Technical SEO Engineering
Site Migrations
Most migrations lose traffic in the first 90 days. The cause is rarely the migration itself, it is the SEO and AI Search layers being treated as afterthoughts. I work alongside your engineering team from before launch through stabilisation.
Deliverables
Pre-migration SEO audit
Documented baselines: current rankings, organic traffic patterns, entity records, AI citation appearances. The foundation for measuring whether the migration succeeded.
Redirect map
Complete URL-to-URL mapping with redirect logic, prioritised by traffic and ranking value. Built to survive 301 chains and edge cases.
Schema migration plan
Structured data preserved through the move, including the entity references that AI engines need to maintain recognition of your brand.
AI Search layer migration
llms.txt updated for the new domain, entity records refreshed across Wikidata and authoritative sources, AI crawler rules adjusted for the new structure.
Pre-launch validation
Every redirect tested before launch. Schema validated against Schema.org. Entity records confirmed. No surprises on launch day.
Post-launch monitoring
Ninety days of stabilisation tracking: ranking recovery, traffic patterns, AI citation continuity, error rate. Weekly reports during the critical window.
Process
Discovery call
Thirty minutes. We walk through your migration scope, the launch date, the current state of your SEO and AI Search work, and any constraints. By the end I know whether the timeline is realistic and what scope fits.
Pre-migration audit
Two to four weeks before launch. Document baselines: current rankings, traffic patterns, entity records, AI citation appearances. This is what we measure against after launch.
Migration planning
Designing the redirect map alongside your engineering team. Planning schema preservation. Identifying entity records that need migration. Updating llms.txt for the new structure. Every choice documented.
Pre-launch validation
Launch week. Every redirect tested, schema validated, entity records confirmed, AI crawler rules verified. Final go or no-go review with the engineering team before the switch.
Post-launch stabilisation
Ninety days post-launch. Weekly monitoring of ranking recovery, traffic patterns, AI citation continuity. Stabilisation reports at 30, 60, and 90 days. Adjustments as needed.
Packages
Pre-Migration Audit
From £2,500
For teams in early migration planning
2 to 3 weeks
- Current rankings and traffic baseline documented
- Entity records and AI citation baseline captured
- Risk assessment for the planned migration approach
- Redirect strategy recommendations
- Pre-migration checklist for your engineering team
Full Migration Support
From £8,500
End-to-end through launch and 90-day stabilisation
6 to 12 weeks total
- Pre-migration audit and baseline
- Complete redirect map alongside engineering
- Schema and entity preservation planning
- AI Search layer migration (llms.txt, crawler rules, entity refresh)
- Pre-launch validation with go or no-go review
- 90-day post-launch monitoring with weekly reports
Post-Launch Recovery
From £4,500
For sites that already migrated and lost traffic
4 to 6 weeks
- Diagnostic audit of what was missed in the migration
- Prioritised recovery work plan
- Redirect map rebuild where needed
- Schema and entity layer reconstruction
- AI Search citation recovery work
- Stabilisation monitoring and reporting
Case Studies
Halewood Editorial
Three-domain consolidation for an editorial brand
Editorial brand needed to consolidate three separate domains into one canonical site. Built the redirect strategy across 8,500+ URLs, preserved Article and Author entities through the move, maintained AI citation visibility through the 90-day stabilisation window.
Outcome:
Cendric
Replatform from WordPress to headless React
B2B SaaS was replatforming from WordPress to a headless React stack. Worked alongside engineering on URL structure, redirect rules, and Schema preservation. Migrated the llms.txt and AI crawler rules for the new infrastructure.
Outcome:
Aldernode
Shopify theme migration with URL restructure
E-commerce brand was migrating to a new Shopify theme with substantial URL restructure. Mapped 1,200+ product URLs to new structure, preserved Product schema with entity links, ensured AI Search citations survived the move.
Outcome:
FAQs
When in the migration timeline should I bring you in?
As early as possible. Ideally three to six months before launch. The pre-migration audit work, redirect planning, and engineering coordination all benefit from runway. If your launch is in two weeks and you have not started the SEO work, we can still help, but the scope changes and the risk goes up.
Will you work alongside our engineering team?
Yes, that is the only way it works. I work alongside your engineering team, not replacing them. They handle the technical implementation; I handle the SEO and AI Search strategy. We agree the working pattern during discovery: stand-ups, Slack channel, milestone reviews, whatever fits your team.
What happens if the migration timeline slips?
Migration timelines almost always slip. The engagement is structured to absorb that. Pre-migration audit work proceeds independently. Launch support adjusts to the actual launch date. Post-launch monitoring starts whenever launch actually happens. We do not lose the work to slippage.
Do you cover both the SEO migration and the AI Search layer?
Yes. The SEO migration (redirects, schema, internal links, sitemaps) is the traditional layer. The AI Search migration (llms.txt for the new domain, entity record updates, AI crawler rules, citation monitoring) is the newer layer most migration services skip. Both are included in Full Migration Support.
What if we already migrated and lost traffic?
The Post-Launch Recovery package is built for exactly this. We audit what was missed in the migration, prioritise the recovery work, and rebuild the redirect, schema, and entity layers properly. Recovery is harder than prevention, and slower, but it is doable in most cases.
How do you measure migration success?
Three layers. First, "technical": redirects working, schema validating, no 404 spikes, no soft-404 issues. Second, "organic": ranking recovery within 60 to 90 days against pre-migration baselines. Third, AI Search: citation continuity through the move with drift detection if AI engines update their understanding.
Can you guarantee zero traffic loss?
No. Anyone guaranteeing zero traffic loss in a migration is selling something. What I guarantee is the work itself: comprehensive redirect mapping, validated schema migration, AI Search layer preservation, post-launch monitoring. Most migrations done properly recover to baseline within 60 to 90 days. Some take longer. Some never fully recover, usually because something outside the migration changed.
Do I keep the documentation?
Yes. Everything I deliver is yours: the audit baselines, the redirect map, the schema migration plan, the validation reports, the monitoring documentation. Your team can manage future micro-migrations using the same framework.