The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
August 2007, Volume 6, Issue 8

3… 2… 1… Re-launch! How to Ensure a Successful Website Transition

by Michael Fujioka, Search Marketing Specialist, iProspect

A site re-launch can be a nerve racking, stress inducing, and resource draining endeavor. Project timelines are often tight, expectations are high, and the nature of the project requires integration between an organization’s marketing and IT departments – which can always be tricky. Add to this SEO concerns about a potential drop in rankings and organic traffic, and there are many ways for this complex, yet often very necessary, project to go wrong. However, with a well thought out and skillfully executed strategy, the long-term benefits of a website re-launch can be immense.

Below are some key factors that should be taken into consideration for a successful site re-launch.

New Content and Site Architecture

A site re-launch is the perfect time to implement SEO best practices, but it also provides a unique opportunity to completely redesign the site’s layout, content, and navigational structure. Ideally, theses two tasks should be integrated. This begins by knowing your existing and potential customer base. What type of content do they like? Are they impulsive or deliberate in their decisions? How can you categorize users into different types of ‘personas,’ and can these personas be further classified by the type of keywords they use?

With this information in mind, design your site such that relevant keywords describing your brand, as well as features and benefits of your products/services, are targeted at key entry points to your site. The entry points, or “landing pages,” should subsequently provide related content and a straightforward conversion path for users.

The content users choose to view and the resulting user experience is not necessarily set in stone. Users are free to roam your entire site with ease; however, it is important for them to begin at a point that provides information that is tailored to their search intent and one that provides the most expeditious path to conversion.

Alert the Engines

When going through a site re-launch it is important to inform the engines that your site has changed permanently, and that new pages have been added, or that they have replaced old pages. This can be done in a number of ways, and I’ve outlined a few below. If you follow these guidelines, you can ensure that any drop in rankings and organic traffic during and after your re-launch will be minimized, and that new pages are indexed as quickly as possible.

If pages on your site already have rankings on targeted keyword phrases, consider keeping these pages and integrating them into the new site. If old pages are replaced and new pages are added in their place, make sure to use 301 redirects from old pages to the corresponding new pages. This not only helps the engines find the new pages, but also automatically brings existing users who have bookmarked your site to the relevant new pages.

Also, don’t forget to update your directory listings after the new site is re-launched, and try to update as many inbound links that point to your old pages as possible. In addition, be sure to submit old and new versions of your sitemap to the engines until all old content is purged from their indices.

Paid Support

It’s also a good idea to boost your paid search expenditures during re-launch time to offset losses in organic rankings and traffic (as well as to drive traffic to any new content). Focus on your most important traffic-driving and brand-specific search terms, and launch a Google Adwords and Yahoo! paid search campaign. After the re-launch, consider implementing a Yahoo! paid inclusion campaign. This will ensure that Yahoo! quickly indexes your new pages and includes them in their search results within 48 hours.

A site re-launch should be an exciting time, full of promise and new potential. Following the guidelines mentioned above is a good start, but it is important to begin the planning process as far in advance as possible. This will allow for proper coordination and planning of any changes that are complicated or difficult to execute and will allow the project to move forward smoothly without getting bogged down by unforeseen complications. If successful, your new site will have the potential to bring in a greater volume of organic traffic while simultaneously converting that traffic at a higher rate.

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The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article: August 2007, Volume 6, Issue 8

3… 2… 1… Re-launch! How to Ensure a Successful Website Transition

The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
August 2007, Volume 6, Issue 8