Migrating to Shopify: The SEO Checklist

Replatforming is the most dangerous time for an e-commerce site. One wrong move, and you lose 50% of your traffic overnight.

Here is the checklist to survive the migration.

1. URL Mapping (The 301 Redirects)

This is where 90% of migrations fail. Your old URLs likely look like: domain.com/product-category/shoes/ (WordPress). Shopify URLs look like: domain.com/collections/shoes.

The Task:

• Crawl your old site (Screaming Frog).
• Map EVERY old URL to its new Shopify equivalent.
• Upload 301 Redirects in Shopify Admin (Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects).

2. Meta Data Transfer

Don't just copy product descriptions. Copy the Meta Titles and Descriptions. If "Blue Widget" ranked #1 because its title was "Best Blue Widget for 2026", keep that title! Use an app like Matrixify to import meta fields in bulk.

3. Image Migration

Ensure images are transferred with their Alt Text intact. Many migration tools skip alt text. This kills Google Images traffic.

4. Internal Linking

If your blog posts linked to products, those links might break if the product URL changed.

• Audit: Scan your blog content for broken links after migration.
• Fix: Update the links in the content (don't rely just on redirects for internal links; it dilutes equity).

5. The "Noindex" Staging Site

While building your new Shopify store, ensure it is password protected or set to noindex. You do not want Google indexing your half-finished store before launch.

6. Post-Launch Audit

Day 1 after launch:

• Submit new sitemap.xml to Google Search Console.
• Watch "Coverage" report for 404 errors.
• Monitor traffic daily for 2 weeks.

Summary

Migration is surgery. Plan it carefully. If done right, Shopify's faster servers might actually boost your rankings after the dust settles.