The Silent SEO Killer: Rebrand Migration

This article was written by Sitebulb's Jojo Furnival but takes its inspiration from our migrations webinar with Mark Williams-Cook, Nikki Halliwell, and Chris Lever. So, massive thanks to them!
 
Something big happens when a company rebrands. No, I’m not talking about fresh logos or catchy new slogans. Entity migrations – or rebrand migrations – (a fancy way of saying “changing your brand name and online identity”) can wreak havoc on your search visibility. 

Even if you get all the technical bits right – redirects, structured data, backlinks – Google might still not understand that your shiny new brand is the same trusted entity it knew before.

That’s exactly what happened to WooCommerce when it rebranded to Woo, Mark Williams-Cook pointed out:

"I guess the one I would tack on the end [of a list of migration types] is an entity migration, if you're changing your company. And that really came home when I saw that WooCommerce to Woo migration, which looked like all the generic stuff had been done, but because the name had changed, I think that really upset Google."

So, let’s break it down. What is an entity migration? What could go wrong? And, most importantly, how do you do it properly without tanking your traffic? 

Contents:

• What is an entity migration & why does it matter?
• The hidden SEO risks of rebranding
• When should you start planning for a rebrand migration?
• How to preserve your rankings when changing your brand name
• Redirects: the most important part of your rebrand strategy
• Final thoughts

What is an entity migration, and why does it matter?

A brand name change isn’t just a business decision—it’s an SEO minefield. Google has spent years associating your brand name with your website, backlinks, content, and reputation. If you suddenly change that name, search engines won’t instantly “get it.”

Rebrand migrations affect:

• Brand authority and recognition
• Search rankings for branded queries
• Google's Knowledge Graph associations

Google builds a web of relationships around a brand. Backlinks tell search engines that you’re a trusted authority. Citations on third-party sites reinforce your credibility. User behaviour signals – click-through rates, branded search volume, dwell time – help Google gauge your relevance.

Change your name without clear SEO signals, and Google might treat you like an entirely new, untrusted website.

The hidden SEO risks of rebranding

Many businesses think a 301 redirect is enough. If only it were that simple.

Here’s what can go wrong:

1. You lose branded search traffic. If customers don’t recognise the new name, they won’t search for it.
2. Your backlink authority takes a hit. If third-party sites don’t update their links, Google might see you as a different entity with weaker trust signals.
3. Google’s Knowledge Graph doesn’t connect the dots. That means you risk losing rich snippets, featured results, and historical search authority.

Even Demandware’s rebrand to Salesforce Commerce Cloud didn’t go smoothly. Years later, Demandware still gets more monthly searches in the U.S. than Salesforce Commerce Cloud. That’s a branding fail.

So what’s the fix? Strategic planning.

When should you start planning for a rebrand migration?

The short answer: Way earlier than you think.

If you’re rebranding, bring in your SEO team months in advance.

Why? Because branding changes are happening fast—51% of businesses changed their branding strategy in 2022. That means a lot of companies are making the same SEO mistakes. Don’t be one of them.

And the risks of not involving SEO in a site migration from day 1 are huge.

Timeline for a successful entity migration

The timeline for a rebrand migration process can divided into three phases:

1. Pre-Migration Planning (3-6 months before migration):
Activities include SEO audits, schema updates, and backlink outreach.

2. Migration Execution:
Involves implementing redirects, updating metadata, and launching structured data changes.

3. Post-Migration Monitoring (3-6 months after migration):
Requires ongoing observation of rankings, backlink retention, and adjustments to Knowledge Graph information.

How to preserve your rankings when changing your brand name

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Separate name changes from major migrations

If possible, don’t change your domain, CMS, and branding all at once. Break it into phases so you can track what’s causing ranking shifts.

2. Use Schema Markup to tell Google what’s happening

Add sameAs attributes in your structured data to link the old and new brand names.

3. Get PR and outreach involved

Update backlinks, citations, and third-party mentions before launch to retain link equity.

4. Don’t forget Google My Business & Social Profiles

Google wants to see consistency across the web. Update all your business profiles as soon as the rebrand goes live.

Redirects: The most important part of your rebrand strategy

Redirect mapping isn’t just a technical step—it’s the backbone of your entire migration.

Nikki Halliwell recounted a story of a wallpaper site that failed to do this properly and saw their rankings crash. Instead of one-to-one redirects, they bulk-redirected everything to the homepage. Bad move.

Here’s how to do it right:

• Map one-to-one redirects wherever possible.
• Use AI-based similarity matching for content-heavy sites.
• Avoid redirect chains. Googlebot only follows a few hops before giving up.
• Consider preserving high-ranking assets (e.g., PDFs, images, product pages), as Mark Williams-Cook explains below:

Final thoughts: Don’t let a rebrand wipe out your SEO

Rebranding is exciting—but also risky.

The good news? With careful planning, structured redirects, and proactive entity management, you can keep your search rankings intact.

Need help managing a website migration? Sitebulb is your go-to tool for auditing your rebrand migration before and after launch.

You might also like:

• CMS Migration for SEOs [Webinar Recording]
• How to do a Link Audit for SEO
• Case Studies Showing the Power of Canonical Tags