Before migration
List old domains, old routes, category aliases, tool aliases, guide URLs, sitemap entries, and internal links. Decide the preferred canonical URL for every important page.
After migration
- Use permanent redirects from old URLs to exact new pages.
- Update canonical tags to the new domain.
- Remove old domains and redirects from sitemap.xml.
- Update robots.txt sitemap reference.
- Search public content for old brand names.
Common mistakes
Do not redirect every old URL to the homepage. Do not leave old canonical tags or sitemap entries pointing to the retired domain.
FAQ
Should legacy routes stay forever?
Keep important redirects as long as old links still exist, but list only canonical pages in the sitemap.
Should Search Console be updated?
Yes. Submit the new sitemap and inspect important pages after launch.