Blog

It’s no secret that having a well-optimized website is key to achieving good Google rankings. But what many business owners don’t realize is that a website redesign can undo some of your previous SEO work and cause you to fall in the search engine results pages (SERPs). In this blog post, we’ll discuss some SEO considerations to make before undergoing a website redesign. By following these tips, you can ensure that your hard-earned Google rankings won’t go to waste!

What will Website Redesign Consist of?

A website redesign simply means changing the features and functions of a website to improve its usability and appearance, often with specific business goals in mind. It can range from simply updating the design and layout of your existing site to completely rebuilding it from scratch. Although a website redesign consists of various stages and can be time-consuming, it ultimately accomplishes vital objectives which include but are not limited to:

• Increasing conversion rates and sales
• Reducing high bounce rates
• Improving UX
• Showcasing new branding
• Enhancing SEO

How Does a Website Redesign Impact SEO?

Generally, a website redesign is often followed by a drop in traffic and keyword rankings. A drop in traffic is never appealing, but there’s a solid cause behind it: search engines must crawl your updated site before they can deliver the new and improved version to their users, which frequently leads to a brief slump in search traffic. You’ll likely see a quick return to normal once they’ve figured out your new site’s architecture.

Keep Your Website Optimize after a Redesign

Rebuilding your website gives it a much-needed facelift while also allowing you to design and construct a site that is optimized for search engines, and you can make sure to keep it optimized.  Website redesigning should not be a one-time event but an ongoing journey to ensure your site is contemporary and visible.

To maintain SEO during and after a redesign, here are some essential tips.

1. Do a 301 redirect:

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another. When you change the URL of a page, it’s important to set up a 301 redirect so that users (and search engines) are automatically directed to the new page. This ensures that you don’t lose any SEO value from the original URL and prevents users from seeing 404 errors when they try to access your old pages.

2. Update your sitemap:

A sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the pages on your website. It’s important to update your sitemap whenever you make changes to your site so that search engines can find and index your new content.

3. Keep your keywords intact:

During a website redesign, it’s important to keep your core keywords intact. This means using the same keywords on your new site that you used on your old site. This will help you maintain your SEO rankings and ensure that users can still find your site when they search for those keywords.

4. Monitor your SEO progress:

After your website redesign is complete, it’s important to monitor your SEO progress. This means tracking your traffic levels and keyword rankings to see how your new site is performing in search engines. By monitoring your SEO progress, you can make sure that your redesign is having the desired effect and make any necessary changes to improve your SEO.

The bottom line

A website redesign can be a great way to improve your website’s appearance and usability. However, it’s important to keep SEO in mind during the redesign process so that you don’t lose any of your hard-earned SEO progress. By following the tips above, you can ensure that your website redesign won’t impact your SEO negatively.

Need assistance with your website redesign? Feel free to book a free consultation session or contact me at (888) 928-4587 for more information.