Relaunching a website is a fun and exciting process. Whether part of an overall brand refresh, or simply updating an outdated relic, a website relaunch offers a great opportunity to give your brand a more appealing digital presence and boost your lead generation efforts.
A very common mistake organizations make during a website relaunch initiative is excluding search engine optimization (SEO) from the outset. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the visual design and aesthetics of a new site, but designing a beautiful site without incorporating SEO is like buying a new car with an amazing paint job but no engine. Make sure your new site is is as functional as it is beautiful!
…should have looked under the hood.
A surprising number of website design firms are focused on design only, and do not incorporate SEO into their efforts. All too often, those tasked with a website relaunch are new to the process, and are trusting design firms as subject matter experts to deliver the best results. These firms deliver on exactly what they are contracted to do: design and deploy an aesthetically pleasing website, NOT a site that will perform well in search results. Only months later when site traffic has plummeted and bounce rates are through the roof is the question asked, “Is our flashy new site search engine friendly?” The whole experience is like buying a used car off of Craigslist that breaks down right after you buy it.
So how do you avoid a ‘lemon’ with your website relaunch? Here’s a start:
- Incorporate SEO strategy from the very beginning of your website initiative. If engaging with a design firm, ask them directly how they incorporate SEO into their process before a contract is in place.
- Do keyword research and develop a content strategy with your buyer personas in mind. This affects everything: site menus, URL structure, page content, and so on.
- Look at your competitors and how they are ranking for search terms. Evaluate what you want to rank for and how your site content will rank for those terms.
There’s many factors to consider when doing SEO for a site relaunch, so we’ve created a free E-book full of SEO tips to make sure you avoid the common pitfalls: “10 SEO Mistakes to Avoid During Your Next Website Redesign.”
