Hi Jill,

We are redoing the web site and wanted to make sure we preserve your SEO work that has kept us at the top...what are the things we need to be aware of to ensure continued success?

Can we use ASP or PHP pages?
Will minor changes to the text have an impact?
Use of Flash, just in limited places?
New graphics files?
New link names inside the page to navigate?
Anything else?

Thank you so much!!

Brent

Jill's Response

Hi Brent,

Can we use ASP or PHP pages?

Yes, you can definitely use those, but just remember that your URLs will change, making all your current high-ranking pages 404 errors in the search engines. Make sure you have a custom 404-error page up to catch those people who come in through those pages at the search engines. Using a nice sitemap page as your 404-error page is often good for that purpose.

Also make sure you're not using more than 3 query string parameters in the URLs of your dynamic pages. They are hard to get indexed sometimes, although Google seems to index some of them these days.

Again, using a sitemap will help, because you want to make sure you have static links to your dynamic URLs. (Read my interview with Alan Perkins about dynamic sites for more info.)

Will minor changes to the text have an impact?

Minor changes to the text will probably not have an impact if they are indeed minor and you're not removing keyword phrases.

Use of Flash just in limited places?

Flash is fine if it's used like regular .gif or .jpg graphics. Entire pages embedded in Flash are definitely a bad idea because there will be no content for the search engines to index.

New graphics files?

This should not be a problem.

New link names inside the page to navigate?

This is where it starts to get sticky. Eventually, the engines will spider through the site and index all your new pages, but there's no guarantee that they'll all rank as they currently do. Theoretically they should. It probably won't happen overnight, however. Don't be surprised to have a 1-2 month period where you're waiting for your new pages to get listed. Also, don't be surprised if you see the new pages in the index and then they're gone again. That's normal and is nothing to be concerned with. Just be patient. I would guess that you should begin to see if you're doing okay within 4-6 weeks of launch, possibly sooner.

You can also set up complicated redirects from the old URLs to the new, which will help, but only Google handles redirects well at the moment. I feel that it's a better idea to take the temporary pain of getting the new pages indexed, than to forever keep the old URLs redirected. You could compromise and redirect the old pages for a month or two and then take them (or the redirects) down. That should work fine with Google at least.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Good luck!

Jill

Brent's Additional Questions

Jill,

Thanks for the response...please take a moment to make sure we are all clear because we were very fortunate to have the benefit of your expertise once and I do not want to lose even a single rank during this process. If we follow what is listed below, we will remain on top like nothing ever happened, right?

1. PHP and ASP are out. Just use good old-fashioned HTML.

2. Links inside the page cannot be changed or removed...the new site must use all the same URLs and links as the original web site, including graphics names.

3. Flash is okay, just no building the entire site out of it.

4. We must use a sitemap...did the old site have one we should just keep?

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to respond to our emails, and so very promptly at that. 8-)

Warmest Regards,

Brent

Jill's Response

Hi Brent,

If we follow what is listed below we will remain on top like nothing ever happened, right?

I can't be 100% positive, but for the most part, as long as the following conditions are met, your rankings should basically stay where they are.

- Page URLs are all still there and are using the same file names (and extensions).
- The links are all still there and easily "follow-able."
- The copy on the pages is basically kept the same.

It would be a good idea to show me the prototype site before you make it live so I can let you know if I see anything that might hinder your efforts at keeping your rankings, especially if you plan to rewrite some of the copy.

See below for additional comments.

1. PHP and ASP are out. Just use good old-fashioned HTML.

That will definitely help keep things the same. However, if it makes your design and updating work on the site a lot easier to use PHP or ASP, then don't be too scared to just bite the bullet and do it.

2. Links inside the page cannot be changed or removed...the new site must use all the same URLs and links as the original web site, including graphics names.

I wouldn't worry about the names of your graphic images. But you'd want the URLs to remain the same for maximum benefit.

3. Flash is okay, just no building the entire site out of it.

Correct. Little bits for emphasis, instead of a static graphic for instance, are fine.

4. We must use a sitemap...

If you're not changing your file extensions to .asp or .php or whatever, and you don't currently have a sitemap, it's not necessary. It's always nice to have one though. If you have an old one that will be staying basically the same (same links), then yes, continue to use it (or a newly designed version).

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to respond to our emails, and so very promptly at that. 8-)

No problem. The last one wasn't actually "prompt" for me. [Took me a few days (gasp!)] This one is better! ;-) [Took me a few minutes! (grin)]

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jill