SEO Migration Checklist Generator
SEO & SearchadvancedClaude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o. Claude excels at generating structured, multi-section checklists with clear ownership and risk assessment. GPT-4o is equally strong and slightly faster for large outputs. Both handle the complexity of SEO-specific terminology and cross-functional coordination requirements well.
When to Use This Prompt
Use this prompt when your organization is planning a website migration—whether a domain change, platform switch, redesign, or structural reorganization. It's essential for CMOs and SEO leads who need a comprehensive, risk-aware roadmap to protect organic traffic and maintain search visibility during the transition. This prompt ensures nothing critical is overlooked.
The Prompt
You are an expert SEO strategist specializing in website migrations. Generate a comprehensive, actionable SEO migration checklist for a marketing team managing a [MIGRATION TYPE: domain change/platform migration/site redesign/subdomain restructure].
## Context
Website: [WEBSITE_URL]
Current CMS/Platform: [CURRENT_PLATFORM]
New CMS/Platform: [NEW_PLATFORM]
Migration Timeline: [START_DATE] to [END_DATE]
Key Pages/Content Volume: [NUMBER_OF_PAGES]
Critical Traffic Sources: [ORGANIC/PAID/DIRECT/REFERRAL - list top 3]
Target Audience: [BRIEF_DESCRIPTION]
## Requirements
Create a checklist organized into these phases:
### Pre-Migration (4-6 weeks before)
- Technical audits and baseline metrics
- Redirect strategy and URL mapping
- Crawlability and indexation planning
- Stakeholder alignment and communication
### Migration Execution (launch week)
- Implementation steps in order
- Real-time monitoring checkpoints
- Rollback procedures
- Communication protocols
### Post-Migration (weeks 1-8)
- Verification and validation tasks
- Performance monitoring metrics
- Issue identification and remediation
- Recovery timeline expectations
### Long-term (months 2-6)
- Ongoing optimization
- Competitive benchmarking
- Content refresh strategy
## Output Format
For each checklist item, provide:
1. **Task**: Specific, measurable action
2. **Owner**: Role responsible (e.g., SEO Manager, Dev Lead, QA)
3. **Timeline**: When this must be completed
4. **Tools/Resources**: Specific tools to use (Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, etc.)
5. **Success Criteria**: How to verify completion
6. **Risk Level**: Low/Medium/High impact if missed
7. **Notes**: Common pitfalls or critical considerations
## Critical Considerations
- Prioritize tasks that protect organic traffic and rankings
- Include contingency steps for common migration issues
- Flag any tasks requiring cross-functional coordination
- Highlight items that could cause immediate traffic loss if missed
- Include specific metrics to track (impressions, CTR, rankings, crawl errors)
Format as a structured, copy-paste-ready checklist that a marketing team can implement immediately.
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Tips for Best Results
- 1.Customize the [MIGRATION TYPE] and context fields with your exact scenario—generic checklists miss critical details. Include your current traffic volume and top-performing keywords for more relevant risk assessment.
- 2.Use the checklist as a project management template: copy it into Asana, Monday.com, or Jira and assign owners immediately. Update success criteria with your actual baseline metrics from Google Search Console.
- 3.Run this prompt twice: once for your SEO team's internal use, then again with 'audience: executive stakeholder' to generate a simplified version for leadership communication and sign-off.
- 4.After migration, use the checklist as a post-mortem template. Document what worked, what didn't, and timeline deviations. This becomes your playbook for future migrations and helps justify SEO investment to leadership.
Example Output
# SEO Migration Checklist: Domain Migration
## Pre-Migration Phase (Weeks 1-4)
### Week 1: Baseline Audit & Planning
**Task**: Conduct full technical SEO audit of current site
**Owner**: SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Days 1-5
**Tools**: Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Ahrefs
**Success Criteria**: Document current metrics (organic traffic, rankings for top 100 keywords, crawl errors, page speed, mobile usability issues)
**Risk Level**: HIGH - Missing baseline makes post-migration comparison impossible
**Notes**: Export all data; this is your recovery benchmark. Include internal link structure, redirect chains, and canonicalization issues.
**Task**: Create comprehensive URL mapping spreadsheet
**Owner**: SEO Manager + Dev Lead
**Timeline**: Days 3-7
**Tools**: Google Sheets, Screaming Frog
**Success Criteria**: 100% of current URLs mapped to new URLs; no orphaned pages
**Risk Level**: HIGH - Incorrect redirects cause 404s and ranking loss
**Notes**: Include query parameters, UTM tracking, and fragment identifiers. Verify with development team.
### Week 2: Redirect & Technical Strategy
**Task**: Plan and document 301 redirect strategy
**Owner**: Dev Lead + SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Days 8-12
**Tools**: .htaccess or server configuration, redirect testing tool
**Success Criteria**: All redirects tested; response time under 200ms
**Risk Level**: HIGH - Broken redirects cause immediate traffic loss
**Notes**: Use 301 (permanent) redirects only. Test redirect chains—avoid more than 2 hops.
**Task**: Verify new site crawlability and indexation readiness
**Owner**: Dev Lead
**Timeline**: Days 10-14
**Tools**: Screaming Frog, robots.txt validator, Google Search Console (test property)
**Success Criteria**: No crawl errors; robots.txt allows Googlebot; sitemap.xml valid
**Risk Level**: HIGH - Blocked crawling prevents indexation
**Notes**: Ensure staging environment mirrors production exactly.
## Migration Execution Phase (Launch Week)
**Task**: Deploy redirects and monitor in real-time
**Owner**: Dev Lead + SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Launch day, hours 1-4
**Tools**: Google Analytics, Search Console, server logs
**Success Criteria**: All redirects returning 301 status; no 404s in logs
**Risk Level**: CRITICAL - First 4 hours determine success
**Notes**: Have rollback plan ready. Monitor every 15 minutes.
**Task**: Submit new sitemap to Google Search Console
**Owner**: SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Launch day, hour 2
**Tools**: Google Search Console
**Success Criteria**: Sitemap indexed; no errors reported
**Risk Level**: MEDIUM - Delays discovery of new URLs
**Notes**: Request re-crawl of old domain's robots.txt.
## Post-Migration Phase (Weeks 1-8)
**Task**: Daily monitoring of organic traffic and rankings
**Owner**: SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Days 1-14 (daily), then weekly
**Tools**: Google Analytics 4, Search Console, rank tracking tool
**Success Criteria**: Traffic stabilizes within 7-10 days; no unexplained drops
**Risk Level**: HIGH - Early detection prevents prolonged issues
**Notes**: Set up alerts for >20% traffic drops. Track top 50 keywords hourly for first week.
**Task**: Audit crawl errors and fix immediately
**Owner**: Dev Lead + SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Days 1-3, then daily for week 1
**Tools**: Google Search Console
**Success Criteria**: Zero critical crawl errors; all 404s resolved
**Risk Level**: HIGH - Unresolved errors prevent indexation
**Notes**: Prioritize errors on high-traffic pages.
**Task**: Verify all internal links point to new URLs
**Owner**: QA + Dev Lead
**Timeline**: Days 2-5
**Tools**: Screaming Frog, manual spot checks
**Success Criteria**: No internal links to old domain; all links return 200 status
**Risk Level**: MEDIUM - Broken internal links harm UX and crawlability
**Notes**: Check footer, navigation, and CTA links especially.
## Long-term Optimization (Months 2-6)
**Task**: Monitor ranking recovery and identify underperforming pages
**Owner**: SEO Manager
**Timeline**: Weeks 4-8
**Tools**: Ahrefs, SEMrush, rank tracking tool
**Success Criteria**: 80% of keywords recover to pre-migration rankings by week 6
**Risk Level**: MEDIUM - Slow recovery indicates deeper issues
**Notes**: Prioritize high-traffic, high-revenue keywords. Consider content refresh if rankings don't recover.
**Task**: Implement post-migration optimization
**Owner**: SEO Manager + Content Team
**Timeline**: Weeks 5-12
**Tools**: Google Analytics, Search Console
**Success Criteria**: Organic traffic exceeds pre-migration baseline by 10%
**Risk Level**: LOW - Optimization phase
**Notes**: Focus on pages with high impressions but low CTR; improve title tags and meta descriptions.
Related Prompts
Related Reading
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Courses, workshops, frameworks, daily intelligence, and 6 proprietary tools — built for marketing leaders adopting AI.
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