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Creating a new website for a high ranking business

by StrategicCheetah
7 replies
Hoping someone can help out here with some SEO knowledge.

Today I met with and signed a client for web design and some review management work.

The client is already ranking high for his keywords and just wants an updated look for the site, something that looks alot more modern and attractive.

Is there a way for me to create and add a new site safely while at the same time be sure I won't mess up his Google ranking?

Obviously I will have my designer carry out all the On Page SEO correctly but is that enough to ensure nothing will be messed with?

Thanks
#business #creating #high #ranking #website
  • Profile picture of the author maria2
    I don't think google can change your rank, if you still have old site links on updated site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kunle Olomofe
    I'm no SEO expert however, I do apply a lot of common sense that seems to work well over years now... Based on that, here's what I think...

    I would advice you study the on-page SEO that is likely to have helped the site get to the top and stay there as it is now and try your best if possible to incorporate as much if not all of that content as you can.

    You can update the page without necessarily losing everything that made it what it is today, simply by adding fresh content to what exists now as long as the new compliments the old and vice versa.

    I have just done the same for a client and can't tell immediately what the entire effect is as the site is only days old, though one of the pages I newly created has already ranked high along with older pages.

    Bottom line... I don't think it will adversely affect the site's ranking if the content adds to the value of the site as opposed to reducing its value for example, if the site was an HTML site with lots of content and the update is a FLASH website instead... experience tells me the latter is likely to be a bad move at the very least ranking wise...

    Anyway, I also found this link for you... it may give you more confidence moving forward... How Does Updated Content Affect Google Rankings? | MasterGoogle.com

    Cheers

    Kunle

    PS: Also very important... don't get rid of old site links if you can help it because many if not all those links will be connected to existing content elsewhere i.e. acting as backlinks etc, so don't make the mistake of killing them in their prime... basically a lot of research is needed first. Good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author beeswarn
      Doesn't sound like you were contracted for SEO, but you're right to make sure you don't wreck anything.

      Keep and use the same domain name and don't take the site off line while you're developing the new one. Use all due caution to make sure it doesn't get crawled while the site is offline.

      When you build it, add good content and avoid the temptation to stuff it with keywords. Re-read Google's guides for webmasters and go by the book. We all have a tendency to get too clever with this stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author Carl Fridsjö
    Use the same url:s or if you must change it, do 301 permanent redirect to carry on the linkjuice to the new site.
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  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    Make sure no error on your site after move to the new design , and make sure all keywords and content still there and all do link it well.
    Make sure still using the same URL or not you will lose all your backlinks.
    Make sure you resubmit sitemap again so that it wont miss out to index all the pages you want .
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  • Profile picture of the author JessicaAutumn
    Go ahead. You can change designs and website look.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bredfan
    Hi - Carl above is the only one giving you good advice.

    Launching a new site in place of one that is currently ranking is a big deal and you'll need to do it right, or you WILL mess up the existing rankings.

    Here are the steps you'll need to take:

    1) Create 301 redirects for all of the individual pages on the site. The old pages should all have corresponding new pages.

    2) Implement the 301 redirects on a .htaccess file. The .htaccess file will live in the root directory. Study up on how to do this - htaccess regulates how crawlers look at the site. Do it wrong, and you'll get no traffic.

    3) Create a custom 404 page. You will inevitably miss something in doing your 301 mapping to the new site. If there is a 404, you'll want a page to display that will easily help your visitor back into the navigation.

    4) Audit all pages on the site for internal links. When you move the site, all the internal links will break. You'll want these links to be fully-qualified direct links, not redirects.

    5) For important backlinks, contact the webmasters and see if they will tweak their backlinks to the new urls. For most sites, you can't do this for very many backlinks, but certainly try to do it for some very important backlinks like from vendors, partners or any .edu's you might have.

    6) Submit the XML sitemap of the new site through webmaster tools.

    7) Set the client expectation correctly. When you implement the 301's Google will need time to figure this out. You will very likely see a drop in traffic as Google crawls the site and attributes the backlink value to the new pages. Some traffic will never rebound, some will rebound higher if the pages are better optimized. Let the client know that there WILL be an impact, but you are an expert and will do all the right things to mitigate risk and prepare the site for a strong future.

    Those are the basics... you really need to get this right...

    Hope that helps -
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