Key takeaways
- Inventory old URLs from crawls, sitemaps, analytics, backlinks, search data, logs, ads, PDFs, and owners.
- Map each URL to an equivalent destination, deliberate consolidation, or true 404/410—never the home page by default.
- Use direct permanent redirects and align canonicals, links, sitemaps, hreflang, metadata, and measurement.
- Monitor old and new responses, crawler activity, coverage, traffic, leads, and commercial outcomes.
01
The page nobody remembered can be the page customers still use
The new sitemap has 800 URLs. The old site had 1,400 across PDFs, campaign pages, retired paths, translations, and partner documentation. The spreadsheet started from the new design, so six hundred existing entry points never received a decision.
Build the old inventory from crawls, sitemaps, analytics, Search Console, backlinks, logs, ads, email templates, PDFs, and CMS records. Record status, canonical, role, traffic, links, conversions, owner, and retention obligation.
Swipe to compare every column
| Decision | Target | Evidence needed |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one move | Closest equivalent new page | Intent and content parity |
| Consolidation | Relevant broader source | Old questions still answered |
| Retirement | True 404 or 410 | No suitable replacement |
| Temporary state | Temporary redirect | Known return plan |
02
Map by intent and evidence, not matching words
Compare purpose, audience, offer, facts, locale, and next action. Preserve high-value evidence before consolidating. Involve support, sales, legal, product, and regional owners where URLs carry context or obligations.
Do not redirect unrelated pages to the home page. Google warns that irrelevant mass redirects can confuse people and be treated as soft 404s. A truthful not-found response is better.
03
Make every signal describe the new world
Use server-side permanent redirects, ideally 301 or 308, directly to the final URL. Avoid chains. Update internal links, canonicals, hreflang, sitemaps, structured data, ads, profiles, feeds, analytics, and important external links.
Remove staging noindex and crawl blocks deliberately. Preserve Search Console verification and keep old infrastructure available to serve redirects.
04
Release with a ledger and wait for per-URL processing
After release, crawl both inventories, review 404s and redirect changes, and watch logs, coverage, canonicals, traffic, form quality, and revenue. Separate expected fluctuation from preventable errors.
Google recommends redirects for at least a year and notes moves are processed per URL. Update your own links promptly, but do not remove the redirect layer because launch week looked quiet.
Primary sources and further reading
Use the source material to validate details against your own context and current platform configuration.
- Google Search Central: Site moves
- Google Search Central: Redirects and search
- Google Search Central: Canonicalization methods
This field note follows the XenGrowth editorial policy: primary sources where available, visible limitations, material review dates, and no invented first-hand experience.
Stay with the problem
