Migrating a Legacy Giant – Case study

November 27, 2025

How we migrated a ten-year-old legacy brand with no downtime

When you run a dating brand, upgrading your tech can feel risky because you don’t want to harm the traffic you’ve worked hard to build.

At HubPeople we have heard it many times. You have a “legacy” brand, maybe it’s been running successfully for many years. It has strong Domain Authority, loyal users, and a steady stream of organic traffic. However, it appears dated, and its ranking is starting to slip. You know you need to move, but you’re terrified of breaking the SEO foundation you’ve built over a decade.

We moved LetsMeetUp, a high-performing brand built on SEO, onto our new Hubbi platform. This upgrade prepares it for Google algorithm changes, future AI search, and new marketing opportunities.

Here is how we did it, and why your “Dated Brand” should be next.

The August 2025 Slump

LetsMeetUp has been a consistent performer since 2013, generating 500+ registrations a day purely through SEO, with a solid 3.43% upgrade conversion rate.

Then came August.

As many of you in the dating sector (particularly adult brands) know, the Google Core Update in late August shifted the landscape. Rankings fluctuated, and impression volumes for many established sites dropped. Dramatically!

We saw the writing on the wall: Relying on a single Route to Market (SEO) is no longer a safety net. It’s a liability.

We needed an Omnichannel strategy. We needed to be everywhere our users were, Google, Bing, Social, and, importantly, in their pockets via Native Apps.

The Migration

The fear of migration is usually about data loss, a drop in registration and ultimately revenue. To combat this, our approach was forensic.

Before moving a single thing, we audited years of Search Console, analytics, and BI data. We identified the high-performing search queries, locations and pages, and really importantly, the specific demographics that made the brand tick.

When we moved LetsMeetUp to Hubbi, we didn’t just “copy-paste.” We evolved it:

Seamless Transition: We ensured all domains pointed correctly, monitoring Search Console in real-time to ensure zero drop in performance.
Visual Refresh: We modernised the look and feel to compete with 2024 standards, but kept the core brand identity intact so we didn’t alienate the loyal user base.
Content Explosion: We didn’t just migrate; we expanded. We built 30 new SEO-optimised pages (Home, 25 articles, 4 landing pages) to cast a wider net on Google and Bing.

The Result? We migrated a massive, data-heavy legacy brand with no loss in performance.

The Revenue Lift

The real value of migrating a legacy dating brand isn’t just about launching an app, it’s about giving the entire brand a modern engine that performs across every channel without risking the SEO foundations you’ve spent years building.

We know from our data on other niche brands (like Grounded) that moving onto Hubbi opened new growth paths:

Web Conversion: 3.38% (all sources)
iOS App Conversion: 12.57%
Revenue Per User (RPU): 124% higher on App vs. other sources.

One of the biggest advantages after migration is the ability to activate new routes to market instantly. For LetsMeetUp, this included launching native apps, something that would have been almost impossible on its legacy setup.

The HubPeople team handled everything required for a frictionless rollout:

All compliance and privacy requirements
Technical configuration (Bundle IDs, SKUs, APNs, Associated Domains)
Full monetisation setup with approved subscriptions and in-app purchases

What normally takes weeks of trial and error was handled end-to-end, letting the brand expand into the App Store without slowing down day-to-day performance.

The result is an ecosystem that supports every user

In an incredibly short space of time, we didn’t just “save” a brand; we supercharged it.

LetsMeetUp is now a fully formed brand entity:

Migrated to Hubbi with zero SEO penalty.
New Modern Look and feel
30+ New Pages indexed and ranking.
Social Media Ecosystem launched with a content calendar.
Google Ads account verified with Dating Certification Policy approved.
Native Apps live and are generating registrations.

Is Your Brand Ready for a Refresh?

There are thousands of dating sites out there that have great domains and history but are bleeding money due to server costs, lack of updates, or reliance on old SEO tactics.

You don’t need to start again; you just need a platform built for the next decade of dating.

HubPeople can migrate your brand with no downtime, refresh your entire presence, and open new marketing channels without risking your SEO.

Ready to migrate? Let’s talk.