My New Website Looks Great; So Why Did My SEO Tank?
Hey there, Website Warriors! So, you’ve just launched your shiny new website, and it looks absolutely amazing. You’re feeling pretty proud of yourself, right? But hold up a sec – what’s going on with your search rankings? They’ve taken a nosedive, and now you’re scratching your head, wondering, “My new website looks great, so why did my SEO tank?”
Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this. Let’s grab a coffee and settle in, because it’s time to do a deep dive into the fascinating world of new website SEO, search rankings, and website development.
The SEO Rollercoaster: Why Your Rankings Might’ve Dropped
Oops, Where Did All My Content Go?
One of the biggest pitfalls when redesigning or launching a new website is removing a backlog of your old content. Trust us, we understand that you want your website to look sleek and refreshed, but that doesn’t mean you need to ditch your old content. Search engines love content, so when you take it away, you’re effectively telling Google, “Hey, all that content you loved and indexed for us? Yeah, it’s gone now!” Which causes Google to say, “Well, if the content isn’t there anymore, I guess I can’t rank it.” Thus, your ranking takes a tumble.
New Design, New URLs?
Another common mistake we see is changing your URL structure without setting up proper 301 redirects. It’s very much like moving into a new house and forgetting to notify Canada Post. You can’t expect to get your mail without updating your address, and you need to think of search engines in the same way. If search engines aren’t able to find your pages at their old addresses, they’re going to assume they’re no longer there.
Slow and Steady Loses the Race
Your new website might look like a million dollars, but if your page speed is slow, you’re in trouble. Page speed is essential for your new website’s SEO, meaning if your website pages are lagging and having a hard time loading, search engines (and users) are going to bounce off faster than a hockey puck after a slap shot.
On-Page Optimization: The Unsung Hero of SEO
Let’s dive into on-page optimization, which plays a crucial role in SEO. During a website redesign, it’s easy to focus on aesthetics and overlook the essential on-page SEO details. However, these elements are key to ensuring your site performs well in search rankings.
Meta Titles and Descriptions
Meta titles and descriptions might sound like tech mumbo-jumbo, but they’re super important. They’re like the cover page of a book – they tell search engines and users what your page is all about. If you’ve changed these or forgotten to add them to your new pages, your SEO will take a hit.
Heading for Trouble
Headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) aren’t just for making your text look nice. They help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content. If you mess up with heading structure while designing your website, it will certainly confuse Google.
Content is Still King
Let’s have a heart-to-heart about content strategy. When you’re redesigning, it’s tempting to focus on looks over substance. But remember, content is what brings web crawlers and people to your site in the first place. Making engaging, informative content is always going to improve your overall SEO, so it’s not something you want to be lax about.
Link Building is Still a Big Deal
Content is, in fact, king – but backlinking remains the hailed queen of SEO. When it comes to any new website SEO, having high-quality backlinks is absolutely essential to improving your website’s authority and boosting your search engine rankings.
When launching a new website, you need to continue building these connections, and thereby, your website’s overall authority. Don’t let backlinking go upon launching a new website – keep reaching out to those relevant websites and develop some high-quality backlinks on your new web pages.
Quality Over Quantity, But Don’t Go Overboard
Yes, it’s good to get rid of low-quality or outdated content. But you should be careful while creating or removing content for your website. Each piece of content you remove is a potential landing page. Instead, you can update old content to be more relevant to the now, including additional links and resources to make them more up to date.
Fresh Content, Fresh Rankings
If you haven’t added any new content since your redesign, that could be part of the problem. Search engines love fresh, relevant content. It shows them your site is active, so don’t hesitate to get the content rolling out. You can even plan ahead and craft a backlog of content you can schedule out after the website goes live.
Technical SEO: The Behind-the-Scenes Star
Sometimes, the problem isn’t what you can see, but what’s happening behind the curtain. Technical SEO issues can really mess with your rankings.
Mobile-First? More Like Mobile-Must!
With more users browsing on their phones than ever, having a mobile-friendly site isn’t just nice to have – it’s essential. If your new design looks great on desktop but translates poorly to mobile, that’s going to hurt your website’s SEO. Make sure your website is accessible across several platforms.
Robots.txt and Sitemap
During a redesign, it’s easy to forget about your robots.txt file and sitemap. These tell search engines what to crawl and index on your site. If they’re not set up right, you might accidentally be telling search engines to ignore your whole site!
The Importance of User Experience
Here’s something a lot of website designers forget: SEO isn’t just about pleasing search engines. It’s about making your visitors happy too. If your new design looks great but is harder to navigate, that’s going to hurt your SEO in the long run. Traffic to your website is always an SEO positive.
Bounce Rate Blues
If people land on your site and immediately hit the back button, that sends a signal to search engines that your content isn’t helpful. Make sure your new design isn’t confusing or frustrating your visitors. You can do this by doing internal testing to make sure your website is accessible.
Click-Through Rate Matters
Your site might rank well, but if no one’s clicking on it in the search results, that’s a problem. Make sure your meta titles and descriptions are still enticing and accurate after your redesign.
Avoid Panicking – You Got This
When you notice a steep drop in search rankings, it can be tempting to revert back to your old navigation – don’t. If you go back to your old structure (the one that was previously indexed), Google isn’t automatically going to pick it back up. You’re just prolonging the drop. Besides, this is also an unnecessary additional cost in terms of time and money. Instead, it’s essential to make sure you plan ahead before launching a new website to avoid these steep drops in search rankings.
The Road to Recovery: Getting Your New Website SEO Back on Track
So, your new website’s SEO might be down, but it’s not out for the count. Here’s what you can do to turn things around:
- Do your research: Identify pages with organic traffic and ranking keywords
- Make a plan: Map out current content on those pages
- Beware redirects: Review previous website 301 redirects
- Compare and contrast: Compare current indexed pages with new website pages
- Audit content: Identify missing or outdated information and make updates
- Check redirects: Ensure old URLs point to the correct new pages
- Optimize on-page elements: Verify meta tags, headers, and alt text
- Improve site speed: Optimize images, minify code, and consider a better hosting plan
- Mobile-optimize: Ensure the site functions well across all devices
- Create fresh, high-quality content: Keep your site relevant and active for search engines
- Build quality backlinks: Reach out to reputable sites for strong DA links
New Website SEO – Avoiding the Pitfalls and Finding Success
Look, redesigning your website is a lot like renovating your house. It’s exciting, but there’s always a chance something might go wrong. The key is to plan and keep SEO in mind throughout the whole process.
A great-looking website is awesome, but it’s not worth much if no one can find it. Balance aesthetics with solid SEO practices, and you’ll have a site that not only looks like a million bucks but ranks like it, too.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by new website SEO, don’t worry—TrafficSoda is here to help. We’re experts in website redesign and SEO, with years of experience helping businesses enhance their online presence. Reach out to us today and discover how we can help you expand your digital reach.