Site migrations can be a high-stakes moment for organic traffic, where structural changes can jeopardise years of growth. Facing a platform overhaul, this client turned to Atkinson Smith Digital to ensure their revenue-driving content was protected against volatility.
Snapshot
- Client industry: Technology (Hardware & Software for Lone Worker Safety)
- Services used: Website Migration, Technical SEO, Redirect Strategy
- Other partners: Web design agency, in-house developers
- High-level results:
- High traffic retention post-launch
- 20% increase in Click-Through Rate (CTR)
- Successful removal of 28 low-value pages without traffic loss
Client introduction
The client is a technology platform selling hardware and software safeguarding solutions for businesses with lone workers. Despite growing traffic over a number of years, their existing website incurred high upkeep costs and did not deliver a fast user experience. The company had already committed to re-platforming to WordPress and developed a lightweight, faster site, but needed to ensure a smooth migration that did not jeopardise their top performing content.
Problem
The client required a platform migration that necessitated significant changes to their URL structure for a number of legacy pages. This included streamlining blog URLs by removing date-based folders (year/month/day) and eliminating redundant category folders from URL schemes. Given the risk that changing URLs can cause a loss of “trust” with search engines, the client needed certainty regarding potential traffic volatility.
At the same time, the in-house team needed a second pair of eyes over other pages receiving minor updates to ensure no mistakes in the migration process. This was critical to ensure the success of their highest ranking content, which drives the bulk of new customer acquisition.
Solution
We conducted a granular “Live vs. Staging” analysis, identifying 143 specific pages that required redirection. To manage stakeholder expectations, we modeled a “Reasonable Worst Case Scenario,” forecasting a temporary 30% traffic dip to redirected pages based on quarterly average performance.
This allowed us to isolate the 28 pages that could be safely removed without impacting traffic, while prioritising the redirect strategy for high-value pages on the old URL scheme.
Results
Despite the structural changes, the rigorous redirect mapping resulted in high traffic retention during the post-launch test period.
- Average Position: -26% change (12.9 to 16.3, consistent with the drop in broad, low-intent impressions)
- Clicks: -3.5% change (Due to removal of 28 pages, slightly outperforming expectations of -5%)
- Impressions: -21% decrease (Indicates a tightening of focus, shedding irrelevant broad-match impressions)
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): +20% increase (0.5% to 0.6%)
Conclusion
This project demonstrates that with precise planning and rigorous redirect mapping, complex site migrations can be executed without sacrificing organic performance. By prioritising high-value pages and accepting a strategic reduction in legacy pages no longer relevant to the business, the client not only protected their established search equity but also emerged with a more efficient site structure that drives higher engagement from qualified leads.
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