Things to do before switching off the old content
- create a list of the main content and structural change: these pages will be most likely affected by temporary down-ranking and require specific monitoring
- ensure that a consistent and granular redirect strategy has been developed
- particular care has to be taken when mapping sections that have undergone a structural change
- to help search engines locating the new content, ensure that the sitemap is up as soon as the content is published under /info
- if necessary, resubmit the sitemap to Google or other search engines
Things to do after the content has been switched off
- check that all pages are indexable (robots metatag should be set to follow, index)
- check sample-wise that the redirect is working on Google
- any redirect that is not working must be fixed as a priority (before Google updates its index)
- monitor constantly with Google Search Console the visitors and query situation for at least four weeks
- a slight and temporary down-ranking has to be expected in case of content variation, introduction of new landing and navigation pages
Contact and support
If you require further assistance, please contact:
European Commission
DG Communication
Unit B.3
Europa Web Communication
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