Smooth Site Migrations: Essential Client Communication for SEO
Site migrations, while crucial for website evolution, present significant challenges for SEO professionals, particularly when communicating their complexities to non-SEO clients. Rebecca Yu’s strategies aim to demystify this process, ensuring a clearer understanding and smoother transition. A site migration fundamentally involves substantial changes to a website, such as moving to a new domain, changing URLs, updating site architecture, or switching content management systems. From an SEO perspective, these changes carry inherent risks that, if not properly managed and communicated, can lead to drops in search rankings, traffic, and revenue.
The primary benefit of effective communication regarding site migrations is the ability to manage client expectations proactively. By clearly explaining the “what,” “why,” and “how” of a migration, SEOs can bridge the knowledge gap, alleviating client anxiety about potential temporary dips in performance. This transparent approach fosters trust and ensures clients understand that initial fluctuations are often a natural part of the transition before new gains are realized. Poor communication, conversely, can lead to misunderstandings, client dissatisfaction, and a perception of SEO failure, even if the technical migration is executed flawlessly.
Key risks associated with uncommunicated or poorly explained migrations include unexpected drops in organic traffic, loss of established search rankings, and indexing issues. Clients, unaware of the technical intricacies, might attribute these temporary setbacks to SEO incompetence rather than the inherent challenges of a large-scale website change. Yu’s approach would likely emphasize strategies such as explaining the different types of migrations (e.g., domain changes, platform migrations), outlining a clear timeline, detailing pre- and post-migration checks, and setting realistic expectations for recovery and growth. For instance, explaining that 301 redirects are critical for preserving link equity, or that Google needs time to recrawl and reindex a new site structure, helps clients grasp the technical necessity and the temporary nature of some impacts. Ultimately, the goal is to empower clients with enough information to understand the migration’s journey, from potential initial turbulence to eventual stability and improved performance.
(Source: https://moz.com/blog/how-to-communicate-site-migration-to-clients-whiteboard-friday)
