This post started out to be a quick case study on the effectiveness of getting your business listed in Local Search Engines – and quickly turned into what not to do if you decide to upgrade or remodel your Web site. The reason for the change was noting that a site that had 543 listings in Google the last time I checked had dropped to only 234.
The reason for the drop was that their “friends” are “helping them out” by remodeling their site. The first thing they did was remove all existing pages and replace the home page with “We are currently remodeling”.
Any professionals reading this already know where I’m going so you may want to check out the categories and sub-categories in the right sidebar as this blog is intended for reference and I update older posts regularly with new links and current information.
If you don’t already know why you should NEVER remove an existing site without knowing what you’re doing please read on. One of the reasons I don’t personally work with clients any more is that I feel so badly for them when they do something so unfortunate as this to themselves.
BEFORE you replace a single existing page the URL for that page should be redirected to the new equivalent page. At a minimum redirect all “missing” pages to your home page. Don’t just cause them to disappear. When you do this you lose all the incoming visitors and every search engine listing for those pages.
- Do you really want to eliminate all your existing incoming links in one fell swoop?
- Do not delete pages without redirecting them.
- Do not rename pages without redirecting them.
- Do not replace real content with “we’re remodeling”. How effective is THAT kind of non-content for retaining existing clients much less generating new business?
If you don’t know how to redirect pages find someone that does. Don’t let anyone touch your site until you know they know what they’re doing!
NOTE: Web Designers should be creating your new site on a development site and THEN when it all works moving it to your domain. Wise site builders do NOT test new designs on live sites!!!
[NOTE: If you already have a site or blog with a free hosting company that doesn't provide for you to do redirects use creative 404 pages instead.]
And while we’re talking about redesigning and upgrading, if you’re serious about being online, existing sites should be created as WordPress blogs and made interactive. Unless you’re already famous, having a site that “lectures” visitors instead of one that allows them to interact with you is going to be a bust.
Figure out how to create a community and make your visitors feel welcome. Find out what they want and give it to them. The number one complaint – offline and on – is unresponsive customer service. It doesn’t work for corporations any longer – they’re being dragged into responding – and it won’t work for any small businesses – or even bloggers – either.
MORE WEB DESIGN TIPS:
PAINFUL REDESIGNS:
- Published on ProBlogger (guest post): Luck is a Curse: How NOT TO Relaunch and Rebrand Your Blog. There May Be Tears
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I think these are some great remodeling guidelines. thanks for the tips, i shall keep these in mind when i do mine in a few months.
thank you for your post.
Alex’s last blog post..WaMucards holders get free credit scores
Great tips, I’m often confused whether to redirect the old pages from a website(not blog) or give a link to the new page from the old one. Old pages are high value pages and by giving a link, the value is transferred to the new page.
Don’t forget to redirect pages after you’ve moved your website otherwise the old traffic gonna be zero. I’ve missed before.
susan’s last blog post..wamucards.com customer login
Twitter: GrowMap
March 16, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@veteran’s administration: Thank you for asking. There is an RSS subscribe icon in the right sidebar. If you prefer to subscribe via email we also offer that option.
@Radio Controlled Boats, Thank you. I hope you checked out some of the other posts. You can also search for any topic or scan the categories in the right sidebar to find other topics useful to anyone with a blog or Website.
InternetStrategist’s last blog post..Blog Traffic Up 54.87% in the Last 30 Days: Our Proven Traffic Improvement Strategy
Thanks great advice.
Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
Twitter: GrowMap
March 3, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@YS GrowMap is all about growing and sharing what really works with others. It is so easy to waste time and effort and never know why it isn’t working. Recently we’re seeing so many borderline comments – or quality comments that are clearly SPAM – that we just added a new post with commenting tips.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..Tips for Leaving Comments That Don’t Get Deleted – Contributor or SPAMMER?
WOW! The fact that you went to such a great length to response Alex’s comment certainly earns my respect. I’m not too sure if I’d ever do so but I take my hat off you.
Yan
YS’s last blog post..Where Are You? and So They Ask
Twitter: GrowMap
March 2, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@wamucards When you’re leaving comments it isn’t necessary to leave the same link in the body of the comment because that URL will automatically be linked. Putting additional links in comments causes them to be trapped by Akismet where they may end up getting deleted. I do look through them carefully but some can be missed.
@Alex Really short comments like yours also end up getting trapped by Akismet. Whenever you leave comments in blogs try to make them longer and add something that makes them specific to the blog post. Comments like this one are very likely to be deleted because they don’t add anything to the conversation. Although it is always nice to hear thank you, remember that others will read your comments so try to make them relevant to the post.
you’ve exposed a great idea. thank you.I’ve used wordpress alone in my blog, now I’m tryping a new plugin. wamucards
wamucards’s last blog post..www wamucards com
Twitter: GrowMap
February 26, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@spot Thanks for clarifying and yes, the plugin does sound like a good idea. Yet another thing to add to my to-do list.
Twitter: SpotCoolStuff
February 26, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Twitter: @SpotCoolStuff
@Jeff That’s a good point. I’ve found that the plugin manages the redirection better than WordPress alone. Also, the plugin keeps a log of how many times the redirection is accessed and from where. I guess that’s not really interesting to everyone though; I’m kind of a geek in that way.
spot’s last blog post..It’s Inexpensive and Electric. But Will This Car Sell?
Twitter: GrowMap
February 26, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Tracy Have you ever asked them WHY they decided to rename pages? That will definitely drop them out of the SERPs at least for a while – and maybe indefinitely. Most Search Engines favor age with older content getting better positions. Changing the name may affect the perceived age.
It would make a lot more sense to focus on adding more content and leave the existing content alone unless there is a VERY good reason to change it.
growmap’s last blog post..What NOT To Do With Your Existing Web Site When You Upgrade or Remodel
Way too often my friends come to me and wonder why their site tanked in the SERPs when they made a site change. More often than not they simply renamed pages and the ones that were doing well in the rankings were no longer there.
Tracy’s last blog post..Valentines Day Special Karmin Titanium Only $75.00!
Twitter: GrowMap
February 26, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Juli I’m glad you’ve found this blog helpful. There is so much more to post. I hope you subscribed and will be back.
@spot Thank you for sharing the plugin you use. It appears that WordPress automatically makes some redirects even without it. That is one drawback to having someone else provide technical support; we don’t always know what is standard in WP and what is a plugin or widget.
@Jeff Good to have you here. Blogging is so much more complex than many who are already doing it realize. That is why I often post about what some would consider simple concepts. They’re only simple if you’ve already learned them.
Thank you for this informative post. I have seen too many times how people redesign their sites and don’t realize the potential adverse affects. They focus on the visual appeal or user friendliness of the new design while forgetting to archive or redirect the old URLs. Then their PageRank plummets and they are confused as to why that happened after making a better looking website.
I also appreciate that you reply to your readers when they make comments. That is a good touch and most bloggers don’t bother to spend the time to do that. And I too am a fan of the WP platform for blogging, just thought I’d agree with you on that one.
Twitter: SpotCoolStuff
February 26, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Twitter: @SpotCoolStuff
I run a WordPress blog and find myself making small updates to my website all the time. There’s a great plugin I use that automatically makes all the redirects for me. Since I’ve used it I’ve had 0 missing page errors. On the hopes it helps the people here:
http://urbangiraffe.com/plugins/redirection/
spot’s last blog post..$350 Lightweight Laptop Showdown: Acer vs Asus
This has been a way helpful blog, many of the things that were said are helpful and I will have to bookmark this so that I can use these in the future. I have worked a little with web designs, and it is hard, so I am hoping that this ideas and suggestions will help.
Twitter: GrowMap
February 25, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Iowa freelance writer – It IS a major challenge to know who has advanced skills and who is really an amateur regardless of how long they’ve been at it. That is especially true when you don’t have the skills yourself.
It is obvious that most people don’t have a clear idea how complex excellent Web design is or any idea how comprehensive their own skills are. That isn’t easy to determine either.
I’ve been researching best WP Theme design for years and it is still a challenge to get collaborators. Starting with an exceptional theme, then knowing what plug-ins to add, and adding your own look from there is the answer I finally arrived at and Thesis is the Theme I recommend.
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