Most Web site owners know that doing a complete site overhaul requires time and planning, as drastic changes can cause sharp dips in SERP positioning. But even making changes to copy or tweaking the
URL structure to make it more search-friendly can cause rankings fluctuations, so it's important to have a solid transition plan.
Jennifer Osborne lists some of the questions a
Webmaster should take into account when making site changes. For example, you should avoid making changes to URLs--but sometimes site improvements like reorganizing sub-folder structures, or making
the URL naming system more intuitive, require those changes.
"If it's not possible to keep your URLs the same or if you decide that you're better off moving to intuitive, keyword
friendly URLs then you need to 301 (not 302) redirect each page of the old site to it's new destination on the new site," Osborne says. She also touches on tips for making content changes, as well as
tweaks to the internal linking structure.
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