Problem · Traffic and rankings dropped
We lost traffic after a site migration or redesign. Most of it can be recovered, if you act soon.
New design, new CMS or new URLs, and organic traffic fell. Lost redirects, changed content and new templates are the usual causes, and the sooner they are fixed, the more comes back.
Is this you?Signs we usually see
- Traffic fell right after launch
- Old URLs return 404 or redirect to the homepage
- Pages that ranked now have less text or different headings
- Internal links point to old URLs
01 / Quick checks
Three checks you can run today
Each takes minutes. Together they tell you whether this page is about your problem.
- Test old URLsTake your top 50 old URLs from analytics and check where each one ends up now.
- Compare page contentUse a web archive copy of the old site to compare titles, headings and text.
- Check the redirect mapAre redirects one-to-one, permanent (301) and without chains?
Old-to-new URL acceptance sheet
Use former landing URLs and externally linked assets as the input population, including valuable query-string variants.
| Situation to check | Proposed scope | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Test old URLs | Take your top 50 old URLs from analytics and check where each one ends up now. An old page that lands on an unrelated category needs an explicit mapping decision rather than another redirect hop. | A redirect returning 200 somewhere does not prove that content, canonical and intent survived. |
| Compare page content | Use a web archive copy of the old site to compare titles, headings and text. | Keep an unchanged comparison sample so this check can distinguish the proposed cause from unrelated variation. |
| Missing or wrong redirects | Old URLs not mapped, or mapped to the wrong pages. | Treat this as a hypothesis until the affected URL or account evidence supports it. |
| Ready to commission a fix | Check final destination, status chain, indexability and equivalent content for every priority old URL. | [CONFIRM: access, scope, owner, fee and review date before work begins.] |
Old-to-new URL acceptance sheet
Illustrative blank specification. This is a diagnostic structure, not a client result.
- Affected population
- Use former landing URLs and externally linked assets as the input population, including valuable query-string variants.
- Decisive observation
- An old page that lands on an unrelated category needs an explicit mapping decision rather than another redirect hop.
- Alternative explanation
- A redirect returning 200 somewhere does not prove that content, canonical and intent survived.
- Acceptance evidence
- Check final destination, status chain, indexability and equivalent content for every priority old URL.
- Supporting check
- Are redirects one-to-one, permanent (301) and without chains?
- Approval
- [CONFIRM: accountable owner and authorised next step.]
What the first handover should make clear
- Use former landing URLs and externally linked assets as the input population, including valuable query-string variants.
- An old page that lands on an unrelated category needs an explicit mapping decision rather than another redirect hop.
- Check final destination, status chain, indexability and equivalent content for every priority old URL.
- The original observations, unresolved questions and any client access needed for the next scope.
02 / Likely causes
What usually causes it
In the order we usually check them. Most cases have more than one.
- Missing or wrong redirectsOld URLs not mapped, or mapped to the wrong pages.
- Content removed in the redesignText, FAQs or product details that earned rankings were cut.
- New templates hide contentContent in tabs, scripts or images that crawlers can’t read.
- Internal links changedImportant pages lost links from navigation and categories.
- Technical settings resetCanonical tags, hreflang, structured data or sitemaps lost.
03 / What we do
How we fix it
Four steps, in order. You see the evidence and the plan before anything changes on your site.
- Step 01Recover the URL mapEvery old URL with traffic or links mapped to its best new page.
- Step 02Restore what rankedContent and on-page elements put back where they mattered.
- Step 03Fix templatesHeadings, internal links and structured data in the new templates.
- Step 04MonitorOld vs new performance tracked page by page.
04 / Services
Services that fix it
Starting prices in USD. TopClick is not VAT-registered. Scope and price in writing before work starts.
TopClick is not VAT-registered
Website redesign ↗A new design and structure without losing the rankings you already earned.From $[X] /projectRequest
SEO migration ↗URL changes reviewed before launch, so rankings survive the move.From $[X] /projectRequest
Technical SEO ↗The causes behind crawl, rendering and indexation problems, found and fixed.From $[X] /projectRequest
05 / Questions
Questions about this problem
01It has been months since the migration. Is it too late?
Not usually. Redirects and restored content still help months later, though the earlier you fix them the more comes back.
02Do you do the redesign too?
Yes, we build on WordPress in-house, with SEO planned before launch. For other platforms we work with your developers.
03Where do we start?
With the free snapshot: we check your site for this problem, confirm the likely cause and send a written first scope with a price.
Start here
Check your site for this
- 1Send your site — we confirm the cause and where we would start
- 2We check search and AI visibility
- 3PDF by email: five website problems and AI visibility, within two business days of receiving your website URL
Prefer to talk?Book a 20-min callhello@topclick.expert
Request receivedWe'll reply within one business day. Want to talk sooner? Book a call in the next tab.See what happens next →
20-min intro callVIDEO CALL · FREEA strategist looks at your site with you and suggests where to start. No pitch.
Times in your time zone · your local time
Enter a valid email address
We couldn’t send this. Please try again or email hello@topclick.expert.
RequestedWe’ll confirm the time by email within [X] business hours.How to prepare for the call →