Site launches are arguably one of the riskiest SEO endeavors. You can go from pure SEO bliss to catastrophe at the flick of a switch.
I’m sure any seasoned SEO you ask could tell you a site launch horror story or two; if it was done due to lack of knowledge/experience or due to something completely out of their hands.
I hope that with today’s article you will learn something from some of the lessons I’ve learned launching websites over the past decade. At the very least, it might help avoid one less site launch horror story.
Below are some of the main lessons I’ve learned in no particular order of importance.
1. Excluding low-traffic pages from redirects during a site launch is risky
I learned this lesson the hard way when I worked at an agency years ago.
For whatever reason, at the time, we only redirected the top 500 pages of a site based on traffic, links, and overall page authority.
If it was a CMS page (like category pages), those were also redirected.
As for the rest, if we could find a way to bulk redirect it beyond that, we did. If not, we cut it there.
When you’re running an eCommerce site with thousands and thousands of pages, low search traffic to a specific page or set of pages can still add up to hundreds or thousands of visits overall. This can cause a significant drop in total traffic after launch.
If you want to avoid any kind of traffic loss, be sure to schedule an hour with your web team in advance to discuss a 301 redirect strategy so that you can redirect most, if not all, of your old pages on your new pages. .
Dig Deeper: SEO during website development and after launch: key considerations
2. Problems with redirects can cause major technical problems and loss of traffic after a site is launched
Even the most perfect 301 redirect strategy can go wrong.
Not only is it important that you have a good strategy and list, but it’s almost as important to check that the redirects are working properly immediately after launch.
You want to check for things like:
Redirect strings. loops 302 redirects.
To do this, I recommend using Screaming Frog’s list mode feature to audit your redirects by uploading your list of redirects and checking the final destination of each URL. I also use a tool called WhereGoes to check for loops and redirect chains. For me, it’s never a bad thing to use more than one tool for testing.
3. Changing the user experience can limit traffic to your new site for months
I once worked at a furniture store. All kinds of changes were being made, from the overall site design to the navigation, filters, and checkout experience.
Making these changes is not wrong. However, without proper testing, things can go wrong quickly.
After launch, we experienced a loss of traffic and a drop in conversion rate. Customers also had problems at checkout. There were many problems, to say the least.
Things got a little better over time, but I’m not sure they ever fully recovered.
You can expect problems with any launch, but when the conversion rate closes, that’s a big sign of user experience issues. Especially when you introduce changes like navigation updates, different filters and a new design.
This experience highlighted the importance of having a skilled user experience team for a successful site launch. It can make or break your site!
Dig Deeper: 12 SEO pitfalls to avoid when migrating a web platform
4. Not involving SEO from the start is a recipe for disaster
I was initially brought on only to collaborate with an outside agency on the retargeting strategy (and other SEO details) for the relaunch of the furniture company’s site I mentioned above.
I was not included in the site launch meetings. I did not have access to frames, designs or related materials.
In hindsight, I should have asked for more information. I assumed these aspects were being handled.
What I’ve learned since then: It’s in your best interest to proactively get involved in any area that might impact SEO.
Many people often overlook your work as SEO. It’s often better to assume people don’t know what you know than to assume they’re thinking or caring because they probably aren’t.
If proper thought and care is being taken, this is amazing. You are one of the lucky few. At least you know you’ve done your due diligence.
Here are the things you should be involved in for a site launch:
Strategy meetings Wireframe / information architecture reviews Design / UX discussions Keyword research for new pages Organizing access and site reviews 301 redirect strategy Post-launch review
You can further improve this process by better collaboration between teams and by communicating the importance of what you do and why you do it.
This can be done through better processes, documentation, training and simply educating other teams. Often in SEO, you have to be your own advocate.
Dig deeper: How to use SEO education for stakeholder management
Navigating the perils of site launches
Site launches are inherently risky endeavors for SEO, but proper planning and cross-functional collaboration can help you avoid potential pitfalls.
While not an exhaustive guide, learning from the lessons outlined here can save you from common site launch mistakes that set your SEO efforts back months or even years.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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