Making Huge Changes To A High Ranking Page

packerfan · 12-31-2011, 03:26 PM

Disclaimer: This turned out to be way longer than expected. Sorry, and thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

I have a site that started as an MFA site back when I knew way less than I do now.

The homepage of the site ranks #4 for a pretty tough keyword.
homepage/another keyword - ranks #2 for a pretty tough keyword
homepage/another keyword - ranks #3 for a pretty tough keyword

The site has another 50 or so pages/posts.

There is a ton of randomness to the architecture. Like I said, I didn't know much.

Fast forward to today. I'm going to redesign the site and change how it monetized.

A little about how the site is structured.

The current homepage is a 2,000ish word article.

I have tons of random navigation that makes no sense. (Literally have a list of every post and post in the WP side bar)

</background information>

What I Want To Do:

I want to turn the homepage into more of a traditional homepage. Not a place where they come to read an article about the keyword.

Then I'm going to re categorize the posts, etc.
I'm planning on just leaving the other two high ranking pages alone. They are serving their purpose.

My Kinda Sorta Plan

Does anyone have any experience with this?

My plan right now is provide plenty of text on the homepage, but it won't in the form of an article. Here's an image of how I plan to provide the text, and navigation.

(i forgot to mention I'm a graphic design wizard. I can make a image like this in photoshop for you less than $500)

Anyway, I will probably have maybe 8-10 of these type boxes.

One might be for articles, one for training videos, etc...

However, I'm not going to be sticking 500 words of text in each one.

So some questions...

1. If I manage to get 500-1000 words of text in those category boxes (combined) that still make it obvious my page is about the Keyword, will that be enough to help maintain the ranking?

2. Since I'll be changing a lot of the URLs, should I do 301 redirects from the old to new?

3. Any other advice?

I know Pat Flynn did something similar to this with his security guard site, and his rankings did not suffer as a result. Unfortunately my keyword is a little more competitive so I'm not sure what's going to happen.

Talen · 12-31-2011, 03:47 PM

I would definitely 301 all the changes to the urls...

The homepage could be a tricky one though. I don't know if I would want to move what has you ranking well. Maybe you can use a theme where you can do what you want with boxes and then below that keep the original text. Sort of like a magazine style theme.

packerfan · 12-31-2011, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talen

I would definitely 301 all the changes to the urls...

The homepage could be a tricky one though. I don't know if I would want to move what has you ranking well. Maybe you can use a theme where you can do what you want with boxes and then below that keep the original text. Sort of like a magazine style theme.

I thought about that, and I might, but it kills the credibility of the site IMO. I'm going to be selling relatively high priced training stuff on the site, and potentially offering consulting, etc.

The article, while good, just doesn't belong on the page. But maybe I can figure out a way that makes sense.

Megyn · 12-31-2011, 04:17 PM

Look you may start the Google dance again as it happened when I made changes to an established site I puchased off of Flippa, however, it comes back stronger if done right.

serenin221 · 01-01-2012, 09:41 PM

This is an interesting renovation. Redesign a well established website will definitely change the SERP of the page especially when there’s a major URL links changes so I really wonder if changing the links is a good decision. However, like how Megyn said, if your changes is done correctly, maybe the changes will give you positive effects.

packerfan · 01-01-2012, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serenin221

This is an interesting renovation. Redesign a well established website will definitely change the SERP of the page especially when there’s a major URL links changes so I really wonder if changing the links is a good decision. However, like how Megyn said, if your changes is done correctly, maybe the changes will give you positive effects.

Not changing the links isn't an option. The site is currently structured like an 11 year old did it. It's a total mess. I still don't know what I'm gonna do. If the darn home page wasn't ranking so high for the keyword I'd just do it. But this isn't in a niche like quilting, I'm up against a little competition at least.

MiFortuna · 01-02-2012, 02:57 AM

If you are using google analytics check how the traffic on your site flows. Make sure that whatever it is that people are clicking on remain on the homepage. You also need to study the links on the top fold of the page. These will be the most important links on your site. There are so many other factors though that no one is going to be able to answer you with 100% certainty.

12-31-2011, 03:26 PM	#1
packerfan Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 1,165 Thanks: 38 Thanked 210 Times in 144 Posts Social Networking	Making Huge Changes To A High Ranking Page Disclaimer: This turned out to be way longer than expected. Sorry, and thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I have a site that started as an MFA site back when I knew way less than I do now. The homepage of the site ranks #4 for a pretty tough keyword. homepage/another keyword - ranks #2 for a pretty tough keyword homepage/another keyword - ranks #3 for a pretty tough keyword The site has another 50 or so pages/posts. There is a ton of randomness to the architecture. Like I said, I didn't know much. Fast forward to today. I'm going to redesign the site and change how it monetized. A little about how the site is structured. The current homepage is a 2,000ish word article. I have tons of random navigation that makes no sense. (Literally have a list of every post and post in the WP side bar) </background information> What I Want To Do: I want to turn the homepage into more of a traditional homepage. Not a place where they come to read an article about the keyword. Then I'm going to re categorize the posts, etc. I'm planning on just leaving the other two high ranking pages alone. They are serving their purpose. My Kinda Sorta Plan Does anyone have any experience with this? My plan right now is provide plenty of text on the homepage, but it won't in the form of an article. Here's an image of how I plan to provide the text, and navigation. (i forgot to mention I'm a graphic design wizard. I can make a image like this in photoshop for you less than $500) Anyway, I will probably have maybe 8-10 of these type boxes. One might be for articles, one for training videos, etc... However, I'm not going to be sticking 500 words of text in each one. So some questions... 1. If I manage to get 500-1000 words of text in those category boxes (combined) that still make it obvious my page is about the Keyword, will that be enough to help maintain the ranking? 2. Since I'll be changing a lot of the URLs, should I do 301 redirects from the old to new? 3. Any other advice? I know Pat Flynn did something similar to this with his security guard site, and his rankings did not suffer as a result. Unfortunately my keyword is a little more competitive so I'm not sure what's going to happen.
	Keyword Mastery Exposed For Free at Goalyard.com Go See The Video Now. Guaranteed To Blow Your Mind. Click Here By The Way There Is Some Other Cool Stuff Too In This TOP SECRET category.

01-01-2012, 09:41 PM	#5
serenin221 Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Making Huge Changes To A High Ranking Page This is an interesting renovation. Redesign a well established website will definitely change the SERP of the page especially when there’s a major URL links changes so I really wonder if changing the links is a good decision. However, like how Megyn said, if your changes is done correctly, maybe the changes will give you positive effects.

01-02-2012, 02:57 AM	#7
MiFortuna Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 48 Thanks: 3 Thanked 16 Times in 13 Posts	Re: Making Huge Changes To A High Ranking Page If you are using google analytics check how the traffic on your site flows. Make sure that whatever it is that people are clicking on remain on the homepage. You also need to study the links on the top fold of the page. These will be the most important links on your site. There are so many other factors though that no one is going to be able to answer you with 100% certainty.

12-31-2011, 03:47 PM	#2
Talen HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Thailand Posts: 147 Thanks: 11 Thanked 24 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Making Huge Changes To A High Ranking Page I would definitely 301 all the changes to the urls... The homepage could be a tricky one though. I don't know if I would want to move what has you ranking well. Maybe you can use a theme where you can do what you want with boxes and then below that keep the original text. Sort of like a magazine style theme.

12-31-2011, 04:17 PM	#4
Megyn Banned Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: USA Posts: 47 Thanks: 5 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Making Huge Changes To A High Ranking Page Look you may start the Google dance again as it happened when I made changes to an established site I puchased off of Flippa, however, it comes back stronger if done right.