Does moving eCommerce platforms have the potential to tank SEO initially even if we expect better SEO in the long term?

Question

We are currently re-platforming from an old e-seller pro eCommerce website to Magento. our domain has been registered for over 15 years and Google has indexed the existing website, we even show on first age for some low traffic keywords.

Our primary reason for re-platforming is the SEO capability of existing website is really low and we want to think we can get more traffic with a Magento platform.

My concern here is will our site dip in rank drastically and need a humongous effort to get back up into its usual rankings?

Our rankings are not impressive but I'd prefer not to fall further in Google rankings.

Answer 1

This is a pretty broad topic. You usually will see ranking fluctuations when switching platforms, but the best way to minimize them is:

1. Keep URLs the same wherever possible. It's not always possible, but sometimes with some development effort you can keep some of the main URLs in place.

2. Set up redirects for everything else. Meticulously comb through your site and set up 301 redirects, page by page. You may be able to create some rule batches for groups of links, though you'll probably need to do some one-to-one rules as well to catch everything. If you can export all the URLs into a spreadsheet it's much easier to go through and determine what old URLs map to which new URLs. Then, make sure you're set up with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and keep an eye on any 404s in case you overlooked anything.

3. Make sure SEO has been taken into account in the new platform. Besides URLs, take the time to freshen content, make sure each content type has enough content - you may have new content types or pages due to the new CMS's structure. Also make sure the developers have coded things as cleanly as possible (less code typically equals better SEO, as does semantic code). Take time to clean up image filenames and improve alt text. Check your page speed and make sure your site isn't considerably slower than the old version. Make it a good user experience so visitors stick around. Make absolutely certain the mobile experience especially is a good one.