Redirects are essential for maintaining traffic following a website move.
11 October 2022. minute read
Your new website is almost ready to launch; the design is fantastic, the development process proceeded without a hitch.
Introduction:
Your new website is almost ready to launch; the design is fantastic, the development process proceeded without a hitch. Your organic traffic has been decreasing for a few weeks now with no sign of recovery. Why is that, exactly?
It's possible that no redirect plan was in place.
Redirects: What Are They?
It's a method of informing search engines that URL A has changed to URL B on your website.
Redirects are commonly utilized to:
- Tell search engines which version of the website you prefer (for example, HTTPS protocols over HTTP and www over non-www URLs) so that no matter which one you visit, you are taken to the correct one.
- Redirect URLs with a trailing slash to URLs without a trailing slash to avoid duplicates (diginow.co.uk/work/ goes to diginow.co.uk/work).
- Since URLs are case-sensitive, change a capital URL to a lowercase URL (diginow.co.uk/WORK translates to diginow.co.uk/work).
And that brings us to the crucial point of this post: how to deal with the changes to the structure and content of your website that may occur during a redesign.
Why is it important?
Your organic search rankings and overall user experience are at risk if you don't use redirects.
Your pages no longer respond to the search queries they used to since all (or the majority of) the URLs have suddenly become broken, according to search engines. In this situation, your website is unable to rank for those, and you lose the ranks you have accumulated over time. Even if the new website has a corresponding page, since you are now beginning from scratch, it will take time to rebuild the ranks.
All of the dead links that were previously pointing to your website from other websites will now also be present. Your website is no longer a dependable source for this information, which has an effect on the authority of your domain and, as a result, your search engine rankings.
Last but not least, consider the dissatisfied consumers who clicked a link only to find that it had been removed. They are very likely to exit your website, costing you a prospective consumer. It's awful in every way!
How it’s done?
As previously stated, it's not a good idea to start considering redirects until the very last minute. We advise initiating the website makeover project from the very beginning.
Important considerations:
- Website audit: start by identifying what functions well and poorly, then focus on areas that can be improved on the new site.
- Content and website architecture: compare the present and planned structures, and carefully analyse any pages you believe should be deleted (if any).
- User experience (UX): modifications to the navigation, categorization, internal linking, etc.; consider how pages are organised and how quickly users can get the pertinent information.
- Keyword Check: A website redesign is an excellent time to think about future opportunities and having the correct set-up to work towards them. Check what pages rank for valuable keywords and focus on sustaining them. Think long term and map out your keywords on the new site.
- Page Authority & Backlinks: Learn which pages have the highest page authority and the best backlinks from other trustworthy websites.
- Traffic volume: Ensure that the new website contains pages with substantial traffic.
Main types of redirects
The most widely used redirect kinds are 301s and 302s. In a summary, what they do is as follows:
- 301: The most common sort of redirect with reference to website migrations is a 301, a permanent redirect that transfers the authority to the new URL.
- 302: The equity is not passed on the new page since a 302 redirect is only meant to be transitory, allowing you to maintain the previous URL indexed despite being redirected (unless it is left in place for too long, in which case it is regarded as a 301).
Read this summary on Google Search Console if you're interested in learning more about alternative redirect options.
Conclusion.
Any website creation must start by taking the redirect strategy into consideration. Give your team enough time to make necessary design and development modifications.
Discuss the agency's capabilities before beginning your collaboration if you're working with one, or work with an SEO-focused agency.
Interested in working with Diginow? Drop us a line at hello@diginow.co.uk.
We are a Creative Web Design Agency based in London & Leicester, specialising in Bespoke Website Design, Web Development, Branding and Digital Marketing.