Track Rankings After a Website Migration: The Before-and-After Check Most Teams Skip

Most teams start to track rankings after a website migration only when traffic has already fallen. By then it is too late to answer the question that matters: did the migration cause this, and on which pages? You can only answer it if you recorded where you ranked before launch, and a Google rank check before launch, repeated after it, is the simplest way to do that.

The fix is cheap: run one rank check before launch, run the same check after it, and compare the two keyword by keyword. You don’t need a tracking subscription: two one-off Google rank reports do the job. Below: when to run each check, what to compare, and a checklist for your migration plan.

The examples assume the domain stays the same: a new CMS, a new URL structure, a move to HTTPS, or a subdomain folded into the main site (the order form counts subdomains as the same site). Each order checks one website, so if the domain itself changes, keep the old domain’s baseline report and line it up with the new domain’s report keyword by keyword yourself, for example in the Excel files.

Why a migration needs a before-and-after rank check

Google is open about what happens during a move. Its guide to site moves with URL changes tells you to expect temporary fluctuation in site ranking during the move. It says a small to medium-sized site can take a few weeks for most pages to move, that larger sites take longer, and that rankings settle down over time.

That creates a reading problem. After launch, some keywords drop and come back on their own, and some drop because something is broken. Your analytics shows that organic traffic changed, not which keywords moved or which URL Google now shows for them. A rank check does, but only if you have an earlier one to compare with.

Without a baseline, every drop after launch looks like the migration’s fault and every recovery looks like luck.

Our article on Google ranking fluctuations explains how to tell routine movement from a real drop in normal months. A migration simply raises the stakes.

The baseline check: before launch

Run the baseline in the last week or two before launch, once the old site has stopped changing. Run it earlier and normal movement between the check and launch day blurs the comparison.

Three things must match between the baseline and every check after it:

• The same keywords. Use one list and freeze it. Include the main keyword of every page that brings organic traffic, plus a few keywords for each template that changes: product pages, category pages, articles, location pages.
• The same engines. A Rank Check Report includes four engines: your chosen Google edition on desktop and mobile, plus google.com on desktop and mobile. Add a second country or a city as an extra engine if those markets matter to you.
• The same depth. Top 30 or top 60, for every check. If the baseline looked at the top 30 and a later check at the top 60, keywords in positions 31 to 60 seem to appear from nowhere.

Save the baseline’s ranking URLs as well as its positions. After launch you need to know which old URL ranked for each keyword, so you can confirm its redirect points to the right new page.

A first report shows “first run” instead of changes, and its “What moved” section lists your best-ranking keywords and those closest to page one. From the second report onwards, every keyword is compared with its own previous check, so the post-launch report shows each change against the baseline without any spreadsheet work.

How to track rankings after a website migration: the checks after launch

Each check has a different job.

The early check is a smoke test, not a verdict. Google calls the fluctuation normal, so a keyword that slipped from 4 to 9 in the first week deserves a note, not an emergency. A keyword that vanished from the top 30, or one that now ranks with an error page, deserves attention the same day.

The monthly checks are where you judge the migration. Each one adds a point to every keyword’s trend line, and the “Best” column keeps the highest position recorded across your checks, so you can see which keywords are back at their baseline level and which are stuck below it. Our guide to keyword ranking history shows how to read those trend lines without daily data.

What to compare: the ranking URL first

Position tells you how far a keyword moved; the ranking URL tells you why. Read the new report’s ranking URL column against your baseline. Four patterns cover most cases.

The new URL ranks where the old one did. The redirect worked and the content carried over. Nothing to fix. Keep checking.

The old URL is still ranking. In the first days this usually means Google hasn’t processed the redirect yet. Weeks later it can mean the redirect is missing or broken. Google’s guide recommends testing your redirects: the URL Inspection tool for single URLs, scripts or command-line tools for long lists.

A different page ranks, or the new URL ranks much lower. Look at where the old URL redirects. Google recommends mapping every old URL to the page it should redirect to, using permanent server-side redirects, and redirecting straight to the final destination without chains. A product page redirected to its category, or an article redirected to the home page, often ranks lower or not at all, because the page that earned the position no longer exists. If another page of your site has taken the keyword, two pages may now compete for it.

The keyword is out of the top 30. Check the new page first: does it load without an error, can Google index it, and did it keep the content, title and internal links that earned the position? Then check the redirect.

In each case the fix sits on a specific URL, which is why a list of ranking URLs is worth more than any average.

Band changes and AI Overview citations

Once the URL questions are answered, compare the shape of your rankings. The report counts keyword rows in bands: positions 1–3, 4–10, 11–20, 21–30 (plus 31–60 on a top 60 check) and those not in the top 30 or 60, with the previous check drawn as a faded bar.

A migration that went well shows the same shape before and after, perhaps a little lower in the first weeks. Watch the top 10 and top 3 counts above all. An average position can hide a bad result, because keywords leaving the top 10 and others creeping up from page three cancel each other out.

Then compare AI Overview citations. For every results page, the report records whether Google’s AI Overview cited or mentioned your site, and how many AI Overviews cited you in total. Google’s guidance on AI features and your website says a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet to appear as a supporting link. A new URL that Google hasn’t indexed yet can’t be cited, so a lost citation in the first days is expected. A citation still missing a month later, on a keyword where the AI Overview still appears, points to the same causes as a ranking loss: the wrong redirect target, or content that didn’t make the move.

What a before-and-after check costs

For a site tracking 300 keywords at top 30 depth:

• Baseline before launch: $34.99
• Early check after launch: $34.99
• Total: $69.98, with four Google engines included in each check

Each monthly settling check costs another $34.99, so a baseline plus three checks after launch comes to $139.96. If the old site had many keywords between positions 31 and 60, choose top 60 for both checks: 2 × $44.99 = $89.98 for the pair. If you sell in a second country, add it as an extra engine for $8.99 per check at 300 keywords and top 30.

Each check is one order, paid before it runs, and the report arrives within one working day as a web report, a PDF and an Excel file. You can order a before-and-after rank check for the baseline now and place the second order after launch.

If you’d rather have someone read each report and turn it into actions every month while the site settles, that is what our SEO rank tracking service does.

FAQ

How long do rankings take to recover after a website migration?

Google’s site move guide says a small to medium-sized site can take a few weeks for most pages to move, that larger sites take longer, and that rankings settle down over time. It gives no fixed date. Monthly checks against your baseline show which keywords are back.

When should I run the baseline rank check?

In the last week or two before launch, once the old site has stopped changing. Use the same keywords, Google editions, devices and depth you will use after launch, or the comparison measures your setup instead of the migration.

Should I track rankings daily after a migration?

Rarely. Google describes a move as a process that takes weeks, so daily data mostly records normal fluctuation. One check in week 1 or 2 catches serious errors, and monthly checks show the recovery.

What does it mean if the old URL still ranks after the migration?

In the first days it usually means Google hasn’t processed the redirect yet. If the old URL still ranks weeks later, test the redirect: it may be missing, broken or part of a chain. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects straight to the final URL.

Do I need a top 60 check for a migration?

Only if many keywords ranked between positions 31 and 60 before launch, because a top 30 check can’t see them. Whatever you choose, use the same depth before and after.