Re: direction

Most web site redesigns are more than a simple update of the look and feel, particularly in the B2B space where I spend most of my time. The cycle of updates in the B2B world tends to be ponderous and almost glacial, reflecting an accumulation of time on what is for the most part stagnant and static content. A site redesign really means a content overhaul.

This is a good thing. The more fresh content on a site, the better. It would be best to have a vibrant and active site, with lots of new content and a vigorous content management program. The reality, particularly in B2B, is that this does not always happen and once a site is built, it tends to sit.

So change is good. However, if you're lucky, this can present a problem. Let me explain the conundrum.

If your client or your B2B company has had a web site for a while, and by now almost everybody has had at least a bare-bones site for many years, you may have developed decent search engine rankings for good key phrases. You don't want to lose that "equity" when you move to a new site with new page names and new content.

That's why any part of a new site plan needs to include 301 redirects and other programming or system tactics designed to send users (or spiders) to new pages when they are looking for the old.

Imagine the scenario: you have a new site design which includes new information architecture and updated content. You remove your old page www.sitename.com/widget.html because your new page, www.sitename.com/widget_new.html, has the updated content.

A searcher goes to Google and looks for "widget." Your old page was ranked #5 on the organic SERP. The searcher clicks on the link, which sends her to the old page, /widget.html. This is now a dead link and you've lost her. She goes back to the Google SERP and clicks on #6 instead.

Better scenario: you set up a 301 redirect so that when she clicks on your link, her browser tries to load the /widget.html page but is told by the server to instead load the page at /widget_new.html. Thus she lands on your new site, on the new page that still talks about widgets. She's happy (she's looking for widgets, after all); you're happy (you did not lose her); and the search engines are happy because a 301 is an approved redirect process and they don't think you are spamming.

This article by Erik Dafform at ClickZ does a good job of talking about some of the tactics that can be used to ensure that proper redirection takes place.

http://www.clickz.com/3626928