[Cybersecurity] Strategic 301 Redirects Triple Website Traffic

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TL;DR:
– Cybersecurity PE-backed firm wanted quick traffic gains. They needed CMS migration for security/design – but they were missing an SEO opportunity
– Discovered all pages from acquired blog were 301 redirecting to homepage with mismatched topics
– Developed plan to resurrect relevant blog content and implement targeted redirects
– Initially faced resistance as developer skipped redirects and client was satisfied with “no traffic loss”
– Convinced client to implement proper 301 redirects after migration
– Results: Website traffic instantly tripled; new pages ranked on page 1 for previously untargeted keywords

Google Analytics screenshot: The client was initially happy with results from migrating CMS as there was no traffic loss. Pushing to implement 301 redirects resulted in website traffic tripling.

Challenge

My client was a cybersecurity firm backed by private equity with an aggressive pre-exit growth mandate. They needed to migrate their CMS for security and design purposes. However, I identified a significant missed opportunity in their existing setup:

  • The client had previously acquired a blog with valuable backlinks
  • All acquired blog pages were simply 301 redirected to the client’s homepage
  • These redirects had minimal SEO value due to anchor text/content mismatch
  • Homepage couldn’t rank for the topics related to these backlinks
  • Initial migration plans focused solely on preserving existing traffic (defensive approach)

Solution

I developed a comprehensive strategy that went beyond a standard CMS migration:

  1. Redesigned the site architecture on the staging site
  2. Resurrected relevant content from the acquired blog onto the client’s website
  3. Created targeted redirect mapping to send backlinks to topically-aligned pages
  4. Convinced the client to implement these redirects even after their developer missed them in the initial migration

Results

The strategic implementation of proper 301 redirects delivered dramatic improvements:

  • Website traffic instantly tripled
  • New content pages began ranking on page 1 for previously untargeted keywords
  • Homepage rankings for existing keywords remained unharmed
  • Client gained visibility in entirely new topic areas
  • Transformed a “status quo” migration into a significant growth opportunity

This case demonstrates how proper backlink management during migrations can unlock hidden value in existing assets.

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