Will Adding new pages drop Google Search Rank?

[kathere]

We are on our way to revamping our website...And adding new sub-pages and still keep our corporate domain. Will it affect our current google search page rank? Or we need new efforts in SEO-ing our site for the obvious that we'll be back to zero? Help please. Thank you.

[tedster]

Hello kathere, and welcome to the forums.

There have been a few cautionary tales around the forum recently, but those experiences are VERY rare, in my experience. Most organizations develop new versions of their website, and/or expand the content on a regular basis, with no ranking troubles at all.

I only suggest being sure you know what your doing technically - because that's often where the problems come from, if they come. You may find this current discussion very useful:

Site Relaunch Checklist [webmasterworld.com]

[aristotle]

My suggestions:

1. Try to keep as many existing URLs and page titles as possible.

2. Try to avoid using redirects.

3. Make prudent use of internal links to control the distribution of pagerank within the site. Try to flow most of the available PR to the pages that attract traffic.

4. Where feasible, add the new content to existing pages instead of creating new pages.

5. Avoid using nofollow tags on both internal and external links.

6. Incorporate all changes GRADUALLY.

[bhartzer]

I definitely would try to keep all the old URLS, as many as possible. I'm seeing any favorable results by using a 301 Permanent Redirect to a new URL. It's as if some link credit is not being passed through the 301s anymore.

That said, keep the existing URLs as much as possible, and use those URLs to link out to the new content.

[aristotle]

It's as if some link credit is not being passed through the 301s anymore.

Didn't a Google employee recently confirm this, that some link juice is lost when using a 301?

Another possible reason to avoid 301's, although I can't prove it, is that the Google algorithm may downgrade sites that have an excessive number of internal redirects.

[tedster]

Didn't a Google employee recently confirm this, that some link juice is lost when using a 301?

Yep, none other than Matt Cutts - although he did need to check with someone on the regulr algo team first. Not only that but 1) sometimes the transfer is significantly delayed and 2) sometimes it doesn't happen at all. Trust is the issue.

[kathere]

Thanks for your swift replies. Will be following and will definitely make a checklist. Thank you!

[Robert Charlton]

Often when corporate sites are rebuilt, designers and marketing people (and even IT people) don't have an in-depth idea of what the search targets are, what the optimizing elements are, and how changes they make will affect their rankings and traffic.

They may make changes that they feel are cosmetic improvements that completely undo the work of previous SEO efforts, sometimes destroying years of link building in the process. I've seen this happen repeatedly... everything from changing page titles to conform with marketing slogans, to adding Flash to make a site trendy.

So yes, if someone is knowledgeable to redesign a site and leave the essential elements alone, and to follow the Site Relaunch Check List, then it's not likely that a site redesign will cause any great problems.

But if you don't have anyone who is SEO knowledgeable and who understands what terms your site is productively ranking for and why, then you should have someone who is knowledgeable consult with you at every step of the way.

More often than not, when I look at a site that I've optimized years back where business changes have severed my ties with the site, I'm horrified by what I see. If you're happy with your current rankings and traffic, make sure you talk with your SEO when you make whatever changes you're planning on. If not, do get someone who does understand what's going on, and have them pay close attention to the process.