Web design is an ever-evolving field. Trends, standards, and even expectations change with time. This is why businesses tend to redesign their websites to rejuvenate the look and feel with the goal to appeal more to modern customers. Learn how to restore SEO rankings after a website design with Matchbox Design Group
Undergoing a website redesign enables you to improve user experience, boost traffic, and make a better impression. However, things do not always go according to plan. A redesign can also lead to a considerable drop in traffic. Multiple factors would be to blame for it.
Since SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking should be on the top of your mind, it is important that you proactively recovery your previous ranking or even improve it.
There is nothing to worry about as this post shares some of the must-follow tips that will help restore your SEO ranking after a website redesign. Let’s get started.
1. Track Statistics
One of the best tips that will help you restore your SEO ranking is tracking statistics. When you compare the following metrics, you will gain valuable insights which you can utilize for taking the next step.
- Total Number of Clicks
- Keyword Rankings
- Impressions
- Past URLs
- Click-Through Rates (CTRs)
By going through the above statistics, you get to determine the timing and the scope of the drop. It will allow you to understand if the decline has been steady or is sudden. Besides this, you also get to find out if the loss in traffic is organic or non-organic.
If you are losing organic traffic, the redesign might be at fault. You can fix the issues to get back on track in no time.
2. Page-By-Page Analysis
Also known as analytics review, page-by-page analysis allows you to measure everything so that you can make it better. The main point of SEO itself is to improve rankings to ensure that you generate more traffic and more sales. Doing a page analysis can help to restore SEO rankings.
This is also a good time to hire a digital marketing services provider or in particular a St. Louis Marketing Agency. Seeing the metrics of each individual page will help you see if those landing pages have performed better or worse post-redesign. As a rule of thumb, every landing page requires valuable content. If there is no useful information, it would discourage visitors and your bounce rate would only increase. When you analyze the information, you get to check for common issues so that you can take action.
3. Compare Content
The thing about content is that it is more than just the text that you see on the page. There are other components to it as well as mentioned below.
- Page Titles: It should be self-explanatory. However, you need to include keywords in the page titles.
- Headings: These determine how the search engine comes across your website and evaluates what it is about.
- Meta Descriptions: These are short blurbs that you will see under the website entry on a search engine. Meta descriptions have a huge impact on your click-through rate and should not be taken lightly.
When making changes, you do not have to change everything. However, you should see if an old portion of the website had performed better and how you can incorporate previous elements.
4. Check Redirects
A redesign may lead to page URLs changing. But, it is possible for users to have bookmarks of the previous website. It would mean that the third-party websites would be out of date.
It is due to this reason that businesses normally use redirects from a previous URL to a new one.
5. Make Sure That No Page Is Missing
Next, you need to go through every page to ensure that no page is missing. The worst thing that could happen is when a new visitor sees a 404. There is always a risk that the web designer could have missed a page or more.
Since a missing page would make a bad impression, it is vital that you review the site map and see if everything still exists.
6. Check The Robots.txt File
In addition to the above, you also have to check the Robots.txt file. It is a text file that helps instruct web robots about how they should crawl through the website. These are used by search engines for indexing.
To restore SEO rankings after major website revamps, you should make sure that the website allows web robots through. They must have permission to do their job.
7. Decrease The Loading Time
People today do not have the patience to wait for your website to load. If your website takes a long time to load due to large elements, users will simply visit another website.
As website redesigns are more advanced, it is common for the page loading time to increase. You need to head over to Google Analytics to check the website speed. It should not be more than 2 seconds.
8. Understand Google-Specific Considerations
Google is the most popular search engine. It is used by just about everyone. The way it treats site rankings will help to restore SEO rankings. This is why you need to understand Google-specific considerations to improve your game.
Make sure that your website redesign is in line with these considerations. Besides, the considerations continue to evolve with time. Therefore, it is in your best interests to keep up.
Track changes in the Google algorithm to learn more about the fluctuations of your website performance.
9. SERP Updates
SERP is the first thing that web surfers look at when they input a search query on Google. It stands for search engine results page.
Although it only includes search results, there are also other elements that Google has added. These elements could easily divert the attention of your audience.
For example, snippets of certain websites might appear more prominently. It is also possible for a YouTube video to take up a huge portion of the screen. You need to look into SERP updates to stay ahead.
10. Manual Action
One thing that you should keep in mind is the fact that Google bans websites from their search engine results. Although it is rare, it does happen. The process is called Manual Action. To check whether your website has been hit, all you need to do is Google your website.
If you do not come across any results, chances are that Google might have removed your listing. You can also check the Google Search Console to see if your website is on its record by clicking on the Security & Manual Actions section. Learn more about manual action to take the right steps.
11. Competitor Actions
Finally, you need to check competitor actions to see if they have stolen your traffic. Competitors are likely to take a hit on your traffic over time.
While your business works on the redesign, your competitors might have taken hold of your audience during the meantime.
Conclusion
Restoring SEO rankings is easier said than done. However, the abovementioned tips will help you recover your former glory and grow. From tracking statistics to conducting competitor actions, you should seek an SEO firm that will help you with everything.
With competition on the rise, you cannot just sit and wait around. You need to take action and fast. The truth is that your SEO ranking influences your online success. Therefore, you have to utilize the tips. It is the only way you will get to make up for lost traffic.
