Goal
Perfect Search Media wanted to increase site speed and Core Web Vital scores for better SEO performance and user experience.
Perfect Search’s previous CMS had a slower site speed. So they built a new website on Gatsby with a headless WordPress CMS, which is faster, more efficient, and makes edits to the website simple.
Site migration did not involve design updates or new page additions; the primary goals were to improve site speed and make editing the website easier.
Our strategy
We crawled our old website and saved all key data so we could compare pre- and post-migration data. We included response codes, 301 redirects, Domain Authority, Google Search Console crawl errors, homepage page speed, total keyword rankings, and so on.
Prior to deciding what we would migrate to, the team performed comprehensive research to ensure that Gatsby and a headless WordPress CMS would meet our site speed requirements.
Following the site migration, we updated conversion tracking and repaired broken 404 pages and links caused by URL changes. We repaired graphics, images, and formatting that didn’t migrate correctly. We also updated and re-loaded the sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster so it could index quickly.
Results
121.81% increase in organic traffic
three months after migration. (The highest organic traffic the Perfect Search website had ever seen.)
59% increase in mobile site speed
Site speed increased to 70 (mobile) and 100 (desktop), as compared to 44 and 91 pre-migration
What this means for your business
Conducting a site migration can be scary! If you’re not careful, it can lead to some serious traffic loss and other long-term issues which are difficult to recover from.
That’s why careful pre- and post-migration preparation and a comprehensive SEO strategy are so important. For the Perfect Search site, our proactive plan resulted in minimal initial traffic loss—and then we saw increased traffic and rankings within two months of the migration, as well as dramatic jumps in site speed metrics.
That’s why having a team like Perfect Search by your side to guide you through a successful website migration is a must.