Websites are encountering significant indexing challenges following site migrations, despite technically sound implementations, prompting a theory that such moves activate more stringent quality assessments from Google.
The theory suggests that while a site’s content quality might have been acceptable on its original domain, a migration can prompt Google to re-evaluate it against higher standards, potentially leading to widespread de-indexing for unoriginal material.
SEO expert Marie Haynes proposed this theory, noting that many site owners have reported indexing struggles after migrating their websites, even when all technical aspects were correctly handled.
A case study highlighted by Haynes involved a hobby blog that, after a technically correct migration, saw 98 percent of its URLs classified as ‘crawled – currently not indexed’ in Google Search Console due to low quality.
According to Haynes, the content on the old site was previously deemed acceptable by Google, but after migration, it was considered low quality because it lacked originality when compared to other sites on the web.
Google’s updated helpful content documentation places a strong emphasis on effort, originality, talent or skill, and accuracy, with originality being a key factor in its quality evaluations.
Haynes indicated that for sites experiencing indexing issues after migration, initial steps should include a thorough technical review and patience, as indexing can sometimes take time.
However, if content quality is identified as the root cause, Haynes suggested that webmasters may need to create genuinely original and insightful content or, in extreme cases, consider starting anew with fresh content on an entirely new domain.
Google has consistently updated its algorithms to prioritize high-quality, original content that demonstrates expertise and provides value to users, a trend that appears to be intensifying with site migrations.
Source: Search Engine Journal
