With most companies doing some sort of site redesign every two years or so, Online Media Daily has issued a useful reminder on how important it is to keep search at the forefront during the process. Some key points to consider when completing a redesign:

• Use site language and messaging that is consistent with the user's perception of your product or service.
• Read your log files (and/or review analytics reports).
• Ensure that RIAs are both crawlable and indexable by search engines.
• Avoid the creation of URL canonicalization issues.
• Set up a redirection plan.
• Don't remove content that supports coveted rankings without assessing risks first.
• Include search as both a business and technical requirement before planning has even started.
• Ensure that there is a voice for search within the Web site team structure.

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