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When it comes to SEO, even minor adjustments to your website can have significant consequences. One such change that many website owners consider is altering their URL structure. While it might seem like a small decision, it can lead to a range of negative impacts on your website’s SEO performance. In this post, we’ll explore how changing your website’s URL structure can hurt your SEO and why it’s a move you should think twice about.
What Is URL Structure, and Why Does It Matter?
Your website URL structure is the format and organisation of the web addresses for all pages on your site. A well-structured URL is both user-friendly and search engine-friendly. It helps search engines understand the content and relevance of your pages, making it easier to rank higher in search results.
For example, a URL like:www.yoursite.com/blog/how-to-choose-seo-friendly-url-structure
is clear, readable, and includes relevant keywords that can boost SEO.
But when you change that structure, especially without proper preparation, it can severely damage your site’s visibility and rankings.
How Changing Your Website URL Structure Can Hurt Your SEO
Changing your website’s URL structure can negatively impact several aspects of your SEO performance. Let’s break down the main issues that can arise.
1. Loss of Link Equity (Backlink Value)
One of the biggest SEO risks when changing your URL structure is the potential loss of link equity. Backlinks are crucial for ranking in search results, and if you change a URL without properly redirecting it, you can lose valuable backlinks pointing to the old URL.
When you change a URL without setting up a 301 redirect, search engines and users alike are unable to find your page, causing the page to lose all the link value it had accumulated. This directly affects your site’s ability to rank well for relevant keywords.
For more details on how 301 redirects affect SEO, refer to Google’s guide on redirects.
2. Disruption in Crawling and Indexing
Search engines like Google use bots to crawl and index your website. When you change a URL, these bots need to re-crawl your site to update their records. During this process, your pages might temporarily drop out of the index, resulting in a drop in rankings.
This disruption can be particularly harmful for sites with large amounts of content or complex structures. Without careful planning and implementation, your pages may not be indexed at all, leaving you invisible to search engines.
Best Practice:
If you’re considering a URL change, ensure that you submit an updated sitemap to Google Search Console and monitor for any issues related to crawling or indexing.
3. Increased Risk of 404 Errors
If you don’t implement the right redirects after changing URLs, users who click on old links will encounter 404 errors. This not only frustrates visitors but also signals to search engines that your website has broken links, which can harm your credibility and rankings.
404 errors can create a poor user experience, and if they persist, they can lead to a significant drop in rankings, especially if the affected pages were previously performing well in search.
Google’s Search Console Help offers advice on handling 404 errors and monitoring your site’s health.
4. Impact on Search Engine Rankings
One of the most direct negative impacts of changing your URL structure is the potential for a drop in search engine rankings. When you change a URL, it takes time for search engines to re-evaluate the page and recognise its relevance in search results. During this transition period, your page may experience fluctuations in rankings or even temporary drops.
If your new URLs are less optimised for SEO or lack the right keywords, this can further negatively impact your rankings. Additionally, if search engines encounter multiple redirects or a messy URL structure, they may struggle to understand the hierarchy of your site, which can hurt overall SEO performance.
Best Practice:
Test your new URL structure with a small section of your site before rolling out major changes across the entire site.
5. Decrease in Organic Traffic
With all of the above combined—link loss, crawling issues, 404 errors, and ranking fluctuations—your organic traffic is bound to suffer. A drop in rankings and the loss of backlinks can cause a steady decrease in traffic, particularly if your pages were previously ranking well for competitive search terms.
If the URL change is not done carefully and strategically, your site could experience a significant dip in traffic, which might take weeks or months to recover from.
How to Mitigate the Negative Impacts of Changing Your URL Structure
If changing your URL structure is necessary, it’s important to follow best practices to minimise the SEO damage. Here are some ways to protect your SEO efforts:
- Implement 301 Redirects: Always set up proper 301 redirects to direct traffic from the old URLs to the new ones. This ensures that link equity and page rankings are transferred to the new URLs.
- Update Internal Links: Make sure all internal links point to the new URL. This includes links within your blog posts, navigation, and any other internal linking structures.
- Monitor Site Performance: After the URL change, keep an eye on your site’s performance in Google Search Console and Analytics. Look for crawling issues, 404 errors, and any significant drops in rankings or traffic.
- Notify External Websites: If possible, contact websites that link to your old URLs and ask them to update the links to point to the new URLs.
Best Practice:
Consider working with an SEO expert like Pressific to ensure the transition is smooth and does not negatively affect your site’s performance.
Conclusion
Changing your website’s URL structure is a risky move that can significantly impact your SEO. From losing valuable backlinks and suffering crawling disruptions to facing ranking drops and decreased traffic, the negative effects are real and can take a long time to recover from.
Before making any changes, carefully consider the implications and implement strategies like 301 redirects and internal link updates to protect your SEO efforts. And remember, working with an experienced SEO partner, such as Pressific, can help guide you through the process to avoid common pitfalls.
If you’re planning a URL structure change, make sure you’re fully prepared to handle the consequences—otherwise, the damage to your SEO might outweigh the benefits.
