SEO Website Relaunch - Implement successfully

An analysis of the current performance in search is indispensable to recognize and maintain already existing rankings. An initial analysis can also identify open SEO potential - through new content or optimization of the website structure, for example. A comprehensive keyword analysis should also be part of this measure.

After defining existing and future content and its structure, the structure of the future URLs must be outlined, which together with the naming of the URLs must be well thought out in order to avoid subsequent changes and redirects. In this step, the handling of parameter URLs (e.g. through filtering options) should also be defined in order to avoid the creation of duplicate content.

In particular, the developers responsible for the relaunch should be provided with a checklist of SEO-relevant technical requirements. Here it is determined which SEO settings are made in the CMS and must also be possible in the future. For example, meta data should be maintainable and the setting of canonicals or the implementation of structured data should also be considered.

In the case of a website relaunch or domain migration, at least the URL structure usually changes, but sometimes also the entire domain under which a website can be reached. Similar to a physical move, 301 redirects must inform the search engine that content can now be found at a different address. Redirects also prevent users from landing on pages that are no longer accessible. Which URL should be redirected to which new URL must be defined beforehand and a redirect mapping must be set up for the entire website.

Ideally, internal linking was already taken into account when planning the new website structure and building the URL structure. It must be ensured that important content is strongly linked internally (e.g. via the navigation) and that no page is orphaned, i.e. has no internal links. Orphaned pages cannot be found by the search engine or the user and therefore have little to no traffic potential.

In addition to checking all technical requirements, the SEO conformity of the content on the new website must also be ensured. It is important to check whether all content has a clean headline structure, all important meta data is maintained and, for example, images are equipped with alt texts.

Even after perfect planning and optimal implementation in the test environment, there may still be further hurdles to the successful website relaunch or domain migration. These include, for example, an incorrect setup of the robots.txt file and the XML sitemap. In the robots.txt file, no important directories may be excluded from crawling and an error-free XML sitemap must be available.

When building a new website, people often forget to integrate the previously implemented tracking codes (e.g. Google Analytics or Tag Manager) into the new website. This can lead to a data gap in the tracking of visitor numbers and prevents the relaunch from being optimally monitored.

The timing for the switch from the old to the new website should also be optimally coordinated. As a rule, time windows are suitable here when few visitors are on the website (e.g., at night). Migrations shortly before the weekend or before public holidays are generally not advisable, since in an emergency the relevant contacts for troubleshooting are not available.