Google’s John Mueller recently shared key insights on site migrations, highlighting why partial or staggered moves often lead to a poor SEO outcome. Website owners who move only parts of their site to a new domain face bigger challenges than those who complete a full migration at once. Mueller stresses that these incomplete shifts confuse Google’s systems and make rankings harder to maintain.
SEO Outcome: Why Partial Site Migrations Create Problems
Mueller answered a question about using Google Search Console‘s Change of Address tool during a site move. At first, a user asked if they could submit the new domain even if some old URLs still received traffic and lacked redirects.
Mueller replied that this approach usually works fine. He noted that some sites keep the old robots.txt file with an “allow: /” rule to let Google crawl everything. The tool also checks if the homepage redirects properly.
However, the situation changed when the user revealed more details. They had already moved the homepage to the new domain, but planned to leave many product and category pages on the old domain for now. This created a staggered migration, splitting the site across two domains.
Mueller quickly adjusted his advice. He explained that Google does not view this as a full site move. Site owners can still use the Change of Address tool, but the process becomes messy until everything transfers completely.
- Google struggles to understand the sites clearly.
- Website owners face difficulties tracking performance and rankings.
- The migration lacks a “clean slate,” making recovery tougher.
Mueller recommends cleaning up the setup as soon as possible. He acknowledges that staggered migrations sometimes happen due to practical reasons, but warns they complicate things more than a well-planned full move.
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Experts note that Mueller often talks about Google’s “understanding” of a site. This refers to how the search engine connects the domain to content quality, relevance, and its place on the web. Partial migrations disrupt this process and risk a negative SEO outcome.
In short, complete your site migration in one go to protect your rankings. Avoid staggered moves unless absolutely necessary, and fix them quickly if you start one.
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