Are you thinking about rebranding?
If the answer is yes, then you need to follow the tips below to give your new brand the best chance of maintaining its online presence.
1. Try to keep the old domain name
If your domain name is quite generic then it is best to keep this name and just change the logo etc on the website as this gives your new brand the best chance of maintaining its rankings.
However, it is often not practical to keep the same domain name. If you do need to change the domain name make sure to setup up redirects from the old to the new, and inform Google of the domain change in Search Console. Unfortunately, if you do go down the route of changing the domain name you do run the risk of losing some traffic and potentially some rankings.
2. Keep the old content
If you are ranking well, wherever possible try to keep the old content on the website and just change the brand names on the pages.
Google obviously likes these pages and rewriting them might put your current rankings at risk.
3. Retain the current url structure
If you are going to change the domain name, try to keep the url structure the same. By keeping the structure the same it is easier to redirect the old domain to the new domain.
Whilst this may not guarantee that your positions in search engines stay the same, it helps to minimize the loss in traffic the new domain might have.
4. Redirect Correctly
If the structure of the new domain is going to change, because you have had a redesign for example, then redirecting the old pages to the new pages needs to be done correctly.
Many people just redirect all the old pages to the new homepage, but if there are links that were pointing to a particular page on the website, doing this will not only harm these pages rankings but also increase the bounce rate of the new site.
5. Promote your new brand name
Let your patients know that you have rebranded.
Any social media accounts you had for the old brand, inform people that you have changed your name.
Add a message on your new website to say that the name of the company has changed to help prevent any confused patients.
If you are looking to rebrand and need some help, please feel free to give Dental Design a call on 01202 677277 and we will gladly help.
Inspiration taken from – Search Engine Journal