Problem: Minimizing a Web site redesign's negative impact on organic search traffic.
By Brian Kaminski
April 3, 2006
Solution: Some of the biggest improvements in organic search traffic and revenue come following a redesign of a site. It's one of the best times to make those difficult changes to your URL structure, source code and internal linking—all of which will benefit your site long term. Ideally, URLs should be concise and contain relevant keywords. Source code should allow spiders quick access to your content and internal links should be keyword-rich and text-based.
If you are changing your URL, you will also need to update any important links from other Web sites to your site. A good way to identify these is to type your URL into the search field at Google; you'll then be given the option to find Web pages that link to you. You can also check the list of referring Web sites in your analytics package; contact these sites and ask them to update their link. This request works best when it is accompanied by some sort of reward for changing the link. The incentive does not have to be monetary, as access to special content or a new tool often works just as well.
In addition, during this time many companies re-evaluate their content and messaging. In general, a page of your site should target no more than two keywords. Tools such as Wordtracker and the Yahoo! Keyword Selector Tool offer query information that will help you identify good keywords.
After your site has launched, you should see fluctuation in your rankings as traffic and your new pages are indexed and the linking value is transferred over. However, following these tactics will allow you to get the maximum benefit from organic search during your site update.
