Updating web sites and damaging search ranking?

[Steve_Minshall]

Hi web experts.

I have a bit of dilema. When I set up my web site some years back I set up a site that is really amatuer but very effective. It is now a mishmash of front page and dreamweaver and a developer would have to look at the code with one eye shut.

However, my customers give me very positive feedback and I get some excellent placings on search engines. For example last time I checked on 'tow bar fitting sydney' I not only got number one placing I also got the second indented page listing below it.

So my dilema is now that I know much more about creating a good website that will serve me better going forward, ie incorporating CSS and page templates how do I go about fixing up all the rubish in my web site without trashing the gains already achieved.

For example the #1 ranking page above has a URL with a space in it which often is seen with the '%20' in which looks messy. I would love to change this by simply removing the space but I am worried that the page would have to win its ranking all over again. So how do you transition a poorly scripted but very effective web site into a well scripted site without losing, albeit temporarily, the hard fought gains already won.?

Thanks

[Chris Bates]

Hey Steve,

If you set up a 301 redirect on the old page, to the new page - you shouldn't lose that ranking.

There might be a slip in ranks while the changes propagate (i.e. everything is re-indexed), but essentially your domain in general is what has helped that particular page get to #1.

A 301 redirect is a must though, to savour all those past back links to that particular page.

[Burgo]

I have recently changed the content of my wedsite and it hasnt altered the ranking one little bit, still #1 on Google, Uahoo and msn which makes me very happy.

I have3 often played around with the wording and only once did I slip to #8 but that was something I didnt think about so I changed it back to what it was and everything was roses

[bushsong]

Steve, the advice from Chris regarding permanent 301 redirects is very important, but obviously only applies where the backlinks are to pages within the site... i.e. deep linking. The main page is the main page, so it will always resolve for backlinks pointing to the domain.

If you are considering rewriting your site, I would strongly suggest you get away from a static site and go to a full blown CMS like Joomla. There are just so many business based extensions you can deploy on the site that can assist you with generating interaction with your customers.

Use an internal blog for your news posts so you don't dilute the keyword emphasis on the front page.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

[Intuitive]

As mentioned by my esteemed colleagues, you shouldn't have a problem but you just need to manage it carefully.

Don't let any of your pages on the old site become orphans. Use the 301 redirects that bushsong mentioned.

Also, just to help ensure your site is registered with Google Webmaster Tools a few weeks before you change over.

This will ensure you can see what pages Google is aware of.

Then when you make the change, any pages that Google could find before but can't now will be listed for you (under the Diagnostics section) so you can quickly fix the problem

All the best with it

regards

Yener

[TheWebExpert]

Hi Steve,

Just what everyone else has suggested.
A 301 Redirect for EVERY page - not just the homepage and menu pages, but every single product as well - as they will ALL currently be indexed by the search engines.

When you have completed your website upgrade, also ensure you publish a sitemap xml file for the search engines (as this will help you with search engines too).

And finally with pages like 'luggage boxes.hmtl' use the '-' and definitely not and underscore _. So the URL would look like luggage-boxes.html.

Vee

[Arnold Shields]

Last year we changed our site from DotNetNuke based site to a Wordpress site. The effect in terms of SEO and traffic was amazing.

There is a Wordpress plugin called Redirection that handles all the 301 page redirects in which we redirected every page.

An easy way to work out which pages need redirecting do a google search -
site:www.yourdomainname.com.au and it will give all the pages Google has indexed on your site. That then provides the list to put into the Redirection plugin. It was very easy to do.

We had a number of duplicate pages that we redirected back to a single page.

[NeuroWebDesign]

I gotta admit, I'd have to vote for Wordpress now too. For a long time I could never accept it as a CMS. I found too many limits.

After some persistence, its seo friendly structure, and with the extreme ease of management, it's pretty hard to ignore.

[MatthewKeath]

Originally Posted by NeuroWebDesign

I gotta admit, I'd have to vote for Wordpress now too. For a long time I could never accept it as a CMS. I found too many limits.

After some persistence, its seo friendly structure, and with the extreme ease of management, it's pretty hard to ignore.

Agree - Wordpress is great.

[wordmistress]

I'm beginning to see the light!