Will I lose my Google rankings in a relaunch?

You do not have to lose them for good if every old URL redirects to its new counterpart and the pages that rank today keep their topic. They will fluctuate for a while: Google advises expecting it and writes that for medium-sized websites it can take a few weeks or more before the new URLs appear. We announce that dip in advance – together with the metrics you can follow it by.

What does a website relaunch cost?

A relaunch costs as much as a new website of the same scope. On top comes the work on what exists: the inventory, the 301 map and the comparison afterwards. We charge the build by package and quote the work on what exists separately – also when another provider does the build. Packages and prices are on our pricing & models page.

How long does a relaunch take?

Six to twelve weeks for a typical SME site, as with a new website. The comparison then runs for three months; all we need from you are the enquiries from phone and inbox.

What is a 301 redirect?

A permanent redirect from an old URL to a new one. Visitors and search engines land in the right place automatically, and according to Google no PageRank is lost. What matters is the target: redirecting many old URLs to the home page may be treated by Google as an error page.

We are changing our domain too. What changes?

Two steps are added: both domains are verified in Search Console, and the move is reported to Google with the Change of Address tool – for every variant of the old domain. The redirects stay in place for at least a year, as Google recommends.

Do you also support a relaunch that another agency builds?

Yes, as SEO support. We take on the inventory, the 301 map, the launch-day checks and the comparison afterwards – the parts the rankings depend on. Your provider does the build.

What is in the relaunch kit?

An eleven-page guide, an Excel workbook with checklist, requirements catalogue, 301 map and measurement plan, and the 301 map as a CSV template. Free in our Academy; the link arrives by email.

ALPENIQ Growth

Website relaunch with a plan for every old URL

A relaunch can cost you enquiries when old URLs vanish without a redirect. We plan it so the new site carries on where the old one was strong.

Free Strategy Call

In short

A website relaunch is the rebuild of an existing website: new structure, new copy, new design or new technology – often all of them at once.

Unlike a brand-new site, there is something to lose: rankings, links from other sites and bookmarks all point to the old URLs. Google recommends permanent redirects with status 301 or 308 from every old URL to its matching new one, and keeping them in place for at least a year.

Plan that and the new site can carry over the old one's signals. Forget it and you notice only when enquiries drop.

First measure what the old site brings in today
Every old URL gets a target
Measurement checked on launch day with a real enquiry
Comparison after one week, four weeks and three months

What a relaunch includes

From the inventory to the comparison after go-live:

Inventory: which pages bring visitors, rankings and enquiries
Saving your Search Console data before it expires after 16 months
New structure and copy, built around what people search for today
Design in your brand
Build, fast and phone-first
A 301 map for every old URL, as a table you can review
Checks of every redirect before and after go-live
Measurement and conversions set up again and tested with a real enquiry
Sitemap, Search Console, business profile and directories switched to the new URLs
Before-and-after comparison over periods of equal length

How you recognise a good relaunch

Not on launch day, but afterwards:

Every URL that brought visitors before leads to a matching new page
No old URL ends up on the home page or without a target by accident – removed content deliberately returns 404 or 410
The form delivers enquiries on day one, not after a fix
You know in advance which metric may dip for a while, and why
After three months there is a comparison over periods of equal length
The old website is really switched off, not just forgotten

When a relaunch is needed – and when it is not

Five occasions when a rebuild achieves more than patching:

The technology can no longer be updated safely or is barely maintainable
Your offer or brand has changed, and the structure still tells the old story
The site is barely usable on a phone
Visitors arrive, enquiries do not, and small fixes have changed nothing
A domain change, a merger or a new language version is coming up
Not suitable: If only the copy is out of date or individual pages are weak. Then targeted optimisation achieves more than a rebuild.

The process in six phases

What happens at each step, what you have afterwards and what you contribute.

Timeframe: Six to twelve weeks for a typical SME site, then three months of comparison

The steps follow the stages of ALPENIQ ASCENT, our model for the whole digital ascent. See ALPENIQ ASCENT

1. Stage 1 · Assess
Secure what exists
Export URLs, visitor numbers, enquiries and your Search Console data. Google keeps Search Console data for 16 months – whatever is not saved is missing from the comparison later.
Result
URLs, visitor numbers, enquiries and Search Console data saved
Your part
Access to Search Console and Analytics
2. Stage 2 · Strategise
Goal and structure
What should the new site do better, measured by what? That gives the structure – and, for every old URL, the question of where it will lead.
Result
A goal with a metric, the structure and a target for every old URL
Your part
Tell us what the new site should do better
3. Stage 3 · Create
Copy and design
Message first, then layout. Pages that bring visitors from search today keep their topic, even when copy and look change.
Result
Copy and design; pages with search visitors keep their topic
Your part
Approve the copy and designs
4. Stage 3 · Create
Build and test
In a protected test environment that Google does not find. There we check redirects, forms, measurement and load time before anyone sees the site live.
Result
Redirects, forms, measurement and load time checked in the test environment
Your part
Look at the test environment
5. Stage 4 · Execute
Go live
Redirects active, sitemap submitted, Search Console and directories switched over. On the same day we check every old URL and send a real test enquiry.
Result
The new site is live, every old URL checked, a real test enquiry received
Your part
Nothing on your side
6. Stage 5 · Nurture
Compare
After one week, four weeks and three months: the same metrics, periods of equal length. A short dip is announced in advance, not explained afterwards.
Result
A comparison after one week, four weeks and three months
Your part
The enquiries from phone and inbox

Is this a fit?

Honest up front, so neither of us wastes time.

A good fit if …

Your current website brings visitors from search that you don't want to lose
You want to know beforehand what the old site brings in today
Another agency builds, and you want the SEO side of the relaunch covered

Not a fit if …

Only the copy is out of date or a single page is weak – then optimisation is faster and cheaper
You want old URLs to disappear without a redirect

What it costs

Websites: Fixed price in three packages

Strategy, copy, design, tracking and the first year of care are always included.

See pricing and models

BasicOne-pager, up to 5 sections
StandardUp to 8 pages
ProUp to 15 pages + 2 landing pages

Growth Partnership: Online marketing without project fees. We earn from what is left after ad spend.

Cover of the guide «Website Relaunch Kit»

Free in the ALPENIQ Academy

The relaunch kit to do it yourself

Everything on this page as a toolkit: an eleven-page guide, an Excel workbook and the 301 map as a CSV template. The link arrives by email and stays valid.

Test: relaunch or optimisation
301 map with check columns for chains and missing targets
Requirements catalogue with acceptance criteria
Launch-day checklist and a three-month measurement plan

Go to the relaunch kit

Common questions

Why ALPENIQ

In the relaunch for AVEA Reinigungen we did not check a sample but all 1,348 URLs: status, redirect and search-engine settings, each against the old site.

And we tell you when you do not need a relaunch. If only the copy is out of date or one page is weak, optimisation is faster and cheaper than a rebuild.

Long-form pieces from our blog that dive deeper into this topic.

SEO

More services in this division

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Your next steps

The strategy call is free. After that, it's your decision.

1. Strategy call, 30 minutes
We listen, look at where you stand and which step moves you forward fastest right now. If what you need fits a package, the fixed price applies. Anything beyond it is listed separately in the quote.
2. Summary and quote
You get in writing what we understood, plus a quote with every item listed. Whether you accept it is up to you.
3. Kick-off and delivery
The kick-off turns everything from the call into the concept. Then we work through the process, step by step.
See the process

You know there's more in your business.
Thinking higher starts with a conversation.

30 minutes, honest and concrete: we look at where your company stands digitally, and which step moves you forward fastest right now.

Free Strategy Call

Website relaunch with a plan for every old URL

In short

What a relaunch includes

How you recognise a good relaunch

When a relaunch is needed – and when it is not

The process in six phases

Secure what exists

Goal and structure

Copy and design

Build and test

Go live

Compare