Transfer Your Blog, Keep SEO Intact

Thinking of switching your Blogger account to a self-hosted version of WordPress? Need to transfer a large amount of content from one blog to another? Here are some great tips, which will ensure the effective transfer of your blog, while keeping your SEO and data intact.

Transfer Tips for Bloggers

1. Compare and Contrast - Before beginning your blog transfer, prepare a list that will allow you to compare and contrast your old blog to your new blog. What kind of layout would you like for your new blog? What elements would you like to keep, and which ones would you like to change? Remember, a transfer gives you the chance to spice up the current layout if you choose to by working with an excellent team of designers and developers.
2. URL Check and 301 Permanent Redirects - Be sure to compare and contrast the structure of your old URLs versus your new URLs as well. You will most likely need to setup a 301 redirect in order to retain the SEO “juice” your old pages have accumulated. These redirects will ensure that if a user ever visits an old URL, they’ll be sent to the same exact page on your new website. Blog What? Design provides an excellent, automatic script to take care of such a transition for any Blogger to WordPress transfer.
3. Navigation Optimization, Page Titles, and Meta Data - If your new blog has been redesigned, make sure that your new primary navigation section includes the same links as the old design. The same goes for page titles, and meta data descriptions. Blog What? Design also provides for the seamless, and super fast transfer of these files no matter how large your databases may be.
4. External Links - Change links that affect your new blog. Don’t assume any of these links will automatically change themselves. Go as far as contacting bloggers who have placed the link to your blog on their site, and ask them to update it to your new URL. Otherwise, 301 redirects will take over the job.
5. Google Webmaster – Submit an updated site map to Google Webmaster Tools. Utilize the change of address function if you are migrating to a completely new domain.
6. Technical Issues – Towards the end of your transfer, do a once-over and check for technical issues such as duplicate content caused by URL structures. You want to make certain that all your content and page templates can be seen by search engines, and duplicate content can heart your overall SEO. 

These transfer suggestions will help you to determine an effective strategy for your blogs content and URL changes, with intact SEO. You don’t want to lose your blog’s rankings or traffic due to a poorly executed blog transfer. Make sure to carefully consider each step, to ensure a smooth transfer, and contact Blog What? Design to take care of the transfer from start to finish, today.