Avoiding SEO Disaster: Protect Your Progress During Website Redesign

Common causes of SEO declines after a website redesign include:

• Domain change: Switching to a new domain can disrupt Google's familiarity with the site.
• New URLs and missing 301 redirects: Without proper redirection, old URLs that lead to 404 errors can cause a drop in rankings.
• Page content changes (removal/additions): Altering content can shift keyword relevance and affect rankings.
• Removal of on-site keyword targeting (unintentional retargeting): Unintentional changes in keyword targeting can lead to fluctuations in rankings.
• Unintentional website performance changes: Changes affecting Core Web Vitals and page speed can impact SEO.
• Unintentionally blocking crawlers: Failing to remove protocols that block Google's crawlers can remove the site from search results.

To retain SEO assets during a website redesign, follow these steps:

1. Audit internal links, backlinks, and keyword rankings: These elements are nuanced but crucial for performance.
2. Create proper 301 redirects: This ensures Google knows that the destination of your page has changed, preventing 404 errors.
3. Minimize URL structure changes: Retaining the original URL structure reduces the need for redirects and helps maintain indexation.
4. Use tools like Screaming Frog: This tool can crawl and catalog all URLs for mapping old to new ones.
5. Consider intentional 404s for low-value pages: This can help clean up the site and concentrate SEO value.
6. Avoid domain name changes: A new domain can reset Google's history with the site.
7. Carefully manage content and metadata changes: Ensure that changes don't negatively impact keyword relevance.
8. Balance website performance with features: Choose a CMS or builder that maintains good performance metrics.
9. Ensure Google's crawlers are not blocked: Check protocols before launch to avoid deindexing.
10. Identify and prioritize SEO assets: Focus on pages with backlinks, traffic, and keyword rankings, using tools like Semrush and Google Search Console.

Domains and URLs play a significant role in SEO rankings due to the following reasons:

• 301 redirects: They communicate to Google that the page's destination has changed, which is essential when URLs are modified during a redesign.
• 404 errors: Google avoids ranking webpages that lead to dead clicks, so it's important to prevent 404 errors by maintaining URL consistency or setting up proper redirects.
• Indexation: Retaining the original URL structure and minimizing the number of 301 redirects helps keep pages in Google's index.
• Domain history: Google's history with an existing domain contributes to SEO performance, so changing the domain can negatively impact rankings.

To use Google Search Console's Change of Address Tool for a domain change during a website redesign, follow these steps:

1. Set up the new domain in Google Search Console.
2. Use the Change of Address Tool to notify Google of the new domain.
3. Ensure proper redirects: Set up 301 redirects from the old domain to the new one to maintain performance.
4. Monitor the transition: Keep an eye on the performance and indexation status of the new domain in Google Search Console.

To identify and prioritize SEO assets on a website, consider the following:

1. Backlinked pages: Use tools like Semrush and Google Search Console to find pages with the most external backlinks.
2. Top organic traffic contributors: Analyze landing page data in Google Analytics 4 to identify pages that draw significant traffic.
3. Pages with top keyword rankings: Export a list of URLs with top 20 keyword rankings from an SEO tool like Semrush. Prioritize pages that meet all three criteria (backlinks, traffic, and rankings), followed by those meeting two, and then one. Adjust thresholds for backlinks, traffic, and rankings to define the SEO asset criteria.