Morning SEO pros. As the title suggests: I have a client that I am migrating from one eCommerce platform to another (BigCommerce -> Shopify). My client is a leader in their niche and does really well with organic SEO. But there are a couple issues that are literally keeping me up at night and I am wondering how I can avoid destroying their organic and PPC standing:
their previous menu/navigation structure along with their product categories / product names were a total nightmare. So part of the migration will be to completely revamp the product categories and ux for browsing our catalog. So I am anticipating needing to redirect old product urls, etc.
we have several blog posts that rank really well. And fortunately our blog’s url structure is OK. So I am hoping that maintaining the existing url structure will mean no real problems there… but is there anything I am missing?
part of the move will be simplifying our product catalog. Far fewer variants and skus. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around how this will affect rankings.
I know this is a lot and also that I am kinda rambling… if anybody can give any insight or point me in the direction of any resources/guides to help me avoid big pitfalls? Thanks in advance!
There are a few key things to keep in mind when migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify to minimize SEO impact:
- URL Redirects: Creating 301 redirects for all old product URLs to their new counterparts is essential. This ensures search engines understand the URL change and maintain the existing SEO value.
- Revamped Navigation: While restructuring your navigation and product categories can improve user experience, it’s important to handle it carefully. Before making changes, analyze your existing site’s search console data to understand which pages are driving the most organic traffic. This will help you prioritize the most important pages for redirects and ensure you don’t lose valuable traffic.
- Blog Posts: Maintaining the existing URL structure for your blog posts is a good start. Consider using a plugin like Redirection or a similar tool to automatically manage redirects if you make any changes to blog post URLs.
- Product Catalog Simplification: Simplifying your product catalog is generally a good thing from an SEO perspective. Less clutter often means a better user experience and potentially improved ranking potential. However, make sure to monitor your rankings closely after the migration and be prepared to adjust your SEO strategy if needed. If you’re reducing the number of variants and SKUs, be sure to update your product pages with accurate descriptions and keywords that align with your target audience’s search terms.
Remember that the migration process will likely affect your rankings temporarily. Be sure to monitor your rankings closely after the migration and be prepared to make adjustments to your SEO strategy if needed.