Google page ranking/position???

[osgood_]

I'm doing some updates for a client who has a couple of links on Google ranked 1 and 3 for a specific search term. Unfortunately the link to the pages contains a specifc brand name, which the client no longer supports, and wants all references to it removed from their website and replaced with another similar product.

I know I can use the htaccess file to redirect the old link to the new link and I've suggested not having any brand name in the link in case they want to revise the product again in a couple of years. However if I use in the htaccess file:

Redirect 301 /brand_name https://domainname.com/new_product_name/

Then will the high ranking links listed in Google be dropped over time or is Google clever enough to realise the old link has been moved and maintain the high ranking to the new link. Also will it update the description associated with the Google listing for the new product description as that is different to the old one or is it a matter of starting over from scratch and building up the listing from afresh and getting the old link delisted.

Any thoughts as I really havent had to deal with this particular issue in the past. I guess most of my clients have a relaxed attitude.

Cheers

Os.

[Nancy OShea]

Yes, redirect old URL to new URL.   When Google re-crawls the site, the old page will drop off SERPs.  If you're doing everything else correctly, it should be only a temporary set-back.  See link below.

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6065812?hl=en

[osgood_]

'When Google re-crawls the site, the old page will drop off SERPs'.

But what about the listing in Google - will the new page assume the same high ranking in the listings the previous page did or will the old page/link just dispapear out of the Google rankings without being replaced by the new page?

[Nancy OShea]

Google is clever but it takes time for new pages to develop any meaningful traction.  Submitting a new sitemap or requesting Google to re-crawl the new URLs will minimize the pain.  But in my experience, it takes about a month. 

In the meantime, monitor the situation and tell your client to increase his Google and Bing ads budget.

https://ads.google.com/home/

https://ads.microsoft.com/

[osgood_]

Thanks, that's what I thought.

Playing safe it's best to prepare the client for the worst case senario that they will most likely lose the high ranking positions they have built up for the search term and need to start afresh with the new page.

At one stage they were using a SEO specialist who was dealing with their Google ads, tinkering with the page code etc, so it might be a job for them...........hummm.

[Nancy OShea]

The hard part is narrowing down to the best keywords & phrases that yield the most bang for your buck.  If you're not comfortable doing that, sub-contract it out to someone who is.

[osgood_]

I always think  its a bit hit and miss as to where pages get listed and indexed in Google search so beyond the usual good spread of keywords throughout the page I tend to leave that strategy up to someone else as clients always expect, which I can't guarantee.

Thanks for your input. I'll notify the client and see what their response is.