URL Switch Test - Setup to Test URL Redirections

What is a URL Switch Test?

A URL Switch Test compares search performance before and after a URL redirect or migration, tracking how the new URL performs compared to the original URL.

Why is a URL Switch Test useful?

If you've put a redirect in place and want to know whether the new URL is inheriting the traffic and ranking performance of the old one, a URL Switch Test tracks this directly: it compares search performance before and after the switch so you can confirm the redirect has worked as intended or catch a problem early.

How to set up a URL Switch Test

Within your SEOTesting dashboard, select the website at the top of the screen that you wish to set up the test for. Click on the ‘Tests’ link on the left-hand navigation bar, and then click on the 'Actions' button on the top right.

Select 'Create' from the dropdown:

Click on the ‘URL Switch Test’ option:

You will be redirected to a new page allowing you to enter the details of your URL Switch Test:

Start by entering the name of your test, adding a description to let you and your colleagues know what the test’s purpose is, and add any tags that you wish to add. Click 'Next'.

Note: We advise adding as much description as possible. When you look back at your tests in the future, having a good description will help you remember exactly what changes have been made.

Enter the old URL in the ‘Old URLs’ box, and enter the redirected URL into the ‘New URLs’ box:

In 'Optional Settings', enter (if needed) the Country Filter you want to use or leave it blank if you want to track this URL change across all countries and territories. Click 'Next'.

Enter the date the change was made, and select the time frame you’d like the test to run for. Click 'Next'.

Note: If you want to run a backtest (a change made in the past), enter the date the change was made in the above box. This will allow SEOTesting to configure the dates based on that date.

If you want to track GA4 events during your test, click on ‘Load GA4 Events’. Select whether you want an email to be sent to your account when the test has been processed and completed, and if you want it to display on graphs:

Click on the ‘Create Test’ button at the bottom of your screen.

Your test will now be processed.

Interpreting your results:

To read more about how to interpret your test results, including how to generate quick AI summaries for any test - read this next support article - https://support.seotesting.com/en/article/interpreting-your-test-results-h76zao/

Updated on: 04/06/2026

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