Re-designing a website

[Rhys]

Hello All

I am looking to re-design and SEO a website that has stood static for approx 5 years plus and has never had any SEO performed on it. It has a few authoritive links which have naturally occured over a few years.

It doesn't really rank or sell anything at the moment so I am not bothered about lossing any SERP.

But just wondered whether a complete re-design would have a negative effect and if so by how much?

Thanks
Rhys

[fisicx]

What do you mean by redsign?

If you are going to keep the current content and internal linking then there won't be any negative effect.

But if are going to rework the content and navigation then there may well be a positive effect.

Note that changing the page layout won't make any difference.

[Andy Walpole]

If it doesn't "rank or sell anything" then what sort of negative are you expecting?

I'm not really sure where you are coming from. Surely the whole point of a redesign is that it has a positive effect, otherwise what is the point of doing it?

[Rhys]

Sorry let me explain a little better...

As I mentioned the site has some authoritive links and I am assume these links along with content that has stayed the same for a prolonged period of time give the domain a certain amount of trust / value in Google's eyes. (I am just assuming so this may not be the case as I'm fairly new to SEO??)

Obviously the reason for the re-design is to improve rankings but I viewed this as a medium / longer-term benefit.

I'm just wondering whether the re-design would have a negative short term effect as all the content, link-structure etc etc will be completely new.

But I think Ficisx has already answered my question -

"Note that changing the page layout won't make any difference."

[Kathleen Rigg]

You can use 301 permanent redirects to protect your search engine ranking for the individual webpages which have authoritiative links from search engines. Just redirect the old webpage to the new one when you launch the new website. Best to keep the content the same initially and them change it over time after the move.

It is also important to do this for webpages which have external links to ensure they are not lost during the move....

Your website designer can setup these links for you, but it is much easier to do on unix web hosting services than windows ones.

Good luck with the redesign.

[tbomedia]

Sorry let me explain a little better...

As I mentioned the site has some authoritive links and I am assume these links along with content that has stayed the same for a prolonged period of time give the domain a certain amount of trust / value in Google's eyes. (I am just assuming so this may not be the case as I'm fairly new to SEO??)

Obviously the reason for the re-design is to improve rankings but I viewed this as a medium / longer-term benefit.

I'm just wondering whether the re-design would have a negative short term effect as all the content, link-structure etc etc will be completely new.

But I think Ficisx has already answered my question -

"Note that changing the page layout won't make any difference."

It'll be fine, the links are pointing to the domain name - not certain words or phrases on the website.

How are you planning to implement SEO? Are you conducting keyword research at the moment?

[ddudgeon]

Kathleen is correct. You need to use 301 redirects to preserve your existing natural search ranking.

If you are redesigning the site now, I'd recommend talking to an SEO company *before* the redesign work is carried out. This can save you money in the long run.

If you need a recommendation for an SEO company, let me know.

[brain]

Yup I agree. Using 301 will do the job. All together it shouldn't bother you at all. Re design is a nice option and it help you out as your domain is old and already has links.

[matt.chatterley]

Hello All
It doesn't really rank or sell anything at the moment so I am not bothered about lossing any SERP.


If it's not making any sales then you've nothing to lose.

I normally advise caution when making drastic changes IF performance is reasonable, though - although you might improve your SERPs a bunch for some terms, you never know what will happen to the existing customer base (if any).

Unless you test, of course, which is what split testing is all about ;)

[OldWelshGuy]

With respect Rhys, if you are looking to redesign it and SEO it yourself, there are a load of bear traps you can fall into due to the level of knowledge you have shown so far.

Most SEO's will have a chat for free and set you on the right path to make sure you avoid the bear traps. :)