"We thought someone else was doing that" - SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration

Transcript

1. “We Thought Someone Else Was Doing That” SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration @clarissafilius iodigital.com Clarissa Filius
2. SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Let’s look at how we actually get to the right destination A site migration can be quite a trip @clarissafilius iodigital.com
3. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration I asked what people see go wrong most often during SEO migrations
4. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration
5. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration It is like we are missing the train; the design and strategic choices are already being made but SEO is not even considered.
6. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration We end up with poor strategic choices that will result in unpreventable traffic loss
7. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration All we can then do is minimize then damage…
8. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Let’s look at how we actually get to the right destination
9. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Let’s take a step back — what do we actually mean by an SEO migration?
10. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration And in almost every site migration we are dealing with many different stakeholders Site migration The client Project manager SEO team Web developers Content team CRO / UX
11. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration "I want a new website. SEO is important.” It’s the ideal scenario
12. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration
13. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration "I want a new website." (But SEO is forgotten) The more realistic scenario.
14. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Sometimes the dev agency didn’t warn them — or they did, but the client said: 'We’ll handle it ourselves.'
15. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration They often only find out about the risks, after traffic collapses. New platform live Before After
16. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration SEO Migration ≠ Just Technical
17. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration It is much more complex than 'just setting up some redirects' URL A URL B 301 redirect
18. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Here are some common issues I see go wrong during SEO migrations: Noindex tag left active Missing important pages or redirects Important pages not linked On-page changes shift keyword focus Design changes with SEO impact Mobile differences ignored Backlinks not preserved No pre- migration benchmark ing
19. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration These issues may look technical — but almost all of them are caused by lack of collaboration Noindex tag left active Missing important pages or redirects Important pages not linked On-page changes shift keyword focus Design changes with SEO impact Mobile differences ignored Backlinks not preserved No pre- migration benchmark ing
20. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration “We thought someone else was doing that”
21. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration These collaboration failures tend to fall into four key areas: 1. Poor planning 2. Unclear responsibilities 3. Lack of communication 4. Lack of SEO understanding
22. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration • SEO involved too late • No benchmarking or migration plan • Poor platform/tech choices • SEO seen as a checkbox, not strategy 1. Poor planning
23. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration “We have our new website live but when I search for my brand I cannot find it in Google anymore.”
24. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Example: A client launched with a noindex tag across the whole site — no one on their team noticed for weeks. New website live with no-index tag still on Contacted SEO
25. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration • Who owns what? Nobody knows. • SEO <> Dev disconnected • Agency treated as vendor, not partner 2. Unclear responsibilities
26. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Example: Subdomains were forgotten by the client and almost fully redirected to the homepage
27. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration • Teams work in silos • SEO feedback not included in staging/UAT • Conflicting priorities: UX vs. SEO vs. content 3. Lack of communication
28. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Example: key traffic URL's and PDFs are being left out as the client handles redirects themselves
29. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration • SEO seen as "just redirects" • Developers unaware of ranking impact • Tracking & data often forgotten 4. Lack of SEO understanding
30. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Example: Key traffic URL’s almost get canonicalized due to lack of SEO knowledge
31. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration
32. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration So, how do we really get to the right destination?
33. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Keep your eyes and ears open, if you hear the word “new website” directly start asking questions
34. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration What is the reason for the migration?
35. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration What is the timeline?
36. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration What are they changing?
37. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration What resources are there?
38. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Your role is to communicate the risks of changes to the key stakeholders.
39. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Fixing collaboration issues in migrations: Involve SEO from the start Define clear roles (esp. redirects, QA) Share goals, risks, and timelines Connect dev <> SEO directly 1 2 3 4
40. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Fixing collaboration issues in migrations: Speak the developer's language Set up regular contact (e.g. Slack or stand-ups) Log every change with possible SEO impact 5 6 7
41. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration What we want to achieve… New platform live
42. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration
43. @clarissafilius iodigital.com SEO Migration Failures in Collaboration Final takeaway: SEO migrations don’t fail because of redirects. They fail because of people.
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