Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

[ImaginaryColours]

Hi,
I am in the process of upgrading from a Miva 4 store to Miva 5. Being that I've had my website for over ten years, I get very good organic Google Ranking. What I am worried about is losing all those great free Google listings because I'm upgrading.

Before I agreed to make the switch, I was told by my host (who hosts mostly Miva sites) that I wouldn't lose my links so I told the company (my Host) to make the change, but don't make the site live--keep my Miva 4 store up and the Miva 5 just on the server.

Good thing, because all the links are different, because the folder the links are in is different. For example:

Old link:

http://www.imaginarycolours.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=LBOWAAm

New link:

http://www.imaginarycolours.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=LBOWAAm

So, how do I make the switch without losing all my Google links?

Thank you,

Tom

[lesliekirk]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

Have your host change your mm5 directory name to Merchant2 when you are ready to go - or build an .htaccess file that redirects everything.

Leslie

[Pete McNamara]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

Expanding on Leslie's advice, if you were thinking that at some point in the future you might like to improve your search engine rankings with some SEO, then your choices are three:

1. Have someone expert with redirecting URLs in the .htaccess file, from the MM4 style url to the MM5 style i.e. search engines going to the old URL are redirected to the new MM5 url

2. Have someone expert with redirecting URLs in the .htaccess file, from the MM4 style url to the MM5 search engine friendly links e i.e. search engines going to the old URL are redirected to the new MM5 search engine friendly url

3. Have your host change your mm5 directory name to Merchant2

#3 is very simple, takes a couple of minutes and causes no changes at the search engines. If you were not thinking of getting some SEO done in the future, then this is what I would do.

If you were thinking of getting some SEO done or improving your rankings a little, then I would take the opportunity when moving to MM5, to convert to search engine friendly links (#2). Be sure however, that the redirections in the .htaccess file are done before (just prior) to turning on the MM5 store. Be aware that even with these redirections, you will probably lose all traffic for a month and then have less than usual traffic for another couple of months. After that, traffic will/should recover to previous levels (and, if the search engine friendly links have been well done, to higher levels).

As a reminder, it is critical that the redirections are done before the switchover - any delay will delay recovery by months. If no redirections are done (i.e. you just switch the MM5 sef links and don't redirect your old URLs to the new ones), then it will probably be a year before traffic recovers.

[Gamelord]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

I would personally do the changes/redirects in the.htaccess file and use short links. Short links don't necessarily increase your SEO listings themselves, but because you can use more keywords in your Short Links, I feel it will help. SEO is the number one key to success, you are so limited with the old style links that I would not use them.

Another huge advantage to doing this is if you are on Pinterest, Facebook, forums or other social media outlets, you can post the link as

www.yourdomain.com/product/widget.html

instead of

....w.yourdomain..com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=Prod&Product_Code=widget

The first one makes total sense for people looking at the link and is short-easy-simple to follow. The second one is like...whoa....what is that?

I also like the fact that I can post direct links like the first one in e-mails that I send to my customers. They don't need to cut-n-paste a huge link and again, it is very easy to follow when looking at it.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

SEO is the number one key to success

Not to nit-pick, but...SEO isn't the number one key to success. You can have MILLIONS of visitors...but if no one buys, you aren't going to be much of a success...CONVERSION is probably the closer to #1 (though personally, I believe a good business plan is the #1 "key").

Once you have decent conversions, then, every dollar or hour you spend on SEO actually generates income...without decent (any) conversions, you basically work for penny's on the dollar.

To illustrate, let say you have 1% conversion (fairly low--but better than most). If your average order nets you $10 (high, but bear with me) and you get 100 visitors...you've made $10 for all your time/money spent on day one. Now, you could triple your site visits via SEO, and you make $30...cool right? But, if you triple conversions, AND then triple visitors, suddenly you are at $90...much cooler.

[Gamelord]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

Although I do mostly agree with what you have said, if nobody can find your site, conversion doesn't matter. So if you only have 1-2 visitors a month, you aren't going to be eating steak. :)

If your site is listed on page 1000 on Google...heck, even if you are listed on page 50 of google, you aren't going to be getting business and may as well flip burgers at McD's. Once you start to get a fair amount of traffic, then yes, conversion is so very important...but until you get to that point it doesn't matter.

Unless your primary customers come from other sources such as Facebook, Forums, self promotion or e-mail, SEO won't be very important but I would dare say that 99.5% of all internet business is going to be direct from Search Engines. Having optimized search results should be the #1 priority of any internet business (that relies on search for their customers).

Not to start a flame war or anything...just my opinion. Obviously SEO is only one factor in hundereds that will determine success or failure in internet businesses.

-----This opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it. :)

[Pete McNamara]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

So, the egg does come before the chicken. Boom. Done. :)

Both points are well made but without traffic, the world's best conversion rate doesn't help.

[ImaginaryColours]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

Friends,
Wow, such thorough and thoughtful responses. Thank you!
I have to admit, I don't understand a lot of the jargon used, so more advice is needed, please.

To give you back ground, we sell LED lights--and Christmas is our biggest season. The Christmas sales typically start in mid-July and increase until Thanksgiving.

Therefore, I'm afraid that doing the thing where it will take my website three months to recover will lose me almost half of the season's revenues. For this reason alone, I wonder if I shouldn't do the "easy" thing and just change the MM5 directory to Merchant2.

I have no idea what .htaaccess is created or applied or whatever you do to it to make it work. :|

If I change the MM5 directory to Merchant2 and leave it alone thru the end of the year, can I go with the more complicated solutions I read above? (The .htaaccess and the short URLs (I really like that idea of short URLs--always hated those long links))

Or do I have to make an "all or none" choice in this matter? (Is this what Pete M's "Critical" comment is saying?)

Thanks again. I really am so impressed with your willingness to help me.

Tom

[Gamelord]

Re: Switching from Miva 4 to Miva 5 without losing links

If you are not familiar with most of this, or don't quite understand it, it may be in your best interest to just pay someone to do this for you. It could probably be done in as little as 2 weeks, which would get you done well before the Christmas season.

The money you spend on having someone optimize your store and do these changes will most likely be made back in the first month of the Christmas rush.

I would get in touch with Bruce (above) or some of the others on this forum and see if they would be willing to work your store over for SEO as well as make the switch over to MM5 for you. It will probably cost much less than you think to have done. Submit some bids from everyone and ask them to break down the work so you can pick and choose how much you want them to do and what will fit in your budget.