How to Redesign Your Site without Shaking Up Your SEO Results
Many business owners mistakenly believe SEO does not require continuous monitoring. However, search engine optimization needs ongoing attention if you want to optimize your return on investment and reap the possible rewards. Aside from Google algorithm updates, one of the main things that can affect your website’s visibility is any changes you may make to it. The San Diego web design specialists at Saba SEO share a few tips on how to redesign your website without affecting your SEO results.
Download Your Old Site’s URL Structure
Redesigning a website typically means making changes that alter its URL structure. Avoid unintentionally omitting anything that might impact your ranking, and make sure to download your original site’s URL structure. There are plugins you can use to download your sitemap to make this task easier.
Use a Temporary URL During the Redesign Process
It can be tempting to just tinker with your existing site as you go about redesigning it. However, making changes to the existing site could cause problems for visitors and affect the site’s performance. When redesigning the website, it’s not a good idea to block access to certain pages that could inspire conversions. Instead, copy your site and set it up on a temporary URL. You can also ask your hosting company to do this for you, or get some help from a developer.
Test Your New Website
After everything is copied to your new site, take a moment to test the website. There are plenty of handy tools you can use to do a comprehensive check of your new site and look for anything that needs attention. Pay particular attention to:
• Internal and external links
• Basic website features
• HTML and CSS
Set Up Your 301 Redirects
The purpose of a 301 redirect is to send visitors and search engines to a different URL. If you’ve made some subtle changes to your URLs, you’ll definitely want to make sure appropriate redirects are set up so searchers and search engines are taken to the correct page. With 301s, anywhere from 90 to 99 percent of your ranking power may be transferred.
Launch Your Newly Redesigned Website
Now that your newly redesigned website is ready, you can officially launch it. You may want to do this in stages if you have a fairly large site. For instance, you might start by debuting the lower ranking landing pages first and then save the higher ranking pages for last. It can also be helpful to promote your redesigned site. Some businesses promote their newly restructured sites by:
• Issuing an online press release
• Making the announcement via email
• Telling followers on social media
Finally, check your Google Analytics (GA) reports after your newly redesigned website is up and running. GA also allows you to compare data from previous periods, which helps you determine if your individual website pages are still performing at the same level. If you pay attention to the right details, your updated website might even produce better results than what you were seeing previously.
At Saba SEO, we can help you redesign your website without affecting your online visibility. As a leading SEO company in San Diego, we have developed websites and improved the search engine rankings of businesses all over the globe. Our team relies on a variety of white hat tactics to help organizations reach out to more customers online and attract high-quality leads. We provide search engine optimization, web design, content development, social media management, and paid marketing services. Call one of our SEO Managers at 858-951-1717 to schedule an appointment.