Regardless of how state-of-the-art the website of your organization may have looked when you first launched it, a time comes when each page will benefit from a redesign. Given the multitude of algorithm changes that occur each year and the frequent shifts in consumer Internet use, delivering the search results you need can be almost impossible for an obsolete website.
If you’re looking to update your page in the future, Freelance Web Developer Dubai also included 5 tips to completely avoid traffic drops.
Causes for traffic drop:
1) Redirects:
Setting up proper redirects is one of the most important steps in a website redesign – and skipping this step is one of the most common causes of traffic loss. If you changed the structure of your URL or moved any pages to new locations but did not set up proper redirects, this is probably the main cause of your drop in traffic.
2) Site Structure:
The web layout plays an important role in how Google views and recognizes the content, so you’ll need to create a new sitemap if it’s changed dramatically during your redesign.
Your sitemap provides a basic listing of all the relevant pages on your site and you can upload it to Search Console to speed up the process of re-indexing your pages and restore traffic levels.
You’ll also want to review your internal ties in addition to your sitemap. In the way Google indexes your site, the links inside your pages play an important role. If some of these – or all – point to obsolete URLs, it may also cause crawl problems.
3) Site copy:
Redesigns of the website also include a completely new version. And while this can be helpful if the copywriter is aware of the original target keywords and incorporates them, it can be extremely harmful if not.
If your pages are no longer written in a way that includes the keywords for which they were originally ranked, your rankings will suffer for those keywords. Google’s algorithm was built to provide the data they’re searching for to their customers–and if your page doesn’t have that information anymore, they’re not going to show it. Take a look at Using GTmetrix to optimize site speed and user experience.
How to fix the traffic drop?
If you haven’t updated your page yet, you may have second-guessed details about whether it’s even worth it. But if your page is outdated, it can have a positive impact on a redesign – you just need to be sure to take the following steps by Dubai Web Developer:
1) Make SEO part of the process:
Make sure that the entire system is frequently reviewed by the redesign team with an SEO consultant. Although your design agency may have design and development experts, an experienced SEO’s insight may help you avoid serious problems that lead to traffic loss.
They may also be able to advise adjustments that will help improve your traffic levels after the redesign, making the process even more beneficial to your company.
2) Plan new site architecture:
This will help ensure that all the valuable information currently on your website has a place on the updated edition, and if needed, you can also use it to construct a new website architecture.
3) Set up 301 redirects:
If your URLs have changed at all, before launching your new site, you will need to update them.
You should also ensure that each is set up as a 301 (permanent) redirect, as this informs crawlers in the search engine that the site has moved permanently. Use 302 (temporary) redirections is a common mistake, but it can hurt your ratings.
4) Create a new sitemap:
You should also create a new sitemap before launching your site, which contains all the most relevant pages on your web. You shouldn’t include more than 100 pages as a general rule of thumb – so if your site is massive, your sitemap may be more of a general overview than a detailed listing.
5) Analytic tracking is in place:
Only make sure that the code is applied in your header or footer can save that pressure and allow you to track your traffic every step of the way.
Wrapping up!
Traffic drops are frustrating but, sadly, a common problem after a redesign.
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If this was the experience of your company, contact me today for assistance.
