Why Ignoring Legacy URLs Can Cost You: A QC’s Role in SEO-Safe System Upgrades

By Mari – Test Engineer at Groove Technology

When most people think of software testing, they imagine finding bugs, checking UI alignment, or ensuring things don’t crash. But in my experience, there are moments where QC plays a much more strategic role—especially when it comes to system upgrades that affect the user experience and business performance behind the scenes.

Let me share a story that taught me just how critical the QC perspective can be—not just for system quality, but for business success too.

01. The Challenge I Walked Into Mid-Project

I joined a recruitment management software project that was already in full swing. At first glance, things looked stable—the team was handling feature enhancements, and the client seemed happy. Then came a request from the client that shifted everything: they wanted to improve SEO by converting job posting URLs into a new, more user-friendly format.

From a distance, it sounded straightforward. But the reality was far from it.

What no one had fully accounted for was the number of legacy URLs still in active use—hundreds of thousands of them. These older links were already indexed by search engines, shared across job boards, and embedded in email campaigns. Breaking even a small percentage of them could impact candidate access, destroy SEO rankings, and ultimately affect the client's recruitment performance.

Here’s the kicker: I didn’t even know the legacy URLs existed when I first reviewed the ticket. That’s what made this challenge not just technical—but strategic.

02. Why Legacy URLs Matter More Than You Think

SEO isn't just about keywords—it's about consistency, accessibility, and crawlability. In fact, 91% of web content gets zero organic traffic from Google, and broken or outdated URLs are a major contributor. When URLs are changed without proper redirects or validation, search engines treat it like a reset, which can cause a 40%–70% drop in page ranking for affected pages.

From a QC perspective, this transition carries hidden risks. It's not just about validating new URLs—it’s about protecting legacy access points. Every old URL potentially linked from external platforms, emails, or job boards represents an entry point for a user or a search crawler. If even 1% of hundreds of thousands of legacy links break, it could lead to thousands of lost visitors and a spike in support tickets.

In this project, every missed legacy URL risked tangible losses:

• A significant drop in search rankings and visibility
• Reduced candidate applications, impacting recruitment KPIs
• Frustration among users who encountered dead links
• More support tickets due to inaccessible job posts

For us, this wasn’t a technical clean-up—it was a mission-critical safeguard to preserve visibility and user trust.

03. My Testing Approach: From Discovery to Assurance

Once I understood the weight of the situation, I went back to the basics: context first.

I sat down with the dev team and the product owner to get a clear picture of how the current URL structures worked, and how the new ones were supposed to look. I asked questions not just about the implementation—but also about the user journey. Who would be using these links? From where? What happens if one breaks?

Then I started building my test plan. Instead of only validating the new format, I made sure we included every variation of the old one too. It took time, especially with so many formats floating around—but skipping that step wasn’t an option.

We ended up writing test cases that:

• Verified URL redirects from old to new formats
• Checked how URLs performed in different browsers and devices
• Simulated clicks from external job platforms and newsletters
• Measured response times and error handling for broken or malformed URLs

And before final release, I made sure we ran regression tests on the entire job listing and search module to ensure there were no side effects.

04. Lessons I Learned as a QC

One of the biggest takeaways from this experience is that system upgrades—especially those affecting SEO or public-facing features—require the QC mindset early on.

We’re not just here to catch bugs. We’re here to understand how real users interact with the system and protect the integrity of that experience.

In this case, it wasn’t enough to test “happy paths.” I had to explore edge cases, forgotten behaviors, and unexpected consequences. And that only happens when you ask the right questions:

• What does the client assume will continue to work?
• What does the user expect to see?
• What happens if something goes wrong—and how will it be noticed?

This isn’t glamorous testing. It’s patient, detailed, and at times, repetitive. But it’s the kind of testing that saves your client’s SEO score—and their trust.

05. Advice for Testers Joining Ongoing Projects

If you’re ever brought into a project midway like I was, here’s what I’ve learned:

First, don’t rush into writing test cases until you understand the full picture. It’s easy to fall into the trap of testing only what’s described in the current sprint. But sometimes, the real risks live outside the sprint scope.

Second, assume there’s more legacy logic than you’ve been told. Ask to see past release notes, browse the existing database or staging environments, and talk to the developers who’ve been on the project the longest.

And lastly, always verify the business impact. If something looks like a “cosmetic” change, ask how it affects marketing, sales, or user retention. You might discover, like I did, that your test case has long-term implications beyond the app itself.

06. Final Thoughts: QC is a Strategic Partner, Not Just a Gatekeeper

In software development, QC is often seen as the final checkpoint before release. But in reality, we’re much more than that. We’re the ones who zoom out, ask uncomfortable questions, and prevent oversights that others may not think to consider.

System migrations and upgrades are never just technical challenges—they’re also moments where trust, usability, and performance hang in the balance. In the case of legacy URLs, it wasn’t just about making sure something worked. It was about preserving access, protecting visibility, and delivering peace of mind for the client.

If your QC team is deeply involved in these discussions, you’re not just building better software—you’re building a better experience for everyone who touches it.

Mari is a Test Engineer at Groove Technology, specializing in risk-based testing that safeguards functionality and SEO performance during system upgrades.