The Problem

Major Acquisition Warrants Simultaneous Sunsetting and Synchronizing

StoneX’s acquisition of Global Asset Advisors, a well-known futures broker, necessitated a fresh look that aligned with the primary StoneX identity, which meant sunsetting several brands by redirecting and archiving numerous pages on the current websites. Many existing pages demonstrated a considerably high traffic volume and notable search engine authority. One significant challenge would be migrating this content without negatively impacting traffic or search ranking.

Typically in such a case, a company’s marketing agency would simply take the existing website and redesign it with updated StoneX branding. However, the SmartBug team strongly recommended against this strategy, understanding that performing redirects may be more risky but could sustain website performance if executed properly. This redirect solution required high-level collaboration between both teams to develop a detailed plan of action—in this case, the strategic preparation was equally as critical as the project execution.

Working with a limited budget, SmartBug made the executive decision to stretch the timeline slightly to prioritize steady, meaningful progress. The plan would involve conducting a comprehensive SEO audit, then systematically categorizing content and creating topic clusters to ensure every piece of content had a home post-migration. The StoneX team took initiative as well, quickly learning the ins and outs of HubSpot so they could assist with approving, migrating, and repurposing content.