Redesigning Your Website in 2012? Read this first!

If you have been contemplating tossing out your existing website and putting up another fabulous new fancy website you must do so with ease and caution.

I have worked on websites for numerous companies and provided quality search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that the website shows up in search engines like Google among page one search results for keywords relevant to the small business.  It takes time, patience and a bit of mixing and matching various terms in the code of a website to accomplish the ideal search result. Unfortunately, I have watched the owners of the websites do the unthinkable - toss out my SEO content for a new beautiful yet un-SEO'd website. 

Typically small business owners have no idea what they have done until they start searching for their new website using the old keywords that used to turn up their website on page one.  They just don't understand why their site no longer appears on page one. They didn't realize the equity they had in the content that populated the website the yearned to redesign.


Planning for a Website Redesign


There are few things you should do before you take down your old website:
1. Leave your old site up during your redesign: Ever go to a web page that says "under construction"? I hate that and YOUR customer hates it too. They don't care that your website is going to be new and fabulous. They want your phone number or your address or your list of products and services.  Keep your existing website LIVE while the new website is built behind the scenes. This will ensure a smooth transition on search engines.


***Free Whitepaper Download****
Website Redesign and Search Engine Optimization – Keys For Success 
Learn...

• What happens to traffic to old Web pages?
• What happens to Search Engine rankings if the pages are changed or removed?
• Can the Web site drop in the rankings?
• How long can it take for the new Web site to be indexed?
• Is there a risk of the Web site receiving a Spam penalty for duplicate content?
• How are backlink values transferred to the new site?

Click here for the download form

2.   Take Note of Your Title Tags: What is a title tag? Well if your website shows up high in search results I bet you have really good title tags on your old website. The title tags are the words that appear at the very top of your browser (as shown circled at right in Safari.) Keep a copy of your  title tags to use for your new website. 

***Free e-Book Download***

7 Strategic Steps for Internet Presence to Make Your Business Boom
Learn...

• Basic facts of website usage
• Website challenges for small businesses
• Seven simple steps to internet strategy 

Click here for the e-book download form

3. Keep Copies of Your Old Content: Don't throw out the baby with the bath water!  Go through each page of your website and copy all of your content. This will make it extremely easy to replicate the search results of your old website should the new website content not make the grade.


***Free Whitepaper Download***

Four Ways to Supercharge Your Small Business' Online Presence
Learn...

• Find Partners Who Offer a One-Stop Online Toolbox
• Develop and Maintain a Dynamic, Personalized Website Experience
• Unleash the Potential of E-Commerce
• Put Bodyguards at the Portal Door to Secure Your Business
• Bonus Tip: Provide Employees with Tools that Help Improve Efficiency

Click here for the whitepaper download form


The above outlines the basics, but if you need more information check out one of the free download offers on this page for more in-depth suggestions for our website project. 


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