Search Engine Journal (Jan 2025): 523-day average recovery from domain migration (n=892); 17% never recover by 1,000 days
Claim: Search Engine Journal study (Dan Taylor, January 9, 2025) of 892 domain migrations: average time for the destination domain to recover the source domain's organic traffic level was 523 days. 17% of migrations did not recover to prior levels within 1,000 days.
Quote (Taylor, SEJ Jan 9, 2025):
"On average, it took 523 days for Domain B to show the same level of organic traffic as Domain A. 17% of domain migrations in the sample didn't see organic traffic return to the same levels after 1,000 days."
Source: Search Engine Journal — https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ (Dan Taylor, Jan 9, 2025).
Confidence: Verified (multi-sample primary study).
Why this is the stronger statistic to lead with: The widely-repeated "9 of 10 migrations fail" framing (see "9 of 10 web migrations fail" — single-sourced (Numen Technology); use 523-day SEJ stat instead) is single-sourced and unverifiable. The 523-day SEJ figure is from a primary study with n=892. Use 523 days as the lead statistic in Candid client conversations about migration cost — it sets a defensible "year and a half" planning horizon and is sourced.
Referenced by (12)
- reference "9 of 10 web migrations fail" — single-sourced (Numen Technology); use 523-day SEJ stat instead relates-to
- reference UK retailer lost ~£3.8M in first month after botched migration — IT consultants rejected redirect mapping relates-to
- reference Coalition Tech "Client ABC" BigCommerce migration: 28,000 → 13,400 ranking keywords in 10 months relates-to
- reference Counter-example: well-planned migrations can produce 3-5× traffic gains (BrightEdge / Numen case studies) relates-to
- reference Research brief: Owning your stack — why agency-managed platforms cost more than they save (piece 4 of 15) relates-to
- reference Boucher & Jones IA recommendation: Pattern A + hub-and-spoke, NOT enterprise matrix relates-to
- reference Reference framework: which website dimensions decay vs compound over 10 years (12-dimension matrix) relates-to
- reference Reference framework: 10-year cost model — rebuild-every-3-years vs foundation-first (Canadian SMB, CAD) depends-on
- rule RULE: Design every Candid client site for a 10-year operational horizon. Rebuild is a choice, not a forced move. depends-on
- rule RULE: Treat URL/slug design as a 10-year decision. Never let a slug change without a 301 redirect. depends-on
- reference Research brief: The Candid Creative WordPress Migration Playbook (piece 19) depends-on
- reference Clarification: the SEJ 892-migration study explicitly measures domain-to-domain moves, NOT same-domain CMS swaps supersedes