How to Audit a Website After Migration for Hidden Technical SEO Issues
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How to Audit a Website After Migration for Hidden Technical SEO IssuesA website can appear functional after migration while still containing technical SEO problems that are difficult to detect manually. A post-migration audit should compare the new site against the pre-migration baseline and systematically inspect every major technical layer.
1. Crawl the New WebsiteCollect status codes, canonicals, indexability, titles, headings, links, crawl depth, structured data, and other relevant technical attributes.
2. Compare URL CoverageCompare the old URL inventory with the new site. Identify missing pages, unexpected new URLs, and incorrect redirects.
3. Audit CanonicalsLook for canonical tags pointing to old domains, incorrect paths, redirected destinations, or unrelated URLs.
4. Audit Indexation DirectivesCheck robots.txt, meta robots, X-Robots-Tag, and staging restrictions. A single template-level noindex can affect thousands of pages.
5. Audit Internal LinksFind links to old URLs, 404 pages, redirects, and unexpected domains. Check crawl depth for important pages.
6. Audit XML SitemapsEnsure sitemaps contain the intended canonical URLs and do not contain obsolete or redirected URLs.
7. Test Structured DataVerify that structured data survived the migration and continues to describe the correct page content.
8. Check RenderingFor JavaScript-driven websites, confirm that important content and links remain available to search engines after rendering.
9. Analyze Search Console and LogsReview indexing, crawl errors, search performance, and server logs where available to identify issues not visible in a standard crawl.
10. Compare PerformanceCompare organic traffic, rankings, clicks, impressions, and conversions with the pre-migration baseline and investigate meaningful deviations.
ConclusionA post-migration audit should combine crawling, URL comparison, canonical and indexation checks, internal-link analysis, sitemap validation, structured-data testing, rendering checks, Search Console, and performance analysis.
