhanced site speed and user experience.
- SEO issues resolved, leading to better performance.
Background
The client, a Dubai-based company, approached REDLUMB to migrate their WordPress website while completely overhauling its theme and fixing SEO issues. The website had many technical SEO problems, including canonical errors, broken pagination, and archive bugs, which affected their visibility. The client sought a faster, more updated design without impacting existing traffic and SEO performance.
Initial Situation
The client’s website was outdated and riddled with SEO issues. Additionally, they needed a fresh look and enhanced functionality without risking their search rankings or user experience. The goal was to migrate the site seamlessly while addressing these pain points, ensuring continued growth in traffic and conversions post-migration.
Our Approach
Understanding the Client’s Needs: We started by thoroughly assessing the existing site, documenting all SEO-related issues, and identifying the new functionalities required for the redesign.
Creating a Staging Site
We created a staging environment to test all changes without impacting the live site. This allowed us to safely replicate the existing site and implement design and functionality changes.
Pros:
- Safe environment for testing.
- No disruption to the live site during development.
Cons:
- Additional resources required.
- Sync issues between staging and live sites are possible.
Replicating the Existing Site
Next, we replicated the entire site in the staging environment, ensuring all content, functionality, and design elements were intact. During this phase, we also de-indexed the staging site to prevent content duplication.
Changing the Theme
The client required a new, faster, and SEO-friendly theme that would also be regularly updated. We carefully selected a theme that met these criteria and addressed the technical SEO issues from the old theme.
Pros:
- Updated design, improved engagement.
- Potential for better speed and SEO performance.
Cons:
- Possible compatibility issues with existing content.
- Learning curve for new theme features.
Custom Development and Redesign
Our team conducted extensive custom development, optimizing the design using CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. We worked closely with the client for approvals, ensuring all elements met their standards. Simultaneously, we worked on optimizing the site’s speed using Litespeed, Perfmatters, and CDN.
Technical SEO Audit
A detailed technical SEO audit was performed to address existing issues. This included fixing canonical tags, pagination errors, redirects, and ensuring optimal indexing.
Tools Used:
- Google Search Console
- Screaming Frog
- Ahrefs
Implementing SEO EEAT
We enhanced the site’s SEO by implementing Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT) principles, focusing on content quality, author credentials, and transparency. Additionally, we optimized the internal linking structure.
Tools Used:
- LinkWhisper
- Schema Markup
Further Enhancements
- HTML Tag Consistency: All HTML tags, including meta descriptions, title tags, and header tags, were carefully preserved during migration to ensure consistency and avoid SEO ranking drops.
- Maintaining URL Structure and Indexing: We retained the existing URL structure to prevent indexing issues, ensuring that all pages were properly mapped to the new site without any 404 errors.
- Mapping URLs and Comparing Crawls: We mapped every URL from the old site and compared crawls to ensure accurate migration, eliminating the risk of broken links.
- Replacing the Site and Final Crawls: After everything was in place, we replaced the live site with the staging version. We conducted final crawls to identify and fix any remaining issues.
- Client Revisions: We maintained close communication with the client for feedback and revisions, incorporating their suggestions and refining the final product.
- Final Fixes: Post-launch, minor fixes were applied to ensure everything was running smoothly.
Results
Here’s how we managed to impact the traffic and final results for our client’s site after the migration:
- Increased Traffic: After the migration, the website saw a significant increase in traffic.
- Improved User Engagement: Enhanced page speed and user experience contributed to better engagement metrics.
- No Negative Impact on SEO: The website’s search rankings remained stable, with improvements in overall SEO performance.
Summary
REDLUMB successfully migrated the client’s website while improving SEO performance and user experience. By following a structured approach, we ensured a seamless transition, preventing any loss in traffic and maintaining the website’s search engine rankings.
Moiz Banoori
Moiz Banoori is a Digital Marketing specialist with over eight years of experience in content creation and digital journalism. He leads teams at various brands and focuses on developing effective SEO strategies that enhance online visibility. With a degree in journalism, Moiz combines his passion for storytelling with technical skills to deliver innovative digital solutions at REDLUMB, helping clients achieve their online goals in a competitive landscape.
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