Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) offer companies powerful opportunities to scale, diversify, and enter new markets. But from an SEO perspective, M&A can also be a high-risk transition point. Without a clearly defined M&A SEO strategy before, during, and after the acquisition, businesses risk losing years of hard-won search visibility, traffic, and trust.
A well-structured SEO plan during M&A ensures that your digital presence doesn’t just survive the transition—it thrives. In this guide, we’ll break down what that looks like and how to protect your search equity while positioning the combined business for stronger organic growth.
Why SEO Is Critical During Mergers and Acquisitions
During an M&A event, two (or more) brands, websites, and digital strategies are brought together. That means multiple domains, varying content quality, mixed backlink profiles, different CMS platforms, and distinct brand voices. SEO helps unify this complexity while minimising risk.
Key benefits of strong SEO during M&A:
- Preserve existing rankings and traffic
- Transfer domain authority safely
- Maintain customer trust through consistent user experience
- Consolidate valuable content and remove duplication
- Lay the foundation for a unified digital strategy post-merger
Ignoring SEO during M&A can lead to:
- Traffic drops from lost backlinks and poor redirects
- Duplicate content issues and keyword cannibalisation
- Confused users and broken navigation paths
- Reduced visibility during critical brand repositioning
Pre-Merger SEO: Laying the Foundation
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SEO Due Diligence and Site Audit
Start with a comprehensive SEO audit of both the acquiring and acquired websites. This includes:
- Technical health: crawl errors, speed, mobile-friendliness
- Keyword visibility: what terms each domain ranks for
- Content performance: identifying high-traffic, high-converting pages
- Backlink profiles: volume and quality of inbound links
- Potential risks: spammy backlinks, outdated or thin content
This step helps determine the true SEO value of each asset and surfaces any liabilities that may impact post-merger performance.
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Domain and Content Strategy
Decide early whether to consolidate into one domain or keep separate brand sites. Consider:
- Brand positioning
- Organic performance of each site
- Geographic or audience segmentation
If consolidating, plan content mapping:
- Which pages will be migrated, merged, or removed?
- Which topics have overlap or gaps?
- How will messaging and tone align across entities?
A detailed URL mapping spreadsheet is crucial for redirect planning and avoiding orphaned content.
During the Merger: Executing SEO Migration and Integration
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Smart Website Migration
A poorly handled migration can destroy SEO gains. Critical elements of a successful SEO migration include:
- 301 Redirects: Redirect every old URL to its new equivalent to preserve link equity and traffic. Avoid 404s.
- Sitemap Consolidation: Submit updated sitemaps to Google Search Console.
- Internal Linking: Update all links to reflect the new structure and eliminate broken paths.
- Canonical Tags: Ensure canonical tags point to the correct new URLs.
- Brand Transition Messaging: Retain traffic for legacy brand terms by using messaging like “formerly [Old Brand]”.
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Content Consolidation
Review content across both sites for duplication or keyword cannibalisation. Then:
- Merge similar content into stronger unified pages
- Delete outdated or low-performing content
- Optimise headings, meta descriptions, and internal links
This process ensures clarity for users and improves ranking potential by focusing on relevance.
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Technical SEO Checks
Run a post-launch crawl to identify:
- Redirect chains or loops
- Missing metadata
- Broken links or images
- Mobile responsiveness and page speed issues
Technical stability is key to maintaining search visibility and user experience during transition.
Post-Merger SEO: Building Momentum
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Backlink Profile Review and Recovery
Rebuild and retain authority by:
- Contacting high-value sites that are linked to old URLs and asking for updated links
- Using tools like Ahrefs to find broken backlinks post-redirect
- Disavowing toxic backlinks inherited during the acquisition
Also, look for backlink opportunities from PR coverage of the merger.
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Re-Optimise for Unified Keyword Strategy
Merge keyword strategies from both brands into one cohesive plan:
- Identify overlaps and gaps in keyword coverage
- Align with your new combined offerings and market positioning
- Create new content to target missed opportunities and future growth areas
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Monitor, Measure, and Adapt
Set up clear KPIs to track success:
- Organic traffic to the merged site
- Rankings for legacy brand keywords and new priority terms
- Backlink growth and authority metrics
- Bounce rate and time on page
Use Google Analytics and Search Console to monitor performance, flag issues, and refine strategy.
Long-Term Benefits of SEO in M&A
When done right, SEO during M&A doesn’t just avoid traffic losses—it strengthens the new brand’s visibility and accelerates ROI.
Benefits include:
- Faster indexing and trust for the new brand
- Higher keyword visibility across a broader content footprint
- Greater user retention through consistent UX
- Improved brand authority through integrated link profiles
A strategic SEO approach aligns with overall business goals—whether expanding market share, streamlining operations, or entering new verticals.
Content Consolidation and Messaging Alignment
When merging websites, duplicate or overlapping content is inevitable. Rather than simply deleting or combining pages at random, conduct a full content audit and plan for thoughtful consolidation.
Steps include:
- Map Existing Content: Identify duplicate topics, redundant service pages, and content gaps.
- Preserve High Performers: Keep or repurpose high-traffic, high-ranking pages from both sites.
- Unify Brand Voice: Ensure all merged content reflects a single tone, value proposition, and message.
- Avoid Keyword Cannibalisation: Merge or redirect pages that compete for the same keywords.
A strategic content plan allows the new brand to retain valuable organic visibility while presenting a cohesive experience to users and search engines.
Backlink Retention and Link Equity
M&A activity can jeopardise one of the most powerful SEO assets: backlinks. If redirects are poorly executed or key pages are removed, link equity can be lost overnight.
Mitigation steps:
- Crawl the Acquired Site’s Link Profile: Use tools like Ahrefs or Majestic to identify high-value inbound links.
- Redirect to Relevant Equivalents: Redirect old URLs to matching pages with similar intent, not just the homepage.
- Monitor Referring Domains: After the merger, watch for broken backlinks and reach out to update them.
- Preserve Linkable Assets: Maintain popular guides, tools, or resources that attract external links.
Done well, this protects your domain authority and may even strengthen it by combining trusted backlink profiles.
Post-Migration SEO Monitoring and Site Health Checks
Once the new site goes live, monitoring is critical. It’s normal for traffic to fluctuate, but sharp declines can signal technical issues.
Key post-migration practices:
- Check Crawl Errors: Use Google Search Console to monitor for 404s, soft 404s, and redirect loops.
- Validate Indexing: Ensure that new and redirected pages are being indexed correctly.
- Monitor Organic Rankings: Track keywords from both legacy sites to ensure they’re transferring to the new domain.
- Compare Analytics: Look at traffic, bounce rate, and conversions for baseline comparison.
Schedule technical audits at 30-, 60-, and 90-day intervals post-launch.
Long-Term SEO Growth Strategy
Once stability is achieved, shift focus to growth:
- New Keyword Research: Explore opportunities based on combined offerings, services, or markets.
- Content Expansion: Create new service pages, blog content, or downloadable assets that reflect the larger entity.
- Competitor Benchmarking: Track rankings against old and new competitors in your industry.
- Ongoing Link Building: Secure backlinks through digital PR, partnerships, and outreach campaigns.
Treat the merged site as a fresh SEO asset with increased potential—not just a legacy rebrand.
FAQs - SEO for Mergers and Acquisitions
