Does this sound familiar to you? Your website needs to be updated. The reasons can be complex: The content is outdated, the requirements have changed, the appearance is no longer modern. At the same time, you may be considering changing the CMS, as the old one is no longer secure and is particularly user-unfriendly (if you are using Drupal 6 and PHP 5.3, you should read this article:"What to do with Drupal 6 and PHP 5.3?"). And last but not least, there have been organizational and personnel changes.
In this context, website operators rush through due relaunches and this can lead to unexpected ranking penalties1 in search engines such as Google. To prevent this from happening to you, we have put together a few tips to help you avoid the worst mistakes during a relaunch.
Differences between a launch and a relaunch
With a launch, the website is created from scratch. In most cases, the domain is still unknown on the web and the data is not yet indexed by search engines. Consequently, the aim of a launch is to have the important pages of the website indexed quickly.
With a relaunch, on the other hand, the website has already been indexed. The domain is known on the web and there are probably some backlinks2. In general, search engines like topicality and therefore changes. However, if a "long-established" website suddenly changes completely (especially technical implementation, navigation and internal links, or if external links point to subpages that no longer exist, the content is completely changed...), this can result in a reduction in visibility in search engines. During a relaunch, you should avoid this at all costs and still create a convincing new website.
OnPage measures during a relaunch
Observe the basic rules of on-page optimization before and during a relaunch. These include
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Create title and description tags3 in the header correctly and uniquely for each page
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Use headings correctly (only one H1) and place important keywords for the page there.
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Createunique content for each page that offers the user added value.
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Describe images and other media that cannot be "read" by search engines using title, description and alt tags4. The file name should also be "readable" if possible. These tags offer the possibility of describing media with text.
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The page tree (from the start page to the last subpage) should be flat, i.e. contain few subdirectories (maximum 4 levels) and be well thought out according to the website's objective.
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Important pages should receive a lot of linkjuice5 through internal links according to the website's goal. This means that you "recommend" important pages through internal linking. This could, for example, be the online
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could be.
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You should avoid technical gimmicks that are pleasing to the eye but useless for search engines and users with outdated browsers. This includes Flash in particular.
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[...]
For you, this means that in addition to entering images and text, other SEO-relevant content must also be entered into your CMS. Make sure you ask whether your system can handle these basic functions!
Tip: Are you thinking of meta keywords? That's right, these used to be frequently recommended by consultants and entered into websites with a lot of effort. Google does not use this information and has never used it. With your upcoming relaunch, you can at least dispense with this compulsory exercise.
Take a structured approach when revising the information architecture and content! Always keep in mind what your goal is and how the structure of the website should achieve this goal. Use mind maps to structure your pages and compile content for individual pages as a team. A very good program that helps you with text optimization is Lingulab (lingulab.de) from Stuttgart, which is available for a fee. The tool automatically analyzes your texts and gives you an immediate overview of the stumbling blocks and optimization potential of your texts.
Secure keyword rankings with professional redirect management
Your old website has grown over time, as have the links within the pages. During a relaunch - especially if the technical structure is changed - previous URLs (paths) will no longer reach the desired link target. To avoid this, you must "map" your old page with the new one and create redirects.
Example: example.com/en/lifeinsurance => example.com/en-lifeinsurance-calculator
The old website had a tool for calculating life insurance policies under /en/lifeinsurance. A similar tool can be found on your new website at /de-de/lebensversicherungsrechner. To ensure that users and search engines land on the new page when they try to open the old link, you need a 301 redirect6. As a nice side effect, you usually keep the keyword rankings that the old page had.
Off-page measures require a lot of care during the relaunch
When relaunching, it is important not to destroy existing structures, as this can cause resentment among linkers. It is therefore advisable to inform important link providers that a relaunch is imminent and that there may be changes to the link structure. Another important measure is to analyze previous backlinks: Are they good links or bad ones? Bad links should be disavowed directly (and repeatedly). This means that search engines are informed that this link is not wanted. However, link removal7 should be discussed with the linking webmaster beforehand. Especially in the course of Google's Penguin update, many websites were severely penalized due to a poor backlink structure. The subsequent link removal is sometimes exhausting, but it sensitizes website operators to focus on quality rather than quantity.
If you have good links, you should make sure that you pass on the new URLs to the backlink providers so that they can change the links. Alternatively, you can also insert a 301 redirect so that search engines and browsers are informed that this URL is no longer valid. Share important new URLs on the web as quickly and relevantly as possible. Here you should work specifically on social media channels, as this is where you will find the most multipliers.
Quality control through SEO pre-launch and post-launch check
You have invested a lot of work in the relaunch of your website. However, mistakes can still occur or you may have forgotten something. Quality control is therefore essential! With a professional SEO pre-launch and post-launch check using a standardized workflow, you can avoid problems when launching your website.
What does this mean? Well, here are a few examples to illustrate what is checked during a pre-launch and post-launch check:
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Targeting - Is the respective page optimized for a specific, previously defined keyword / keyword set?
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Content - Does the respective page have a unique, search engine optimized text?
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Title tag, path URL and meta description: Does the respective page have a unique title tag, a readable URL and a unique meta description? Do these comply with the quality guidelines of Google and Co.
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Internal links - Do all links work? Do all links have the right keyword as link text?
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Robots.txt - Is the Robots.txt file correct or is important content excluded from indexing?
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H1 - Is the keyword of the page included in the most important heading?
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Have other technical SEO aspects been implemented correctly?(Canonicals, responsive web design, website speed, meta robots, [...])
These and many other factors must be checked to ensure a successful relaunch. The check should be carried out on a stagingsystem8 before your own relaunch. Allow enough time for this so that your website developers have enough room to implement technical changes before the launch date. Experience has shown that many content and structural changes are made as a result of the relaunch. You should therefore repeat the pre-launch check at the latest one week after the launch as a post-launch check.
Online launch with fireworks
Celebrate the relaunch! Create a linkbait9 at the same time as the relaunch. This ensures greater attention and traffic with the online launch. Vouchers, competitions etc. are best suited here. A linkbait causes a stir and can push your website to the top almost for free! Our next blog post will be about linkbait ideas.
Other articles that might interest you:
- Online publishing with Thunder and Drupal 8
- The future of publishing: the best revenue models for your digitalization
- Responsive vs. adaptive design: serving all screen resolutions
- Switching to HTTPS done right
- The PageSpeed ranking factor
- Preparation for your project inquiry
1 Ranking penalty: Consequence that a search engine can take if its quality guidelines are violated. The website appears as a search result further down the list.
2 Backlinks: Links that lead from other websites to your own website.
3 Title and description tag: Meta information for search engines and other HTML-interpreting software (e.g. your browser). You use the tags to tell software what the title and description of the page are. Important factors for search engine optimization. Read more in our technical terms about the title tag.
4 Alt tag: Concerns media that is not text. The alternative text makes them "readable" for search engines and browsers that read them aloud. See accessibility
5 Linkjuice: This refers to all properties that a link transfers from one page (external or internal) to another. This includes the link text, PageRank, TrustRank, etc. If the linking page has a high Trust, this has a positive effect on the link-receiving page. Conversely, negative characteristics also have an effect on the ranking.
6 301-Redirect: A status code of the server. It indicates that the URL target has finally moved and is now accessible under a different URL.
7 Link removal: Negative backlinks are actively removed. This can have a positive effect on the ranking.
8 Staging system: A server instance that is technically and content-wise the same as the live system on which the visible website runs. Changes can be tested here without making them immediately visible online. Errors can be corrected on the staging system and the finished changes can be transferred to the live system at the end.
9 Linkbait: A combination of link and bait. Refers to content that entices Internet users to voluntarily share and link to this content.
