Export current URLs and map each to a destination: direct 301, merge with a stronger page, or deliberate retirement with a thoughtful replacement. Broken chains and soft 404s add up fast.
Staging sites should block indexing; production should ship XML sitemaps, canonical tags, and clean robots rules. Confirm analytics and Search Console carry forward.
After launch, monitor crawl errors, coverage changes, and Core Web Vitals on templates—not just the homepage.
Rankings alone do not pay payroll; you need visibility into queries, pages, and actions that correlate with conversations.
Search-friendly content should still sound like something you would say to a client in person.
For many local businesses, your profile is a second homepage—yet it is often set-and-forget.
If you serve a defined area, map packs and localized queries often produce faster wins than chasing national head terms.