--- title: Risky Website Redesigns and Tanking Organic Traffic description: People buy based on emotion. A redesign can be a sexy idea, sold to you by creative agencies that know how to bedazzle, but it’s rarely in your best interest. Sure, sometimes you reach a point where things are so bad you have to scrap everything and restart... but how do you know how bad is too bad? image: https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/Screenshot%202017-09-12%2009.17.41.png --- [![OriginEight](https://cta.o8.agency/hubfs/logo-o8-white.svg "OriginEight")](https://www.origineight.net/) - [Services](https://www.origineight.net/) - Web Design - [Website Design](https://www.o8.agency/projects/design-ux) - [UX Design](https://www.o8.agency/services/user-experience) - [UX Testing](https://www.o8.agency/web-design/ux-testing) - [Content Strategy](https://www.origineight.net/projects/drupal) - [Conversion Rate Optimization](https://www.o8.agency/services/conversion-rate-optimization) - [Translation](https://www.o8.agency/services/website-translation) - Digital Marketing - [Digital Innovation](https://www.o8.agency/digital-marketing/strategy-framework-dio) - [Branding](https://www.o8.agency/digital-marketing/branding) - 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[Wordpress](https://www.origineight.net/projects/wordpress) - [See all work](https://www.origineight.net/work) - [About](https://www.origineight.net/about) - [About Us](https://www.origineight.net/about) - [Proven Process](https://www.origineight.net/digital-impact-optimization) - [Blog](https://www.origineight.net/blog) - [Team](https://www.origineight.net/team) - [How We Help Marketers](https://www.origineight.net/how-we-help-marketers) - [Blog](https://www.origineight.net/blog) - Pricing - [Project Calculator](https://www.o8.agency/pricing) - [Monthly Packages](https://cta.o8.agency/o8-monthly-packages) - [Contact](https://www.origineight.net/contact) # Risky Website Redesigns and Tanking Organic Traffic on October 25, 2018 Share # Risky Website Redesigns and Tanking Organic Traffic on October 25, 2018 ![Seth Viebrock: CEO, Engineer, Marketing Optimizer](https://cta.o8.agency/hubfs/Seth%20Viebrock.jpg) ### Written by Seth Viebrock: CEO, Engineer, Marketing Optimizer ### Categories [SEO](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/tag/seo) [Digital Marketing](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/tag/digital-marketing) [UX](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/tag/ux) [Conversion Rate Optimization](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/tag/conversion-rate-optimization) [Redesign](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/tag/redesign) People buy based on emotion. A redesign can be a sexy idea, sold to you by a creative agency that knows how to wow and amaze. But, it's rarely in your best interests. Sure, sometimes you reach a point where things are so bad that you have to scrap everything and start over...but how do you know how bad is *too bad*? > Radical website redesigns are modern-day one-night stands for marketers. The following graphs show what happened to a new client of ours earlier this year when their previous vendor launched their radical redesign. ![Organic SEO traffic tanking after website redesign](https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/site-launch-organic-seo-traffic-tanks-even-more.jpg) Here's another view from SEMrush, based on number of ranking organic keywords, for mobile devices (site launched in late April):  ![Another view of website SEO traffic tanking after website redesign](https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/Screenshot%202017-09-12%2009.17.41.png) Organic traffic (SEO) was already declining. The client surely panicked, the older site was indeed quite outdated, and yes, they panicked with good reason. It's hard to stay calm in the face of tanking traffic. Panicking, and going to a vendor who played into that panic, was part of the pitfall. The c**r**eAt*ì*ve **A**génC*y* elixir surely tasted good in the moment, and scrapping that outdated site surely *felt* like the right thing to do...but this radical act under pressure actually did more harm than good. The agency they chose not only *massacred *our client's business by improperly handling post-launch SEO planning, they created a *broken* user experience that is impacting commerce on the site, not to mention that the information architecture and navigation are botched, the value proposition is unclear and in bits and pieces around the entire site, and user engagement is deeply impacted by all of this as well as a slow-loading site and a fancy but not performant inter-page browsing experience that has to be *devastating* to conversions.   > The new website is pretty, but it's not *doing* anything. It should be working hard **for** the client's business, but it's not. Yes, it is possible to do revolutionary redesigns *right*. But, it's hard, and requires a lot more data than most are willing to wait for and collect. And even then, you're still gambling, depending on how revolutionary you are with the extremely sensitive components of the redesign (navigation, expected user journeys, calls to action, microcopy, content, keywords, visual hierarchy, and the like). > How many times have you seen radical redesigns on Amazon.com?  You don't see them, because they do **evolutionary redesigns** – continuous, incremental improvements along the way. ![Evolutionary website redesign](https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/evolutionary-design.png) [Image source](https://www.widerfunnel.com/an-introduction-to-evolutionary-site-redesign-and-widerfunnels-blog-redesign/) If you're feeling like sexy will win, it's an *urgent *need, and will appease your management team, then just reskin what you have as a first step. Design is incredibly important in instilling trust, and yes, good design – no, *great* design – is extremely important. It effects conversions and website engagement, and thus your business profits. Then, make incremental improvements from there. **Another way to think of it visually is this:** ![Origin Eight approach to continuous incremental improvement](https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/traditional-vs-O8-DIO_0.png) **This is a good cost/benefit results visualization of the concept as well: ** ![Origin Eight approach to continuous incremental improvement](https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/problem-solutions-chart_0.png) This is difficult stuff to grasp, but indeed a very powerful concept. We coined the term Digital Impact Optimization™ for this idea that "*incremental* improvements can lead to *exponential*demand", and also the idea that "redesigns don't have to suck, especially if you consistently keep up your optimization game" – but the following is also true: > *Incremental* improvements can save you from *exponential* losses. It's not a new concept in its entirety, but how we incorporate it into a full-picture offering and analysis *is.* Here's a diagram of how we see it: ![Digital Impact Optimization](https://www.origineight.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/DIO-venn-diagram.jpg)     [![Learn more about our approach](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3004928/d0db7c8e-3c1a-45ac-af8e-b7c8a62f0c04.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3004928/d0db7c8e-3c1a-45ac-af8e-b7c8a62f0c04)   Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.](https://disqus.com/?ref_noscript) ## An Agile Approach to Better Websites and Digital Marketing How can you better meet your marketing and business goals in a way that's low-risk and based on actual data? ### [Learn more >>](https://www.origineight.net/digital-impact-optimization) ### Subscribe To Our Blog! ### Related posts - [![4 Stress-Relieving Tips for Marketers](https://cta.o8.agency/hs-fs/hubfs/stressed-out-marketer.jpeg?width=100&name=stressed-out-marketer.jpeg)](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/4-stress-relieving-tips-for-marketers) [4 Stress-Relieving Tips for Marketers](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/4-stress-relieving-tips-for-marketers) - [![How To Choose The Right Digital Agency](https://cta.o8.agency/hs-fs/hubfs/rawpixel-685929-unsplash.jpg?width=100&name=rawpixel-685929-unsplash.jpg)](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/how-to-find-the-right-digital-agency) [How To Choose The Right Digital Agency](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/how-to-find-the-right-digital-agency) - [![Optimizing search for an increasingly voice-driven world](https://cta.o8.agency/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202018-11-29%2010.30.54.png?width=100&name=Screenshot%202018-11-29%2010.30.54.png)](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/optimizing-search-for-an-increasingly-voice-driven-world) [Optimizing search for an increasingly voice-driven world](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/optimizing-search-for-an-increasingly-voice-driven-world) - [![Twin Cities Drupal Camp talk: ](https://cta.o8.agency/hs-fs/hubfs/Post%2060%20bb.jpg?width=100&name=Post%2060%20bb.jpg)](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/twin-cities-drupal-camp-talk-change-your-customers-behavior-with-a-brain-based-data-driven-approach) [Twin Cities Drupal Camp talk: "Change your customer's behavior with a brain-based, data-driven approach"](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/twin-cities-drupal-camp-talk-change-your-customers-behavior-with-a-brain-based-data-driven-approach) - [![Optimizing Forms: Make Them a Great Conversation](https://cta.o8.agency/hs-fs/hubfs/58.jpg?width=100&name=58.jpg)](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/optimizing-forms-make-them-a-great-conversation) [Optimizing Forms: Make Them a Great Conversation](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/optimizing-forms-make-them-a-great-conversation) - [![Does Font Choice Affect User Experience?](https://cta.o8.agency/hs-fs/hubfs/56.jpg?width=100&name=56.jpg)](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/-does-font-choice-affect-user-experience) [Does Font Choice Affect User Experience?](https://cta.o8.agency/blog/-does-font-choice-affect-user-experience) ### Do Better Digital Marketing All websites and digital marketing campaigns are losing conversions and therefore *money*. Our proven process plugs the leaks and saves you time! 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