If you have an existing website with established organic rankings, you may be understandably concerned about losing those rankings when building a new website on the same domain. Often new websites have different pages, structure and navigation, so planning for these changes is key.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to mitigate the possibility of losing your existing organic rankings. By following these steps, you can ensure a smooth transition to your new website without sacrificing the SEO progress you’ve made.
Step 1: Map Out Your Existing Site’s URLs
Before starting the website redesign or migration process, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of all the URLs on your existing website. Mapping your existing site’s URLs will help you identify the specific pages and links that are currently driving organic traffic to your site. By knowing which pages are most crucial to your organic visibility, you can prioritize their preservation during the website transition.
To gather your existing website URLs and download them into a spreadsheet, you can easily do so by using a free software application such as SreamingFrog.
Step 2: Match the URL Structure of Your New Site to Your Existing One
When designing your new website, strive to match the URL structure of your existing website pages as closely as possible. By maintaining the same URL structure, you tell search engines that the content on each page remains the same, reducing the likelihood of losing organic rankings. If some changes are necessary, try to keep them to a minimum and preserve keyword-rich URLs whenever possible.
Step 3: Create 301 Redirects for Changed or Removed URLs
If there are URLs that need to change or no longer exist on your new website, create 301 redirects for each of those URLs. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines that the content from the old URL has moved to a new location. By implementing these redirects, you can efficiently guide search engine crawlers to the new pages and preserve the ranking signals associated with the old URLs.
If your website is on WordPress, there are many free plugins that you can download which will enable you to easily create and add 301 redirects.
Step 4: Utilize Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free account offered by Google that every website owner can use. It provides valuable insights into how Google perceives and indexes your website. Before and after launching your new website, use Google Search Console to monitor any issues that may arise. It will alert you to broken links, crawl errors, and pages that may have been missed during the migration process. By addressing these issues promptly, you can ensure that your new website is correctly received and indexed by Google.
Step 5: Test Your New Website Before Launching
In addition to these steps, it’s essential to conduct thorough testing before launching the new website. Review all content, ensure proper redirects are in place, and test the website’s functionality across major browsers and devices. By taking these precautions, you can minimize the risk of losing your existing organic rankings when building a new website on the same domain.
Build Your New Site & Keep Your Organic Rankings With Gazz Digital
Even with careful planning and execution, some fluctuation in organic rankings can occur when building a new site on an existing domain. However, by following these steps, you can increase the chances of a smooth transition. Get started creating your new site with Gazz Digital today and protect your hard-earned organic rankings!
