// blog / migrations and redesigns, seo side
Moving a site, the search side
Moves, domain changes, redesigns and redirects, handled from the search side only. Every post is a job I do myself, written in the order I do it, and it's always the answer first.
What these posts cover
A move is two jobs that get treated as one. Somebody builds the new site, and somebody makes sure Google can follow every address the old site earned to the page that replaced it. The first job isn't mine: build and design work lives on another domain, and I don't take it on here. The second one's the whole of this category.
Every post here starts from the same place, the list of URLs Google already knows, because that's the list a move puts at risk. Platforms name their pages differently, hosts change what the server answers, and a redesign renames pages that were quietly earning clicks. None of that shows up in a staging review that's only looking at how the new site looks, and it won't show up in analytics until it's already cost clicks.
You'll find the method I use, step by step, with Google's own documentation linked where a rule comes from it. Where a post needs a real example, it uses a published case study, never a client I can't name. If you'd rather hand the whole search side to one person, that's the migration work I do, and it's scoped in writing on Upwork before anything starts.
All seven posts, newest first
Each one opens with the short answer, so you'll know in a few lines whether it's the one you need.
How I change a WordPress site's domain and keep its search history
To change a WordPress site's domain and keep its search history, I move the site, run a serialized search and replace so no old domain is left in the database, and 301 every old URL to the same path on the new domain. Then I tell Search Console and keep the old domain renewed.
September 28, 2026Read the post →How I change WordPress permalinks without breaking rankings
Most of the time I don't change WordPress permalinks that already rank, because every changed URL has to be redirected and its place re-earned. When a change is worth it, like dropping dates from post URLs, I export every old URL, map each one to its new address with a 301, and test the map on staging first.
September 28, 2026Read the post →How I choose between a 301 and a 302 redirect, and avoid chains
A 301 redirect tells Google a page has moved for good, so Google normally indexes the new URL in its place, while a 302 says the move is temporary and the old URL usually stays in results. I use 301 for anything permanent, 302 only for short-term cases, and I point every redirect straight at its final address.
September 28, 2026Read the post →How I handle website redesign SEO and protect a site's rankings
Website redesign SEO comes down to one fact: Google doesn't rank designs, it ranks URLs and the content on them. So I benchmark the pages that earn clicks, agree with the designer which URLs stay, map every one that changes to its closest new page, and review the staging build before it goes live.
September 28, 2026Read the post →How I migrate WordPress to new hosting and check nothing broke for Google
When I migrate WordPress to new hosting and the URLs stay the same, there's no redirect map to build. The risk is what breaks quietly: DNS, email records, a leftover noindex and a slower server. I test the copy on the new server first, then check each of those over HTTP on switch day.
September 28, 2026Read the post →How I run a website migration SEO checklist before, during and after launch
My website migration SEO checklist runs in three phases, and each check sits in the phase where it can still change the outcome. Before launch I build the URL list and the redirect map. On launch day I test the live responses. After launch I compare Search Console page by page at 7, 14 and 28 days.
September 28, 2026Read the post →How I handle the SEO side of moving a Wix site to WordPress
Wix to WordPress SEO comes down to one job: every URL Google knows gets a one to one 301 to its new WordPress address before the domain points at the new site. Copying the content is the easy half. The map is the hard half, because Wix names posts and products its own way.
September 28, 2026Read the post →When you'd rather not do it yourself
The posts show the method. If you'd rather one person did the whole job, here's the service it belongs to, and it's scoped in writing on Upwork before anything starts.
Moving soon? Get the map made first.
Book a call on Upwork
Want this done on your own site?
Book a call on Upwork, send the URL and read-only Search Console access, and you'll get a written scope for the search side before any work starts. There's one person on the whole job, and it's all done remotely.
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