We have designed a new site and are in dilemna whether or not to change the site's URL structure or maybe few odd looking urls. How exactly do we go about the URL thing in toto? thanks in advance, any suggestion(s) would be dearly welcome

[ShaunPhilips]

This post is deleted!

[Dr-Pete]

It's not easy, and any sitewide URL change carries risk. I wrote a lot about that decision in this post:

http://moz.com/blog/should-i-change-my-urls-for-seo

If you decide to go that route, you need to (if I had to summarize it):

(1) Document ALL of your current URLs

(2) Map every URL you want to keep to it's appropriate new URL (as relevant as possible)

(3) If a URL is unique/useful, 301-redirect it to the most appropriate new URL

(4) If a URL is thin or a duplicate, 301-redirect it to the new canonical URL (you could use rel=canonical here, but I'd probably stick to 301s since you're both moving and canonicalizing, if that makes sense)

(5) If a URL isn't useful, let it 404

(6) Submit a new XML sitemap in Webmaster Tools with the new URLs. Keep the old ones active (in a separate sitemap), so that Google can continue to crawl them and process the redirects.

[ShaunPhilips]

Belated thanks Peter, though I marked your answer as 'good' the next day of your answering my question. It was greatly helpful. Further to it, I would like to know if we have the option of keeping the very same URLs (at least the most essential ones if not all) and not get into nitty-gritty of 301, canonicals and the other technical nuances? Or is it that CMS change will anyhow force me into digging deeper (making me SEO wise in the process)?

In short, is 301 a necessary evil or are there way around it? If yes then what are the requisites for it? Thanks in advance for all help/suggestions

[Dr-Pete]

If you change the site and URLs and don't 301 redirect or rel=canonical, then you'll lose all of the equity from inbound links to the old URLs. Google won't connect them to the new ones. Honestly, I'm not clear on how the URL structure connects to the manual penalty, though, and the motivation for the change. This is a very tricky process.

[ShaunPhilips]

Thanks for replying Peter, appreciate it. You are right when you ask about how the URL structure connects to the manual penalty...I can resonate your thoughts, but I am not the only decision maker and so have to live with it.

Suppose we manage to come out with exact same urls as of existing pages, (hypothetically) then there's no danger at all? Also, will a change in url have an impact on conversions from PPC campaign in anyway? AdWords is the catch here, I you know what I am implying. Interesting to know your thoughts on this Peter...thanking you again.

[Dr-Pete]

If the URLs all stay the same, but you change the contents, then the value of your inbound links should remain the same and you don't need to redirect. The penalty is a separate consideration, though, because it depends on why you were penalized. It's difficulty to suggest an overall strategy without knowing both sides of it. There's no one-sized-fits-all solution.

You can always leave your display URLs as is, if the domain isn't changing. Whether the display and/or destination URL impact ad performance really depends on the campaign, keywords, landing page, etc.

[ShaunPhilips]

Thanks a ton Peter, you have been simply very very helpful, I ll get back if I have doubts on this again. Good Luck for everything