The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
August 2005, Volume 4, Issue 8

Relaunching Your Website: What to Expect from Organic Search

by Heather Molina, SEO Program Manager, Carat Interactive

A few months back I switched jobs. While I am still working in the search marketing industry and enjoy what I do, anytime you switch jobs it’s a little overwhelming at first. It’s not really the work that’s overwhelming though, it’s the work culture adjustment that can really throw you off for the first few weeks.

What’s the Difference?

In my case, I still provide organic search deliverables and feedback to clients and offer industry research and knowledge to colleagues. But my new work day is different. The hours are different. The people are different. My desk is different. And all this change takes time to acclimate to. It just took time for me to figure out how to navigate through it all until it became familiar - sort of like a search engine’s algorithm and a newly relaunched website.

Being the New Kid and Trying to Win Them Over

When you make changes to your website, you are essentially changing a search engine spider’s “job” in navigating your site. The changes could be small or large. Nonetheless, you changed your site, and now a spider has to navigate through it and figure out what to do with the changes. It could take weeks for the search engines to recognize that you’ve made changes and it could take a few more weeks before it decides how to rank your site after recognizing the changes.

You may notice no change in visibility in the top search engines at first. But it is likely you will see a drop in visibility before you see any indication from the algorithm that it likes your changes. This doesn’t mean it was a mistake to make the changes in the first place. Like with any change, it takes time. The most important thing is to make sure you made changes the right way.

How the Heck Do I Know It Was the Right Change?

Truth is, no one outside the engines themselves knows exactly what makes search engine algorithms tick. Search engine algorithms are living things. They change what they like all the time. Yes, there is much speculation about what is important to them (textual content, external links, internal linking structures, how you publish your pages), but no one can guarantee you that the changes you make will lead you down the path of “SEO Righteousness” to top rankings in top search engines. This is why it is critical for you to work with an experienced SEO vendor to help you prioritize for organic search LONG before you relaunch your site.

SEO vendors dedicate resources and time to monitoring and researching what it takes to gain solid visibility and have gone through the relaunching process with dozens, if not hundreds, of clients. And while the basic outline of best practices for relaunching a site to make it “spider-friendly” should be applied when planning your relaunch, other factors may come into play that you can’t control (e.g. competitors in your online vertical). A good SEO firm will also help you decide which changes to your site are the most critical to perform within your competitive landscape.

A Bright Future and Good Times

It is impossible to jump into any change and expect to know if it will turn out well for you. The most you can do is figure out what your expectations should be by researching the changes before you make them. If you go into a change with realistic expectations that it will take for to produce a positive result, you’ll be more patient and open to adjusting and tweaking things while waiting for that desired result to come. With SEO, as in life, change can be a very good thing.

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The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article: August 2005, Volume 4, Issue 8

Relaunching Your Website: What to Expect from Organic Search

The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
August 2005, Volume 4, Issue 8