The most important SEO and UX measures for a successful website relaunch

What is a website relaunch?

Search engines regularly increase their technical SEO standards via algorithm updates and the focus on users’ needs (user experience). In the course of a relaunch (i.e. the replacement of the old website with an improved one), there is a chance to get rid of all content that no longer corresponds to these guidelines at the core. At the same time, a restructuring and redesign of the website can be undertaken. Since a relaunch is an extensive project with many players and complex processes, it is important to plan everything well in advance. Below you will find a checklist you can use to get a website relaunch underway at your company.

The advantages of a website relaunch

• Possibility of rebranding and repositioning for strategically important products, services, and topics
• More flexibility to customize the pages by updating or changing the content management system (CMS)
• Optimization of page structure for a better user experience
• Improved organic ranking and increased traffic for strategically important keywords
• Optimization of page speed to improve customer satisfaction and business-related KPIs

The anonymized example below shows a website relaunch that received SEO support only after go-live. Visibility (a value based on the number of keyword rankings, keyword search volume, and competition) dropped by two-thirds after go-live without SEO support. As a result, rankings for relevant keywords deteriorated massively or dropped altogether, which had a major impact on organic traffic. It took more than three years until the visibility reached the level it was before the relaunch.

The following measures will help you achieve a successful website relaunch:

Strategy and preparation

• Targeted selection of the CMS as a basis for a successful implementation
• Content audit of the old setup to (de)prioritize the pages for the new information architecture
• Competitor analysis and keyword research to optimize the existing and new pages after the relaunch
• Conception of the new information architecture based on the content analyses
• Keyword mapping to assign search terms to relevant pages, optimization of metadata and onpage elements

Implementation (pre-launch / go-live / post-launch)

• Technical specifications for a clean setup and correct indexing
• Optimization of page speed in collaboration with the development team
• Iterative testing of measures to ensure correct implementation
• Content creation guidelines for search engine and user friendly content
• Redirect mapping and testing to ensure performance transfer from old to new site
• Support a smooth go-live by testing and submitting the sitemap to Google Search Console
• Monitoring, review and outlook meeting to improve measures

Conclusion: The eight success factors for a website relaunch

• Sufficient time, because a relaunch is an important and demanding process that lays the foundation for the long-term performance of the website
• Good project management that maintains an overview and incorporates and promotes the requirements of all disciplines
• Timely incorporation of the SEO and UX perspectives into strategic and conceptual decisions
• A lean, user-friendly information architecture that provides clear user journeys and leads customers to deals quickly and easily through understandable content preparation
• Keyword mapping that assigns relevant keywords to each page in the information architecture and thus allows for precise and appropriate targeting.
• A proper technical setup with a strong focus on proper indexing and site speed
• A clean redirect mapping and a correct implementation of redirects from old to new URLs
• Observation and analysis of the development after the go-live and a proactive reaction in case of anomalies.

SEO and UX relaunch support by Webrepublic

When accompanying a website relaunch, our focus is clearly on holistic thinking, quality, and proactivity. For a project of this magnitude the goal is to prove profitable in retrospect for our clients, and for the resources invested to create a sustainable and fertile ground. Our SEO and UX team will be happy to assess your situation in a no-obligation initial meeting and is available with expertise at the cutting edge to answer any questions you may have about your planned relaunch.