Advanced search & SEO

[Onestop]

I am considering using an advanced search software to replace my category tree. Would this be SEO suicide?

[AussieWebmaster]

What do you mean by search software - an internal search box? and is your category tree a variation on a site map?

[Onestop]

I am referring to a service like Nextopia. The catch here is I am going to have to replace some of my category tree structure using their advanced search functions. My shopping cart platform has a limitation on the number of categories I can have before the system starts to bog down. My site is unique in the number of categories that actually make good navigation sense (over 5000). The plan is to collapse certain categories into a bigger overall category and then use advanced search functions to allow the user to narrow down even further. Therefore, some of the categories I had will not actually exist.

[gobeyond]

I assume changing the tree structure will change the urls of your pages. If this is the case, you need to find out how to inform search engines about the url changes. If this is not done right, you could be losing rankings since search engines have to re-index the pages with changed urls and remove the old urls from their databases.

You need to talk to an SEO pro before proceeding. Changing urls is never a good idea.