SEO overhaul is a crucial process for any business wanting to stay competitive in today's market. In this article, we'll explore the risks associated with a poorly managed redesign, the potential benefits of a well-executed redesign, and the key steps to successfully completing this complex task. We'll also share our expert tips and helpful tools to help you navigate the SEO overhaul process.

The risks of a poorly managed SEO overhaul

Loss of traffic
When the redesign is not properly planned and executed, there is a real risk of traffic loss. This could be due to errors in content migration, accidental deletion of important pages, or failure to set up proper redirects.

A fall in rankings
Poorly handling the redesign can lead to a significant drop in rankings in search engines like Google. This can be caused by issues like duplicate content, overuse of keywords, or removal of valuable backlinks.

Redirection errors
Redirect errors are common in a poorly managed redesign. Old URLs should be redirected to new ones to avoid 404 errors and ensure visitors always find what they are looking for. If not done correctly, the consequences can be disastrous for your SEO. It will therefore be important to properly prepare the redirection plan in the environments before launching the site but also after leaving the site.

The benefits of a redesign that takes SEO into account

Improving site speed
One of the main goals of a redesign is often to improve the performance and speed of your site. A faster site provides a better user experience and can also help improve your search engine rankings.

User experience optimization
A successful redesign improves the user experience through modern design, intuitive navigation and relevant content. This generally results in increased time on site and a reduced bounce rate, two keys to ranking well in search results.
As part of a redesign, UX and SEO experts work hand in hand from the construction of personas and the tree structure to the challenge of models and wireframes.

Better indexing by search engines
By optimizing your content and structure during a redesign, you make the job of search engine crawlers easier. This can have a positive impact on the indexing of your pages and, ultimately, your online visibility.

An opportunity to overhaul the site’s SEO strategy
During a site redesign, it is also the time to challenge the SEO strategy of a site. Through an in-depth competitive audit and analysis of site data, it is essential to get back on course during the framing phase. Indeed, this new strategy will guide the creation and optimization of content during the contribution phase.

The key steps for a successful SEO overhaul

A pre-redesign SEO audit
Before starting the redesign, it is essential to carry out a complete SEO audit of your current site. This will allow you to identify strong and weak points to consider when creating the new design and structure.
The return of these audits is an important moment for project teams to recall good practices and to train future contributors in order to integrate content that is as SEO friendly as possible.

Planning the new site structure
Careful planning of the new site structure is crucial to ensure a smooth transition to the new design. Make sure to include all important pages and organize content logically to improve user experience. The UX and SEO teams build a powerful tree structure to improve the user experience and the site's SEO.

On-page optimization
When creating new content, be sure to include relevant title and description tags, use keywords strategically, and optimize images to improve site speed.
Content promotes positioning, but it must also promote user experience. We then talk about UX writing. This involves supporting the Internet user in their journey through the site or application. Our experts trained in SEO and UX writing have this dual vision to offer content that is accessible from the search engine but which is also effective in the experience.

Setting up a redirection plan
A well-established redirection plan is essential to ensure that old URLs are correctly redirected to new ones. This avoids 404 errors and keeps existing traffic.
The redirection plan is a crucial point of a redesign for natural referencing but not only. It also ensures continuity of service between the old and new sites. Indeed, our regular users will be able to easily find the resources that interest them.
The construction of the redirection plan must therefore be prioritized according to the most strategic URLs for your site. A content management matrix can support the redirection plan.

Testing and validation
Before putting your new site into production, we carry out extensive testing to verify that the site will be correctly accessible to search engine bots. Using a crawler tool, we identify points to correct before the site is released and we share these points directly with the technical teams. After launch, you can use tools like Google Search Console to identify and fix potential issues.

Some tips for a smooth SEO overhaul

• Involve the dedicated SEO team from the start of the project to avoid costly mistakes.
• Don't delete pages that generate valuable traffic or backlinks.
• Monitor your site's performance regularly after the new design goes live to quickly spot any potential issues.

In conclusion, a well-managed SEO overhaul can bring many benefits to your business, including better online visibility, optimized user experience, and increased performance. By following the methodology and expertise of the expert consultants, you will be able to succeed in your redesign and ensure a promising future for your business on its online presence.

 

Baptiste Herault, Team Lead Traffic Manager – UX-Republic