How to Retain Rankings after Website Redesign
If your web pages are included in the top search engine optimization results, chances are you have spent good money, time and dedication on making it happen. For sure, you don't want your bubble to be pricked just because of minor recklessness or modifications.
Some webmasters are worried about the possibility that their SEO rankings would drop significantly after making a redesign. Obviously, a sane website owner would never trade improved search engine results for a newer and fancier website.
Redesigning a site is a gamble. Your web pages may be demoted, promoted, go somewhere in between – or perhaps vanish in the search engine results. However, it is crucial to take the necessary steps to keep the unwanted aftermath from happening.
When site structure is altered even a bit, the rankings are expected to plummet. To remedy this, it is better to use the 301 redirect to inform both the search engines and the visitors that your page has been altered or moved. Search engine would eventually re-assign credit and existing rankings would be transferred to the new location.
