Everything you need to know about PPC site migrations
As any marketer will know, migrating a website can be a complex process – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t neglect its impact on your existing campaigns.
PPC site migrations often play second fiddle to SEO factors due to worries about organic traffic. However, if done correctly, PPC activity can actually help you during this process – something we’ll touch on in today’s guide.
Whether you are migrating to a new domain or redesigning and restructuring a site, our team will touch on the most important things to check both before – and after – you make a move.
Before migration
A good place to start is getting all of your information gathered– you can inform your client on what changes are going to be made, what to expect, and what the future goal is. Identify any risk areas and consider all possibilities. By preparing for dips in traffic or any bumps in the road, you know how to act if these problems do arise and can keep the client up to speed at all times.
Before doing anything, make sure you’ve noted every single URL that you are using in your PPC campaigns and check that appropriate redirects are set up in their place. That means any existing campaigns don’t send users to broken links – or end up having keywords rejected in Google Ads. Sending users to broken links negatively impacts a user’s experience. They should be able to find what they want straight away instead of being sent to the incorrect page.
In every migration, ensuring that all of your tracking codes have been successfully transferred over to your new site is key. As well as saving you a headache once the migration is complete, it can also help with any future reporting. To double-check everything is in order before the switch, our experts recommend carrying out test transactions. That way, you know that everything has been implemented correctly before sending traffic to the site.
If you’re monitoring your organic traffic, you have to create a benchmark for your migration results too. This way, you can easily spot any areas where keyword rankings are dropping off after the switch – with any gaps resolved with PPC action.
During migration
During migration, it’s wise to pause all current ads. Before relaunching your ads, you should be confident that users will be sent to the right place. Sending them to a ‘404 error’ page will only worsen the user experience and damage your traffic- it’s worth having a little patience and waiting until the time is right.
And of course, it’s important to follow a plan during the migration. By having clear outcomes and processes in place for if things go South, you reduce the panic if something goes off course and know where the end goal of your migration is. You know when it should be, and what it is.
After migration
Has there been a significant drop-off in conversions?, Or a larger uplift since switching sites? Maybe different figures are being shown between reports e.g. GA, third party tracking?
Check if there are any disparities in conversion rate– ensure any tracking issues have been addressed before making any moves on optimising conversions with PPC.
However, it’s important to note that you will probably see some change in the conversion rate following migration. That means you will need to boost your existing campaign to new levels, leading to a conversion rate increase with more opportunities to push – or expand – on new industries and areas.
Migration can be nerve-wracking, but it’s also a great opportunity to reassess and spot what wasn’t working previously. This means you could now bid on places that were previously profitable – bringing in unexpected wins.
By this point, your new website should be showing off why it’s such a key improvement, utilising evergreen – but useful – content and optimised landing pages prepped for PPC. However, just because your quality score should improve (which is the aim!) it’s not a given.
Add that to your monitoring checklist and keep a watchful eye over any effects on CPC – especially if you’re redirecting to a new domain. The good news is that if there is a drop, most accounts should see quality scores return back to previous levels within one to two weeks. But if it takes longer than a month: something’s amiss!
PPC Site Migration Checklist
By following these considerations during your migration, you can reduce the impact on your PPC activities – guaranteeing a smoother user experience.
- Conversion Tracking: Make sure every conversion action has a related tracking code implemented on the new site. If there are new conversion actions, make sure they’re properly set up on your PPC platform too.
- Remarketing Audiences: Create new remarketing audiences based on the new website structure – allowing you to target users who’ve previously interacted with your website.
- Pause Campaigns If Needed: If you’ve got a very complex migration, you might want to pause your PPC campaigns to avoid issues during the switch.
- Bidding: It’s key to continue bidding on your own brand name and URL as keywords. This can help you stay visible during the transition. Some users may search for your old brand name, and bidding on those keyw0rds until they don’t receive traffic is a key step.
- Mobile-friendliness: Is your new site mobile-friendly? If the answer is no, that needs changing immediately. Your site should be completely functional on a mobile and optimised for mobile users. Otherwise, you’re missing out on crucial traffic from a large portion of your audience.
Turn to Embryo
Whether it’s migration or existing PPC activity, our experts can help. With an in-house team boasting award-winning PPC consultants and developers, we can help you start a campaign from scratch or optimise your website completely.
To start your journey, why not get in touch for a personalised PPC audit from our consultants?
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