A website relaunch is an excellent opportunity to improve the design, functionality and usability of your website. However, at CSW.AGENCY we know that a relaunch also poses risks to existing SEO rankings. To ensure that your website continues to rank well in search engines after the relaunch, there are some best practices that we recommend.
New link structure must be transferred to Google via Webmaster Tools
After a relaunch, it is essential to submit the new link structure to Google. By using the Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools), Google can quickly find and index the new URLs. This helps to maintain the visibility of your website in the search results.
- Updated sitemap: An updated sitemap containing all new URLs should be submitted to Google Search Console.
- URL change report: The URL change report in the Search Console informs Google about the changes in the URL structure.
A 301 forwarding concept is indispensable
A well thought-out 301 redirect concept is crucial for transferring existing SEO values and backlinks to the new URLs. A 301 redirect tells the search engines that a page has been permanently moved and redirects all the „link juice“ to the new URL.
- Planning and implementation: Creating a list of all old URLs and their new equivalents and setting up 301 redirects on the server are of great importance here.
If necessary, images should also be forwarded via 301
It is often overlooked that images should also be redirected in order to maintain SEO value. Images that rank well in the search results should also be redirected to the new image URLs via 301 redirection.
- Recording and forwarding: Capturing all image URLs and setting up 301 redirects for these images ensures that they can still be found in the image search.
Other important points in the relaunch
In addition to the measures mentioned above, there are other important aspects that should be taken into account during the relaunch in order to maintain ranking positions:
- SEO audit before the relaunch: A comprehensive SEO audit before the relaunch helps to understand which pages and content currently rank well and why. This makes it possible to retain or improve these elements.
- Content migration: A correct migration of all important content is essential to avoid the loss of content that ranks well or has many backlinks.
- Internal linking: Checking and adapting the internal linking to the new structure helps search engines to better understand and index the website.
- Technical SEO checks: After the relaunch, technical SEO aspects such as loading times, mobile optimization and the correct implementation of schema markup should be checked.
- Monitoring and analysis: The performance of the website after the relaunch should be monitored closely. Tools such as Google Analytics and the Google Search Console help to identify and rectify problems at an early stage.
- Communication with stakeholders: It is important to inform all relevant stakeholders about the relaunch and the associated changes. This also includes external partners who link to the website.
CSW.AGENCY is your experienced SEO agency for a successful website relaunch. With our expertise in SEO and web development, we ensure that your website not only looks good after the relaunch, but also continues to rank well in search engines.
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