Quick SEO Checklist for Site Redesign
Prepare for a website redesign or a CMS migration from an SEO standpoint to avoid losing ranking and traffic
Prepare for a website redesign or a CMS migration from an SEO standpoint to avoid losing ranking and traffic
We’ve all heard horror stories of traffic plummeting after a site redesign or CMS migration. These projects can have major impact on ranking and therefore traffic if not handled right. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind that could save some headaches.
1) Know your Site
During a website redesign, URLs will most likely change. If they do, you have to inform the search engines where the old URLs have moved to. If you don’t, it can destroy your SEO. To prevent this, crawl the site to reveal as many URLs as possible.
2) Perform an Inbound Link Analysis
Inbound links have been increasingly important for SEO in the past months. You need to understand your risk profile by performing an inbound link analysis.
3) Have a 301 Redirect Plan
This is THE plan you absolutely need for any redesign from an SEO standpoint. All old pages need to have a 301 redirect to the new ones.
4) Have an SEO Audit Conducted
You need to understand what needs to be improved and have a 360 degree view of your site SEO. This is why a full SEO audit will allow you to not miss anything.
5) Analyze Site Reporting Data
Set up dashboards in Google Analytics or your proprietary tool that will enable you to compare the traffic before and after the redesign or the migration. Be sure to include the proper filters taking into account the old and the new URLs or page titles.
6) Don’t Drop Current On-Page Optimization
Redesigns are sometimes focused on one aspect of the site performance or on only one aspect, such as design. All current on-page optimization and keyword-based optimization need to be kept and improved. A lot of redesigns mean worsening the site current optimization.
Getting rid of valuable optimized pages will affect the site ranking and therefore the traffic.
7) Set up Webmaster Accounts
Set them up for Bing and Google. These are great tools to monitor if everything goes well (the accounts show you if the errors increase during the redesign or the migration) and to tell Google what you are doing.
8) Vet Content Management Systems (CMS)
Not all CMS tools are right for you. Audit the tools when picking a CMS from an SEO standpoint to make sure the migration does not affect your rankings.
9) Great Design and Programming Ability Don’t Translate To Great SEO
Make sure they understand the impact of the design and the codes they are crafting. Not all designers and programmers think about SEO when suggesting solutions. This is where a good communication between the teams is critical to prepare for a successful redesign or migration.