---
title: "Site Migration SEO for Nuxt Apps"
description: "Migrate domains, redesign URLs, or switch frameworks without losing search rankings or AI citations in 2026."
canonical_url: "https://nuxtseo.com/learn-seo/nuxt/launch-and-listen/site-migration"
last_updated: "2026-01-29"
---

<key-takeaways>

- Map every old URL to exactly one new URL. 1:1 redirects via `routeRules` pass PageRank properly
- In 2026, migrations also affect AI citations. LLMs need to re-learn your site's new structure
- Keep redirects for at least 1 year; Google recommends never removing redirects that still get traffic
- Use **AI-powered filters** in Search Console (Dec 2025) to monitor migration traffic by section

</key-takeaways>

Poor site migrations destroy search rankings. In 2026, they can also break your presence in AI Overviews and [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com) citations as the models "lose track" of your authoritative content.

## Types of Migrations

![Migration Decision Tree](/images/learn-seo/vue/migration-decision-tree.svg)

**Domain change** (old.com → new.com): Requires [Change of Address tool in Search Console](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9370220).

**URL structure change** (/blog/post → /posts/post): Most prone to redirect chains.

**Platform change** (e.g., WordPress → Nuxt): Significant HTML structure changes can affect how LLMs parse your content. Use [Schema.org](/learn-seo/nuxt/mastering-meta/schema-org) to maintain semantic consistency.

## Pre-Migration Checklist

1. **Crawl old site completely**: Export all URLs.
2. **Export indexed URLs & AI Citations**: Export your Performance data from Search Console, including AI Search Appearance.
3. **Document current rankings**: You need a baseline for comparison.
4. **Create redirect mapping spreadsheet**: Old URL | New URL.

## Implementing Redirects in Nuxt

Nuxt handles redirects through `routeRules` in `nuxt.config.ts`. These are server-side 301 redirects.

### Single Redirects

```ts
// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    '/old-url': { redirect: '/new-url' }
  }
})
```

### Pattern-Based Redirects

```ts
// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    '/blog/**': { redirect: '/articles/**' }
  }
})
```

## Update Canonical Tags & LLM Hints

When URLs change, canonical tags must point to new URLs. If you use `nuxt-llms`, update your `llms.txt` sections to reflect the new paths so AI crawlers can re-index quickly.

```ts
// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  llms: {
    sections: [
      { title: 'New Blog', links: [{ title: 'Posts', href: '/articles' }] }
    ]
  }
})
```

## Post-Migration Monitoring

1. **Change of Address tool**: Use it in GSC immediately for domain moves.
2. **Submit new sitemap**: Remove the old one.
3. **Monitor Performance via AI Filters**: Use GSC's AI-powered configuration tool to ask: *"Compare AI Overview impressions for /old-path vs /new-path over the last 14 days"*.
4. **Check for 404s**: Monitor the Page Indexing report daily for the first 2 weeks.

## Recovery Timeline

![Migration Recovery Timeline](/images/learn-seo/vue/migration-recovery-gantt.svg)

**Week 1-2**: Traffic dip of 10-25% is normal.
**Month 1**: Traditional rankings typically recover if redirects are 1:1.
**Month 2-3**: AI citations often take longer to "flip" to the new URLs as LLM training/crawling cycles are less frequent than traditional indexing.

**Keep redirects for 1+ year**: Google recommends at least 12 months. AI models may have cached your old URLs in their training data for even longer.