SEO Recap – Redirects

Multiple situations exist that would require you to redirect a web page to a different page. Redirects are basically an automatic loading of alternate pages without the user requesting that page. The user may have requested a specific page by clicking on a link and may be under the impression they will be landing at a certain page, but redirects ensure that the user will land on a page which is different from the requested page.

This is generally harmless and without nefarious intent – a page may have been replaced and not all links updated, so any visitor attempting to land at the defunct page will simply be sent on to the new version. Of course, using a redirect function to ‘cloak’ and send a visitor to a totally unrelated page is not a good practice. Avoid anyone who tells you differently – a good SEO will never cloak.

Use redirects in a variety of situations. If the URL or the domain name of a website changes, or the website is be moved to a different domain altogether. At times two or more websites may be merged demanding a redirect to the right page. If there are no redirects, the browser will result in 404 ‘Page cannot be found.’ error.  It is not good to have URL requests ending in 404 pages, as it reduces faith in your site and causes a high bounce rate.

A vital reason to use redirects is when a new site replaces the old one, you will lose your precious traffic and rankings for those keywords.Implementing appropriate redirects, you will be able to retain your regular traffic and existing ranking for all your important keywords.

Search engines allow two types of redirect: 301 and 302 redirects. A 301 redirect will inform the search engine that the change is permanent and the old page is gone for good. You should use 301 redirect or permanent redirects ONLY when you are sure that you will NEVER need to use the old page again. This is the best option when you move the entire website to a new domain.

You may also use a 301 redirect when you are completely redesigning your website and switching to more SEO friendly URLs for your website to attract better traffic. In  such cases, your old pages will still be listed in the search results, and without a redirect, people will end up on 404 pages – causing them to give up and move on to the next listing rather than try to track you down.

The second type of redirect is 302 redirect or temporary redirect. These redirects areused when you want to redirect a page temporarily to a different location. After that period, you will be able to remove your 302 redirect and start using the regular page again. This is good when you are doing a revamp – you can redirect to a page that lets people know you are under construction and gives them a range of other pages on your site to use. When you are done with one page, simply remove the 302, and apply it to the next page you need to work on.

You have to properly use these two types of redirects because it can affect your ranking adversely if you choose the wrong option. When you use a 301 redirect when you want to revert to the original page, there is a possibility of losing the ranking of the old pages, because the search engine could possibly re-index your website before you revert your change.

Also, when you use a 302 redirect and the page is completely moved, it will affect the ranking of the new page. Consider first how the redirect will work and choose the right type of redirect for each individual situation. The effort required for setting both types of redirects is the same but the effect they will have on your website is completely different. Make sure your SEO firm uses redirect best practices.

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