Google PageRank

[RichieC]

Yes I'm sure this topic has been done to death here, and yes I was really really stupid to go changing my URL's to make them more search engine friendly because I read it somewhere in an SEO forum because of course I lost all Google PageRank for my inner pages, but what I need to know now that the damage has been done, how to minimise the problem.

The new site was launched 3 months ago and my inner pages still have a Google PageRank of 0/10. Can anyone tell me how long it will be before they are indexed again and if there is anything that can help me speed through any sandboxing that may have happened to get the inner pages up to at least the 4/10 PageRank of my Home page?

Richard

[Marketing Guy]

The PR that is displayed on the toolbar doesn't reflect whether or not the page is indexed or not - check using the site: command to see if you are getting indexed. If you are, then nothing more to worry about. ;)

If you 301 redirected your old URLs to your new URLs, then the PR will be carried across - it's probably just not showing on the toolbar yet.

MG

[RichieC]

I'm not entirely sure what 301 is, but I believe my developers (who have no idea on this subject) have simply produced brand new pages for me and attached them behind the Home Page. I can hear your groans from here, yes I know that's probably not the cleverest idea, but what does that mean in practical terms?

Richard

[Marketing Guy]

Well, depending on how it is handled there could be a few problems.

The ideal solution is to ask them to 301 permanent redirect old pages to their new versions. That way you won't have much (if any) difference in search engine traffic to your site.

Putting up new pages on your site basically means that they start from scratch in terms of the "score" search engines will give them, so they won't rank as well as your old pages.

Another issue is that search engines may still index your old content and as it will be a duplicate version of your new content, but with a higher "score" your old stuff will (continue to) rank and your new stuff will do nothing.

Basically your options are:

1. 301 redirect old content to the new stuff (best choice - no negatives)
2. Ditch the new stuff and just stick with old stuff (2nd choice - maintains your traffic but loses search engine friendly URLs)

And these, but I would strongly suggest not going with these options:

3. Just delete the old URLs (it removes the duplicate content issue but means your new URLs will have to start from the beginning in terms of rankings)
4. Do nothing (bad, bad, bad)

To check your 301 redirects, simply find a header checker program or website (Google for "server header checker") and enter the URL of an old page. It should return a response of "301" and not "200" or "302". It's a fairly simple function so your developers should be able to handle it. The impact it can have on your traffic can be quite large so press for it to get done properly.

MG

[RichieC]

Thanks MG, but the content is different on the old pages. The new pages were created and the content has changed several times since as we update the content on a regular basis. As there is no duplication issue would it be better to not do anything and wait or to 301? And if 301'ing the old to the new pages, would this mean that the content from the old would rewrite over the new, would I need to be the new content on the old page and clear the new page or retain the new content on both the old and the new pages? Also if I am starting from scratch does that mean sandboxing for months and months or should the pages be ranked soon because they are off of an existing Home Page?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but it's been 3 months almost and I just want to get this right so the inner pages are PageRanked

[Marketing Guy]

OK cool - no, you won't be starting from scratch, but you should be looking to capitalise on the value of the old content.

Is the old content being used in any way? Can you create an "archive" section on your site to put it in? Basically your old pages hold a stronger weight in search engines to rank for terms, so best keeping them around to get more traffic.

If they have unique content, then integrate them into your new site the best you can.

In terms of the new stuff - as long as it is linked to from existing pages then it will have a PageRank (it might just not be visible in the toolbar yet). So don't worry about 301 redirecting the old stuff.

It really depends on how you are managing the site - PM the URL and examples of old / new content - I think it would be better to have real examples to work with so I have a better idea of the situation.

Also if I am starting from scratch does that mean sandboxing for months and months or should the pages be ranked soon because they are off of an existing Home Page?

Really depends on the site. An older site will pass its "weight" onto new pages so they will rank better reasonably quickly. I wouldn't get into too much thought about "sandboxing" and so on - I think it will just confuse matters. I'll be able to comment a little better when you send me some examples.

Cheers
MG