In a recent episode from Ask Googlebot, Google search attorney John Mueller discussed a concern many small business owners have.
Businesses often work to launch a new website while continuing to run their old site. Mueller was asked if the owners would have to remove the old site when the new one goes live.
This is what he advises.
Navigating the transition from old to new websites
Mueller stressed the need to remove or update the outdated website, as leaving conflicting information online could confuse users and hurt SEO.
Having inconsistent details, such as changing business hours or addresses on both sites, can frustrate customers and make it difficult for search engines to index and rank your pages correctly.
To provide the best user experience and SEO performance, it is critical to ensure that the old site is no longer publicly visible or is updated to match the current information.
Best practices for a smooth transition
The solution, Mueller suggests, is to implement redirects from the old site to the new one.
“The ideal would be to redirect the old website to the new one,” Mueller said. Not only does this help users find the right website, but it also helps search engines transfer existing signals to the new domain, which can increase its reputation.
Mueller recommends getting help from a web developer or hosting provider to implement redirects properly. He suggests leaving redirects in place for at least a year to ensure a smooth transition for users and search engines.
Understand the role of redirects
Redirects are essential when transitioning a website domain to a new domain. They help in a couple of key ways.
First, redirects ensure that users trying to visit the website’s old domain are automatically redirected to the new domain.
Second, redirects pass the value of links pointing to the old domain to the new domain.
This transfer of link equity is vital for the new website to maintain its search engine rankings. Switching domains could hurt user experience and SEO without redirects.
How to implement redirects
When moving a website, one of the most common and recommended types of redirects is a permanent 301 redirect. This passes link equity or ranking power from old pages to new pages.
To set up these redirects, you first need to map out which old URLs should point to which new ones. Then, depending on your web server, edit your .htaccess file (for Apache) or your server configuration files (for NGINX) to create the redirects.
Many content management systems like WordPress also have plugins that can help create these redirects automatically when a site is migrated.
When redirects are not an option
Mueller suggested some options for managing old websites when redirects to a new domain are not possible.
First, update the old site with a notice notifying visitors that the content has been moved to a new domain. If this cannot be done, remove the old site entirely.
He assured that if neither of these options worked, the new site would not be penalized by search engines for outdated content from the old domain. However, he cautioned that old and new websites may still appear in searches for a while, which may need clarification for users who find the old content.
After the Transition
After you’ve made the transition, you’ll want to keep an eye out to make sure everything is going well:
Use analytics software to check that redirects are working properly and that traffic is being sent to the right places. Keep monitoring your search engine rankings for any unexpected drops that could mean there’s a problem with the transition. Inform users of the change through emails, social media, website announcements, etc., so they are informed and not surprised by the transition.
To sum up
Moving to a new website is a big change for any business. Managing shift carefully is vital to maintaining your search engine rankings and providing users with a seamless experience.
Mueller’s guidance and additional background provided in this article should help make the transition from an old site to a new one a smooth one.
Featured Image: Screenshot from YouTube.com/GoogleSearchCentral, January 2024
[ad_2]
Source link
