Podcast Summary: SEO 101 Ep 513

Episode Title: Maintaining Search Rankings After a Redesign
Date: October 30, 2025
Hosts: Ross Dunn (CEO, StepForth Web Marketing) & Scott Van Achte (Senior SEO, StepForth)
Podcast: SEO 101 on WMR.FM

Overview

This episode dives into how to maintain search rankings after a website redesign—a crucial concern for businesses wanting to improve their site’s appearance or functionality without losing hard-earned visibility in search engines. The hosts, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte, deliver practical, step-by-step guidance covering everything from site backups and content audits to redirects, content management systems, and post-launch monitoring. They also discuss the latest SEO news and sprinkle in their signature laid-back, humorous banter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. SEO News and Trends (01:21–17:31)

• Disney & Black Hat SEO Prank (01:21–04:34)

  • Humorous segment about spammers linking Disney with “black hat SEO packages.” Highlights Google’s update struggles and the persistence of negative SEO tactics.
  • Memorable moment: “If you've got the numbers. It works.” – Scott (02:46)

• Chrome Warning for Insecure HTTP Sites (04:38–07:14)

  • Chrome will warn users about insecure (HTTP) sites starting Oct 2026.
  • Still, 11–17% of sites are insecure—surprising to both hosts.
  • Immediate advice: Secure your site (HTTPS) and set up redirects; don’t delay as conversion rates will plummet with warning notices.

• AI-Powered Browsers: Comet vs Atlas (07:49–13:10)

  • Perplexity’s Comet browser and ChatGPT's Atlas are compared. Both are based on Chromium, but Atlas is currently Mac-only (at recording time).
  • AI browsers offer features like auto-applying coupon codes—Ross highlights savings and the convenience of AI-driven automation.
  • Notable: "If you're going to buy something...tell the assistant to keep trying coupon codes...I've saved a bundle already." – Ross (12:15)

• Google Search Console: Query Groups (13:17–15:01)

  • New feature grouping similar queries and surfacing page trends (up/down).
  • Noted lack of tracking for AI bots and AI searches, still a missing piece.

• The Return of Log Files (15:01–17:31)

  • With analytics not showing the full picture (bots, errors), log file analysis is making a resurgence.

2. Main Topic: Maintaining Rankings After a Redesign (17:31–43:09)

Structured as a practical checklist, Scott shares a newly expanded 7,000-word guide distilled for podcast listeners:

A. Pre-Redesign Essentials

• Site Backup (17:55)

  • "Back up your site, back it up before you do anything..." – Scott (17:58)
  • Share stories of clients whose redesigns failed due to lack of backups—even recalling printed “backups” as a cautionary tale.

• Content Audit (19:42)

  • Audit pages for rankings, conversions, and performance. Record URLs and keep page copies for comparison.
  • Extra: Host recommends storing the old site on a blocked subdomain for reference without risking accidental indexing.

B. URL Strategy

• Keep URLs the Same (If Possible) (22:38)

  • "If at all possible, do not change URLs on your site. Keep everything the same." – Scott (22:51)
  • Even small changes (like removing/adding slashes or WWW) matter for Google; anecdote about a large ecommerce redesign where preserving URLs kept them #1.

• 301 Redirects (26:02)

  • Where URLs must change, map ALL old URLs to new using 301 redirects.
  • "If you don't do it, all of this fails. It's that bad." – Ross (27:23)
  • Don’t forget to capture and migrate all previous redirects as well.

• Update Internal Links (27:55)

  • Ensure internal navigation and deep links point to new or changed URLs (eventually).
  • Use tools like Screaming Frog to spot in-site links still going through redirects.

C. Platform & Technical Choices

• Choosing an SEO-Friendly CMS (30:39)
  • WordPress is a safe bet; beware of smaller, proprietary CMSs with limited/expensive customizations.
  • Story: A client was quoted an exorbitant rate to add a robots.txt file to their proprietary CMS (33:01).

D. On-Page Elements

• Titles and Meta Descriptions (33:33)

  • Carry over titles/meta for top-performing pages. Don’t stress excessively about strict character limits—longer is (often) fine if relevant and not spammy.
  • "Meta description is being used in rankings consideration." – Ross (34:13)
  • Discussion of spammy title tags for local SEO: works now but may backfire later.

• Structured Data (Schema Markup) (37:25)

  • Remember to migrate or introduce structured data.

• Site Speed & Optimization (38:31)

  • New site should be faster; optimize images, scripts, etc. for performance.

E. Launch and Post-Launch

• Unblock the Site for Search Engines (39:16)

  • Critical: Remove “block search engines” settings before launch. Simple oversight can be catastrophic.

• Monitor, Diagnose, and Troubleshoot (40:08)

  • Watch analytics, Search Console, and rank trackers especially during the first weeks.
  • Initial volatility (spikes or drops) is normal. Persisting issues after weeks need investigation.

3. Special Case: Changing Domains After Redesign (43:09–48:01)

• Redirect EVERYTHING (43:41)

  • Redirect all old URLs at old domain to their counterparts on new domain with 301s. Now is the time to adjust structure if desired.

• Remember Old Redirects (44:31)

  • Carry previous redirect history to maintain long-held “link equity.”

• Tell Google (45:15)

  • Use Google’s Change of Address Tool (detailed walk-through promised in Scott’s upcoming article).

• Update Inbound Links (45:15)

  • Change all external links you control (directories, profiles, social) to new domain.

• Patience Is Key (45:15)

  • Domain moves cause temporary ranking drops—recovery takes longer than a redesign on the same domain (sometimes months).

  • Memorable client disaster: “...they listened to none of my advice and it was a disaster. Their rankings crashed...” – Scott (47:03)

  • Silver lining: With corrections and patience, rankings “skyrocketed in the past three to four weeks.”

Additional SEO News

Local SEO: Google Business Profiles “What’s Happening” Expansion (48:01–49:48)

• New feature now available in several English-speaking markets and for multi-location restaurants/bars, automatically surfaces events/promos listed in GBP.

AI Ranking Update: Google DeepMind’s “Block Rank” (49:48–51:38)

• Experimental new ranking method for LLMs that speeds up contextual document ranking by restructuring how attention works in models.
• “…block rank ran about 4.7 times faster than standard fine-tuned models…” – Scott (50:39)
• Not yet live, but likely to be adopted.

AI and Education (53:24–54:53)

• Stories about AI’s permeation into classrooms, assignments, and even professional workflows.
• "It's just everywhere. It's absolutely everywhere. It's insane." – Scott (54:05)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On site security:
  “If your site is not secure yet, it definitely should be. What are you waiting for? Do it.” – Scott (04:38)
• On AI Bargain Hunting:
  “Just tell the assistant to keep trying coupon codes...it's pretty wild.” – Ross (12:15)
• On updating site titles/metadata:
  “You can make your title Tag... pretty long and it seems to still be helpful.” – Scott (34:58)
• On not following advice:
  “...they listened to none of my advice and it was a disaster. Their rankings crashed and they had massive staff turnover.” – Scott (47:03)
• On the relentless pace of AI and SEO:
  “Every time I open a browser and look at anything...it's AI spaghetti. There's just so much stuff happening, it's mind boggling.” – Ross (52:55)

Key Timestamps for Quick Reference

• SEO News & Disney/Negative SEO: 01:21–04:34
• Chrome Security Warnings: 04:38–07:14
• AI Browsers: Comet & Atlas: 07:49–13:10
• Google Search Console Updates & Log Files: 13:17–17:31
• Main SEO Redesign Checklist Begins: 17:31
  • Backups & Content Audit: 17:55–22:38
  • URL Management & Redirects: 22:38–29:30
  • CMS & On-Page: 30:39–37:25
  • Speed & Launch: 38:31–40:08
  • Monitoring: 40:08–43:09
• Changing Domains: 43:09–48:01
• Local Feature/AI/Block Rank: 48:01–53:24
• AI in Education and Wrap-up: 53:24–end

Podcast Tone & Style

• Friendly and practical, with light banter and relatable anecdotes.
• Minimal jargon—advice is aimed at beginners and intermediate SEOs.
• The hosts stress proactive planning and avoiding classic pitfalls, but never shame listeners. Mistakes are described as learning opportunities.

Summary

This episode provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to maintaining SEO rankings during and after a website redesign. The hosts stress the necessity of proper planning—backups, content audits, preserving URLs, robust 301 redirect mapping, and careful post-launch monitoring. They highlight new industry features and trends, particularly in AI and analytics, and inject humor into lessons learned from past client projects. It’s a must-listen for any business or webmaster planning a redesign (or domain change) who wants to retain and build on their current search visibility.

For more SEO basics:
Check out Scott’s upcoming in-depth article on maintaining rankings after a redesign, and follow ongoing updates at seogrok.com.