How To Avoid SEO Disaster During A Website Redesign
To want to avoid SEO disaster during web redesign is as natural as fear of the dentist! A website redesign can be an exciting and necessary step for any business looking to improve its online presence and user experience. However, it also comes with risks, particularly when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO). Many businesses have seen a significant drop in organic traffic and rankings after a redesign, which can negatively affect their visibility and revenue.
To prevent an SEO disaster during a redesign, it’s essential to plan and execute with SEO in mind from the start. Here are some key steps to ensure a smooth transition while maintaining or even improving your SEO performance:
1. Conduct a thorough SEO audit: Before you begin the redesign, carry out a comprehensive SEO audit of your current website. This will help you identify any existing SEO issues that need to be fixed so they don’t carry over to the new site. Focus on areas like site structure, URL structure, meta tags, content quality, and your backlink profile.
2. Set up proper 301 redirects: A common mistake during a redesign is forgetting to set up 301 redirects. If URLs change, you must redirect the old ones to the new ones so users and search engines can still find your content. Failing to do this can result in broken links, lost traffic, and lower rankings.
3. Preserve valuable content: Make sure to keep any high-performing content that drives organic traffic to your site. Carry over pages, blog posts, and other content that ranks well. If you have to delete or merge content, set up redirects or create new, optimised content to replace it.
4. Optimise for mobile: With the increasing use of mobile devices, it’s crucial that your redesigned website is mobile-friendly. Google now uses mobile-first indexing, meaning the mobile version of your site is the primary version for determining rankings. Ensure your new site is responsive and optimised for mobile users to avoid a drop in rankings.
5. Monitor and test: After the redesign, it’s important to keep an eye on your new site for any SEO issues. Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track changes in organic traffic, rankings, and user behaviour. If you notice sudden drops in traffic or rankings, address the issues as soon as possible.
A website redesign can be a fantastic opportunity to enhance your online presence and user experience, but it also carries risks in terms of SEO. By following these steps and keeping SEO in focus throughout the process, you can avoid any major issues and help your site maintain or even improve its visibility and rankings.