What is the risk of changing underscores to hyphens in URLs that are ranking

[The-frank-Agency]

Client wants to change URL structure from underscores to hyphens - reason for doing this is a cosmetic move. What is the risk of changing underscores to hyphens for URLs that  that have been around since 2012 and have a lot of keywords ranking in the top 5 in the SERPS?

When the created the site - they structured the URL using dashes and underscores. Here is an example of what an URL looks like:

/programs-degrees**/clinical-psychology/clinical_phd_kansas****-city****/**

*This page ranks for many high volume keywords in the top 5 of the SERPS.

I have started to compile a list on why the URL should not be changed...

• Building trust and authority from scratch
• 301 redirects do not pass 100% of the link juice
• 301 redirecting from underscored to hyphenated versions of the same content is an unnecessary risk to some of that link equity.
• Good chance rankings/traffic will drop because of the URL change

[OlegKorneitchouk]

You pretty much nailed it. If the only reason is cosmetic (which I doubt has any influence on anything), there is absolutely no reason to risk losing top 5 rankings. Good luck!

Side note.. Google's official stance is that 301s pass 100% authority but not worth testing. You are guaranteed to see a dip in rankings/organic traffic after you set up the 301s.

[Guest]

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