5 Signs Your SEO Migration Has Gone Wrong

If you’ve launched a new site and traffic’s not where it should be, here’s what to check.

Moving a website is a big task. It’s easy to miss things that affect how your site shows up in search results. Some drop in traffic is common at first. But if it doesn’t settle, something is likely wrong.

Here are five clear signs that your SEO migration hasn’t gone to plan and how to put it right.

1. Your organic traffic has dropped by 20% or more and hasn’t recovered

If your traffic fell sharply after launch and still hasn’t picked up, it’s time to act. A short-term dip can happen, but ongoing loss means search engines may be struggling to understand the new site.

What to check:

• Compare traffic levels from before and after the move
• Look at the pages that lost the most visits
• Make sure all key pages have been redirected correctly

2. Your best-performing pages are no longer ranking

If your top pages for leads or sales have dropped out of search, something is broken. It might be poor redirects, changes to content, or a drop in page authority.

What to check:

• Are the URLs different? If so, were redirects done properly?
• Did the page content or structure change during the move?
• Are important pages still linked from the rest of the site?

3. Search Console is showing crawl or index issues

Google Search Console will flag issues with your site. If you see a lot of 404 errors or warnings, something’s been lost in the process.

What to check:

• Review the Coverage report for errors or blocked pages
• Make sure your sitemap is up to date and submitted
• Check that robots.txt isn’t stopping search engines from seeing parts of your site

4. Redirects point to the homepage or are missing

Redirecting every old URL to the homepage is not a proper fix. It confuses both users and search engines. Worse, some pages may not have any redirect at all.

What to check:

• Every high-value page should point to a relevant new page
• Redirects should be permanent (301) and working at page level
• Avoid redirect chains or temporary (302) redirects

5. You’re being told “it’s normal” but nothing’s improving

Some issues do settle with time. But if weeks or months go by with no change, you need a proper review. Vague reassurances are not a plan.

Ask yourself:

• Has anyone actually checked the technical setup?
• Are clear actions being taken, or is it just wait-and-see?
• Do you have the full picture, or just part of it?

What to do next

We offer a Rescue Review. It’s a fast, focused check of what went wrong and what needs fixing.

What You’ll Get:

• A review of your traffic and ranking drops
• Analysis of redirect issues and indexation gaps
• Top converting and most linked pages checked
• Clear answers, not jargon
• Prioritised recommendations you can act on