How to Migrate a Broker Website Without Losing Rankings
This article is by Australia's #1 Mortgage Broker SEO Agency, we've helped brokers generate over $500M in new leads through Google and AI-search. We can help you too, simply book a call here.
You've outgrown your current website. Maybe you're leaving an aggregator platform, rebuilding on something faster, or rebranding after buying a trail book. Whatever the reason, a website migration is one of the few moments where the wrong move can cost you rankings you've spent years building.
The good news is that a well-managed migration doesn't have to hurt your visibility at all. Google's own guidance is clear on what to do, and brokers who follow it come through the move with their search position intact and often in better shape on the other side.
At Copyburst, we help brokers across Australia with mortgage broker SEO, including websites built as part of an SEO plan and migrations handled so rankings survive the move. Below, we'll show you what matters, what to watch and what to do first.
Key takeaways
- Every old URL needs a permanent redirect to its matching new page before you go live.
- Google says to expect ranking fluctuations while it processes a site move.
- Your Google Business Profile link needs to point to the right page on the new site.
What is a broker website migration, and what actually changes?
A website migration is any move that changes your site's URLs, platform, domain or structure. For a mortgage broker, that covers moving from an aggregator-hosted profile to your own site, rebuilding on a new platform, changing your domain name or rebranding your business.
What changes for Google is the address of every page it has already found and indexed. If Google visits your old service page and finds nothing there, it treats that page as gone. Rankings built on that page go with it. The fix is making sure every old address forwards automatically to the right new one, so Google and your visitors always land somewhere useful.
What should you do before you go live?
The work that protects your rankings happens before the new site launches, not after. Rushing this step is where most broker migrations go wrong.
- List every existing page: crawl your current site or export it from your platform so you have a complete record of every URL that Google currently knows about.
- Match old to new: for each existing page, identify the matching page on the new site. Your home loan page should map to your home loan page, not your homepage.
- Set up permanent redirects: a permanent (301) redirect from each old URL to its matching new URL tells Google where the page has moved. Google's own guidance on site moves says to use permanent redirects and keep them in place.
- Check the new site works: test every page on the new domain before you flip the switch, especially on a phone, since Google uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking.
Say you're a broker moving from an aggregator-hosted profile to your own site. You had a refinancing page, a first home buyer page and a construction loans page on the old domain. Each one needs its own redirect to the matching page on the new site. If they all redirect to your homepage instead, you lose the relevance those pages had built for specific searches like "refinance broker near me" or "construction loan broker".
| Expert tip Before your new site goes live, visit every page on your current site the way a borrower would and write down the URL of each one. That list is your redirect map, and it's the single most important thing you'll hand to whoever builds your new site. Copyburst builds this map as the first step in every website migration we manage. |
Why does Google say to expect fluctuations after a site move?
Google is clear on this: when you move a site, expect your rankings to fluctuate while it processes the move. That's not a bug or a penalty. It's Google re-evaluating your pages at their new addresses.
“The broker sites that come through a migration without a scratch are the ones where someone mapped every URL before launch day. The ones that drop are almost always the ones that skipped that step because they were in a hurry to get the new site live.”
Adam Maynard · Founder, Copyburst · Chat to Adam →
The fluctuation period is normal and it settles. What extends it is broken redirects, pages that go missing entirely, or a new site that Google can't fully read because it's blocked or loads too slowly on mobile. Keep your redirects in place and the recovery is much faster.
| Mortgage broker SEO Need help with a broker website that ranks? We help mortgage brokers get found first in Google, Google Maps and AI search.
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Which migration mistakes cost brokers the most enquiries?
The table below covers the situations we see most often and what to do about each one. Every one of these is fixable before launch if you plan ahead.
| Situation | What goes wrong | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| All old pages redirect to the homepage | Specific pages lose their relevance for searches like "first home buyer broker" | Match each old page to the most relevant new page |
| Redirects removed too soon | Google encounters dead pages and rankings drop again | Keep permanent redirects in place indefinitely, per Google's guidance |
| New site goes live with no GBP update | Your Business Profile still links to the old domain or a broken page | Update the website link in your profile to the new URL on launch day |
| Pages merged or renamed without a redirect | Rankings for specific loan types disappear overnight | Create a redirect for every renamed or removed page, even if you think it had little traffic |
| New site blocks Google on mobile | Google can't read the new pages it needs to index | Test the new site on a phone and check it's not accidentally blocking search engines |
The enquiry risk is real. A borrower searching for "refinance broker near me" at 9pm on their phone is ready to act. If the page that used to rank for that search is now broken or gone, that enquiry goes to the broker still showing up.
| Expert tip After your new site is live, open your Google Business Profile and click the website link yourself. Check it goes to the right page, loads quickly on your phone and has your correct contact details. If the link is wrong or broken, borrowers clicking through from the Map Pack hit a dead end. Copyburst checks and updates this as part of every migration we manage. |
How do you protect your local search visibility during a move?
Your Google Business Profile is its own search asset, separate from your website. But the two are connected: Google says a business's position in web results is a factor in local ranking, so your website's health feeds directly into your Map Pack position.
When you migrate, your Google Business Profile keeps its reviews, its history and its local standing. What you need to update is the website link inside the profile. A Business Profile has one website link, so point it to the most relevant page on your new site, usually your homepage or your main service page.
Your brokerage name, phone number and address also need to match across your website and your profile. If they differ after the migration, that's worth tidying up on launch day so there's no inconsistency for borrowers or Google to find.
“When we take on a broker who's recently migrated their site, the first thing we check is the Business Profile link. It's still pointing at the old domain more often than you'd expect, and it's an easy fix that matters for both local visibility and for anyone clicking through from the Map Pack.”
Adam Maynard · Founder, Copyburst · Chat to Adam →
What should the new site have to rank well after the move?
A migration is a chance to fix what the old site was missing. Don't rebuild the same thin structure on a new platform.
- A page for each loan type your clients search for: refinancing, first home buyers, construction loans, investment, self-employed borrowers and any others you specialise in. Each one answers that borrower's question, not a generic "we do everything" paragraph.
- A real About page: Google's own guidance on helpful content says showing who made the content and their credentials matters, especially for financial topics. A real photo, your experience and any accreditations belong here.
- Clear contact paths on every page: a phone number, an enquiry form and ideally a booking link so a borrower who's ready to act never has to hunt for how to reach you.
- A site that works on a phone: Google uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. If it's slow or hard to use on a phone, that matters for how you rank, not just how it feels.
Google also uses links between pages to understand what your site covers. Every page you want found should link to at least one other page, and the link text should describe what the page is about, per Google's own guidance on links.
| Expert tip Once your new site is live, search your own name and your brokerage name the way a new client would. Then search "mortgage broker" plus your suburb. Check what comes up, what the pages say and whether your contact details are correct. That ten-minute check tells you a lot about what Google and borrowers are seeing right now. |
Is migrating away from an aggregator website worth the risk?
This is the right question, and the honest answer is: yes, for most brokers, but the timing matters. An aggregator-hosted profile often ranks poorly for specific searches because it doesn't have dedicated pages for your loan specialisms, and you don't control what it says or how it's structured.
Your own site, built with the right pages and properly redirected from any aggregator URLs, gives you control over your rankings that you can build on. The risk of staying on an aggregator site is that you're building on ground you don't own.
The catch is that if you have any existing rankings on the aggregator domain (check with a search for your name and suburb), those pages need redirects too. Some aggregator platforms won't let you set up redirects when you leave. That's worth knowing before you sign up, not the day you want to move.
| Mortgage broker SEO Need help with a broker website that ranks? We help mortgage brokers get found first in Google, Google Maps and AI search.
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What else do brokers ask about website migrations?
Will I lose all my rankings when I move my website?
Not if the migration is done properly. Google's guidance on site moves says to expect fluctuations while it processes the change, but rankings recover when permanent redirects are in place and the new site is well-structured. The risk is missing redirects or a new site Google can't fully read.
How long do I need to keep my old redirects running?
Google's own guidance on site moves says to keep permanent redirects in place after the move. There's no point at which it's safe to remove them entirely. They're low-cost to maintain and the downside of removing them early is real.
Should I change my domain name when I rebuild?
Only if you have a real reason to, like a rebrand or a domain that doesn't match your business name. Changing the domain means Google re-evaluates everything at the new address. If your current domain has solid history, keeping it and rebuilding the site on it is lower risk.
How does Copyburst handle a broker website migration?
We start by mapping every existing URL to its new equivalent, then set up and test all redirects before launch. We also update the Google Business Profile link, check the new site is readable by Google on mobile, and monitor rankings in the weeks after the move.
Can Copyburst rebuild my website as part of an SEO plan?
Yes. We build broker websites as part of an SEO plan, so the structure, pages and content are set up to rank from day one. The migration is planned alongside the build so nothing is left to chance on launch day.
Your next steps
Start with the redirect map. List every page on your current site, match each one to its new equivalent, and make sure those redirects are in place before anything goes live. Then update your Google Business Profile link on launch day and check the new site works on a phone. If you want help with a broker website that ranks, book a call with the Copyburst team.
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Sources and further reading
This article provides general information about SEO, AI search and digital marketing for mortgage and finance brokers. It is not credit assistance, financial, legal or tax advice, and does not take into account your business circumstances. Search, ranking and lead outcomes vary and are not guaranteed. Figures are sourced from the organisations named and were current at the time of writing.