Before a website move, protect the pages other sites already recommend: working record
Use this six-field worksheet to map observed external destinations to relevant new URLs and verify the old-source customer path after migration.
No signup. Enter reference codes, add records and download a CSV. Entries stay in the browser tab. Filled fields do not establish completion, approval or compliance.
| Observed source page | Old destination | Current content purpose | New equivalent destination | Redirect owner | Source-to-final-page verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrative: earned article source | /old-service | Current equivalent service answer | /new-service if confirmed | Website developer |
- The starting row is fictional, not merchant evidence. Replace it with your own verified record. Blank fields remain unresolved.
- Create one row per decision or observation described in the article. Use the worked example to understand the method, not as proof about your business.
- Record exact public URLs and collection dates where relevant. Unknown, failed and not checked are different from a verified pass.
- Keep customer information, account credentials and private documents outside this worksheet. Use role names or internal references.
- A completed row does not prove publication, authorization, indexing, rankings or revenue. Record the actual acceptance check separately.
- Export the record to approved business storage if needed. Browser edits are cleared on reload.
A redesign can improve your homepage and still break the pages suppliers and publishers already recommend. Before you move URLs, find those destinations and choose where their readers should land. This protects useful routes. It doesn’t guarantee any amount of ranking credit.
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backlink monitoring tool
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business website tool
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Inventory observed links before changing URLs
Use the backlink monitoring tool to see which pages point to your site and where their links go. Keep the snapshot date in mind. The sample isn’t exhaustive. Google’s Search Console Links report has coverage and grouping limits, too. Put useful evidence together, but don’t claim you’ve mapped the whole web. Check important printed codes, supplier listings, and earned articles your business already knows about. Keep the old URL and why readers use it. Don’t wait for a customer to report an error before you find out a valuable link went to a deep service page, not your homepage.
Sources for this section: Google Search Console: Links report coverage and definitions
Match the replacement to the original purpose
Read the old page and consider the context of its external link. If the destination has changed, choose an equivalent page that still answers the reader’s question. Google’s canonicalization guidance treats permanent redirects as a strong signal when a page is replaced. But that doesn’t mean every old address should send people to the new homepage. The business website tool lets you maintain content when that feature is enabled. Redirects may still need developer access. If you retire a service, decide what to do with its old page. Don’t pretend another service is equivalent. Keep business truth separate from technical convenience.
Sources for this section: Google Search Central: specifying canonical URLs
Use a migration example
Suppose an illustrative shop has ten observed externally linked destinations. In this example, six URLs stay unchanged, three move to equivalent service pages, and one is for a discontinued service. Keep the six, map the three carefully, and work out the retired service’s customer value before launch. A single wildcard redirect to the homepage would hide these differences. This example is a work-planning method, not a statement that ten links have a fixed financial value. Record any source pages that can be updated directly through legitimate publisher or supplier processes. A source correction and a redirect may both help different visitors.
Sources for this section: Google Search Central: link best practices
Test from the old source after launch
Open the actual external reference and follow it to the final page. Does the destination load, explain the expected subject, and give people a working next step? Check the public result, not just the redirect configuration file or editor preview. Keep the old address working as the migration plan requires while external references are updated. Google’s starter guide says search changes take time. So separate live technical acceptance from later indexing and performance reports. A successful migration test proves the route works under the conditions tested. It does not guarantee all search visibility will be preserved.
Sources for this section: Google Search Central: SEO starter guide
Use the earned-link preservation register
Make one row for every meaningful old destination, with its source context. Note the matching new page, or the decision needed for retired content. Assign someone to own the redirect and check that each source reaches the right final page. Don’t claim the register is complete while external references remain unknown. After launch, log the verification date and any publisher correction request. BlueFinch’s backlink snapshots are bounded, and its monthly refresh allowance supports review, not continuous discovery of every link. This gives the owner and developer a clear migration job: people following legitimate existing links should still find the accurate information they were promised.
Got a route with several redirects? Ask the developer if a simpler direct mapping makes sense. Keep the customer’s final destination the same unless the content decision calls for a change. The acceptance record needs to show the old source, the final useful page, and any technical limitation still in the way, not only a successful first response.
Primary sources
BlueFinch last reviewed these sources on October 23, 2026. Check the linked sources for current requirements and product details.
- Google Search Console: Links report coverage and definitions
- Google Search Central: specifying canonical URLs
- Google Search Central: link best practices
- Google Search Central: SEO starter guide
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