Dental Website Redesign: How to Keep Your Google Rankings

Your current website may look dated, but Google has spent years learning what each page is about. A redesign that changes page addresses without a plan can send patients and Google to error pages. The good news is that a careful redesign keeps most of what you've earned.

Google says to “expect temporary fluctuation in site ranking during the move” (Google Search Central). The steps below keep that dip short and stop it from becoming permanent.

Why rankings drop after a redesign

• Page addresses (URLs) change and the old ones return a “page not found” error.
• Every old page is redirected to the home page instead of its closest match.
• Service pages are merged or cut, so the content Google ranked is gone.
• Page titles and descriptions are lost in the move.
• A “noindex” setting used while building the site is left on after launch.

Step 1. List every page on your current site

Before anything is designed, make a list of every URL your current site has. Google suggests building it from your sitemap, server logs, analytics and your content system. Mark the pages that bring in visitors, such as your top service pages, your emergency page and any blog posts that get traffic. Old blog posts are easy to forget. If one still brings in visitors, keep it on the new site, even if you tidy it up.

If you have Google Search Console, the Performance report shows which pages appear in search. Those are the pages you can't afford to lose.

Step 2. Keep the URLs that already work

The easiest redirect is the one you don't need. If your implants page lives at /dental-implants and ranks well, keep that exact address on the new site. Change a URL only when there's a clear reason, such as a messy address full of numbers.

Step 3. Map each old page to its closest new page

For every URL that changes, write down where it should go. A simple spreadsheet works.

Google is clear that you shouldn't redirect many old URLs to “one irrelevant single URL destination, such as the home page of the new site.” It says this may be treated as a soft 404, which is Google's term for a page that acts like an error. If two old pages were combined into one new page, redirecting both to that page is fine.

Step 4. Use permanent (301) redirects

A permanent redirect tells browsers and Google that a page has moved for good. Google says it recommends “a permanent server-side redirect whenever possible” (Google Search Central). It also says “301 and other permanent redirects don't cause a loss in PageRank,” which is one of the signals Google uses to rank pages.

• Send each old URL straight to its final page. Avoid chains where one redirect leads to another.
• Keep the redirects “for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year,” in Google's words.
• Use a temporary (302) redirect only for a page that will come back, such as a seasonal promotion.

Some website builders can't set server-side redirects. In that case, Google says an instant meta refresh redirect is treated as permanent, but server-side redirects are still the better choice.

Step 5. Carry over what Google reads on each page

• Keep or improve the page title and meta description of every page that ranks.
• Keep the service content. A shorter, prettier page with half the text can rank lower.
• Point canonical tags on the new site at the new URLs.
• Remove any noindex tags or robots.txt blocks used during the build.
• Keep your clinic's name, address and phone number written the same way everywhere.

My dental website checklist for GTA clinics covers the rest of what Google and patients look for on each page.

Before launch, test the new site on a private copy

Ask your designer to set up the new site at a private address first. Then go through it on your own phone before anything goes live.

• Tap the phone number and the booking button on every main page.
• Send a test message through each form and confirm it arrives.
• Check that hours, address and insurance details match what your front desk tells patients.
• Open a few service pages and read them. Anything copied from the old site should still make sense.

Once the site is live, try a few old addresses yourself. Type an old URL into your browser. It should land on the matching new page, not an error page and not the home page.

Step 6. Launch-day checks in Search Console

On launch day, submit the new sitemap in Search Console. Then use the URL Inspection tool on your most important old URLs to confirm each one redirects to the right new page. Over the next weeks, Google says you should see indexing drop for old URLs and rise for new ones.

If your domain name changes, for example from a .com to a .ca, Google also offers a Change of Address tool. If you're keeping the same domain and only changing page paths, Google says to use redirects and update your sitemap instead.

Step 7. Update your Google Business Profile and other links

Your Google Business Profile links to your website. If that link points to an old page, update it. Google's help page says to enter the full URL including “https://,” make sure Googlebot isn't blocked on your site, and notes that edits are reviewed before they go live (Google Business Profile Help).

Next, update the links you control. Start with internal links on your own site, then your social profiles, insurer and directory listings, and any partner sites. Google recommends updating internal links first and asking sites that send you a lot of visitors to update theirs.

What I did on Brampton North and Lord Dufferin

Brampton North Dental's new site launched on September 26, 2026, replacing the clinic's WordPress site. Each old WordPress URL has a permanent (301) redirect to its matching new page, so links and search results that point at the old pages still land in the right place. You can see the before and after on the Brampton North Dental case study.

Lord Dufferin Dental Centre in Orangeville went live on October 11, 2026, with old site URLs redirected to the new pages. Staff can also manage redirects themselves in the site's content editor, so a renamed page doesn't need a developer.

What to expect in the first few weeks

Some movement in your rankings is normal while Google recrawls the site. Google says a small to medium-sized site “can take a few weeks for most pages to move, and larger sites take longer.” Check Search Console for pages returning “not found” errors and add a redirect for any you missed.

If you're still choosing who does the work, my 12 questions to ask before hiring a dental website designer include the redirect question. Ask it early.

What I'd do

Before you approve a new design, ask for the URL list and the redirect map. If your designer can't produce both, the redesign isn't ready to launch. You can see how I handle redirects, editing and launch on my dental website design page for GTA clinics, along with what a dental website costs in Toronto.