If you have been considering a web site redesign, think of it as an opportunity to also increase your site's look for engine optimization (SEO). Numerous webmasters with websites that rank even pretty well within the look for engine result pages (SERPs) worry that redesigning their web site may possibly destroy their keyword rankings and consequently their site's free organic world wide web traffic. But a redesign can definitely be a golden opportunity to increase the SEO of one's web site and increase its organic look for visitors dramatically.
SEO Internet site Review
Before embarking over a web site redesign project, you should take in inventory of what you're making proper and what you're making wrong inside your existing web site from an SEO perspective. Perform a thorough seo site review of all on-site and on-page look for engine ranking causes and document your findings. This document is going to be used later to set look for engine optimization goals to your newly redesigned site.
SEO Rankings and Targeted visitors Baselines
You have to have baseline measurements to your existing site's keyword rankings and organic visitors volume ahead of commencing any redesign work. These baselines can then be used after your newly redesigned web site goes live to determine regardless of whether the SEO goals to your project have been met.
If you're not already with a world wide web analytics package, you should think about having one. Google Analytics is free and is excellent for gaining insight into your site's traffic. Pay unique attention to which URLs on your existing web site are having organic visitors within the seo optimization tips and the look for phrases used to find individuals URLs within the SERPs. This info is going to be invaluable as soon as optimizing the pages of one's newly redesigned site.
You need to also pull weekly ranking reports for not only the keyword phrases that you are targeting but also the keyword phrases observed as soon as reviewing your existing organic visitors using your world wide web analytics software. It is recommended that you simply pull the ranking reports weekly for a minimum of quite a few weeks ahead of commencing your web site redesign project.
The Internet site Redesign
Once you're armed inside your SEO web site review, have reviewed your organic visitors through your world wide web analytics package, and have keyword rankings to your site's most essential keyword phrases, you possibly can begin planning and working on your web site redesign. The very first step within the program is figuring out what you need to alter about your existing site.
Document all of one's web site redesign and SEO goals thoroughly. This need to include not only aesthetic and usability changes but also SEO related changes to elements like the company of one's site, your navigation structures and interlinking of pages, SEO friendly URLs, coding standards, etc. If there's one thing you need to alter about the web site from an SEO perspective, it is greatest to try and do it all at once inside your redesign.
Work out your web site model on paper ahead of 1 line of code is written. Use wire frames to model your document layouts. Produce mockups of each kind of document since it will glimpse over a redesigned site. Include as quite a few from the SEO elements as most likely over a mockups - top navigation, left navigation (if applicable), footer links (if applicable), the h1 element, h2 elements, etc. Use the mockups to detect and solve usability and SEO related problems ahead of you begin coding. If you rename or delete any URLs on your web site as component from the redesign then be sure to implement 301 redirects so that the new URLs will get credit score for inbound links to the old URLs.
Once you're satisfied inside your new web site design, turn the developer(s) loose to implement your changes.
Testing Your Internet site Redesign
It is incredibly essential to thoroughly test your redesigned world wide web site. Test all pages over a web site from a functional, usability, and SEO perspective. Review the HTML source code for each from the pages on your site. Check all on-page ranking causes like the title, meta description, h1, and h2 elements. Make certain all links are either SEO friendly text links or image links. Check that all image links have the alt attribute set properly since it is regarded as the link text for an image link.
Do not forget to document and, if possible, test the program of upgrading your site. If you have a development environment, install a copy from the existing web site and go through the program of upgrading. If you encounter any problems as soon as diagnostic tests the upgrade, modify the program and documentation to alter for your issue, and try it again. Repeat the program until you're comfortable that you simply have a sound plan.
Once you're satisfied that your redesigned web site is working properly and meets all of one's SEO goals, you're capable to go live from the new web site design. If possible schedule the upgrade for a non-peak time of day. If your web site has seasonal traffic, schedule the upgrade for your off-season.
After Your Internet site Redesign is Live
Once your web site redesign is live, you'll need to monitor your web site closely. Continue to pull weekly keyword ranking reports and to monitor your world wide web analytics. Pay particular attention to pages that received a lot of organic visitors ahead of the redesign went live. Use Google's Webmaster Tools to monitor elements like 404 Not Discovered errors.
Expect to determine a temporary drop in rankings and visitors as the look for engines absorb all the changes you made as component from the redesign. However, if you planned, tested, and executed your web site redesign well then rankings and visitors need to return stronger than ever after several days, weeks, or most likely even a month or 2 depending over a extent of changes made to the site.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Website Redesign and SEO - Plan to Win
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