Is this checklist a substitute for a migration SEO audit?

No. It helps you self-diagnose. If three or more launch-week checks fail, book a call and we will map redirects and indexation against your revenue URLs.

Can I print this checklist?

Yes. Use the print button on this page or save it as PDF from your browser.

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Shopify migration SEO checklist

Use this before and after go-live. Tick what you have verified. If more than three items fail in week one, treat it as a migration SEO problem, not a normal dip.

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Before go-live

Full export of old URLs that drove organic revenue (analytics + GSC, last 12 months)
301 redirect map documented for every top product, collection, and blog URL
Staging domain blocked from indexing (noindex + auth)
Canonical tags tested on PDP, collection, and blog templates
Product and collection schema validated on sample URLs
XML sitemap plan for new Shopify URLs
Robots.txt reviewed on production domain

Launch week

All legacy URLs return 301 (not 302) to the correct live page
No redirect chains longer than one hop on money URLs
Homepage, top collections, and top 20 products return 200
Custom titles and meta descriptions present on money templates
Google Search Console property verified on primary domain
New sitemap submitted in GSC
Coverage report checked daily for spike in excluded or error URLs

Weeks 2 to 4

Old domain URLs dropping out of index (or correctly redirecting)
Impressions stabilising or recovering on priority URLs
No duplicate indexing of myshopify.com and primary domain
Faceted or filter URLs not creating duplicate collection pages
Core Web Vitals acceptable on mobile PDP template
Internal links updated in content, menus, and footer
Orders from organic landing pages tracked in analytics

When to call for help

Organic revenue down 30%+ for more than 4 weeks post-launch
Top product URLs 404 or soft-404 in GSC
Both old and new URLs indexed for the same product
Brand search fine but category and product terms collapsed
Migration was more than 8 weeks ago but traffic never recovered

Free store check

Run a speed and on-page snapshot

Migration recovery often starts with template speed and metadata on your highest-traffic URLs.

Store speed checkLive

Read the full migration recovery guide