How To Create A SEO Friendly Redirect
Recently I was asked by a client what the best way was to do a SEO friendly redirect - meaning how what should I do so that when I setup a new domain or page it will be counted as the old page or website so that I keep my current search engine rankings.
There are actually several ways to redirect a website or page. Some of those ways include a JavaScript redirect, meta refresh redirect, 301 redirect and more. Although there are several ways to preform a redirect there is a preferred way to redirect if you want to make sure it’s SEO friendly.
That preferred method is called a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect is technique or type of redirecting that tells an Internet browser, search engine or other device that the page accessed has permanently move to another location and your being redirected to that location.
- Why is a 301 redirect preferred?
- How to setup a 301.
- Does anchor text in links to the old page count for the new page?
Why is a 301 redirect preferred?
The reason a 301 is a preferred method is that it indicates it’s move is permanently and not only that, but Google has stated that this is the redirect method you should use if you wish to give a new page the same created from links that an older page had.
The major benefit to SEO by going a 301 is that Google and some other search engines will treat all links from an old page as counting for your new page you redirected to.
How to Setup Your 301 Redirect:
Now that we understand 301 redirects and why they are best for SEO lets dive into how you can setup one. First you’ll need 2 URLs, one the URL of the page you want to redirect from (the old page) and two the URL you want to direct towards (the new page). Next you’ll need to decide on the method in which you want to preform the redirect. There are actually several ways to do a 301.
Here are a few mediums you can do this in:
domain registrar level*
PHP
ASP
.htaccess
and more
I’ve mentioned just a few of the most used mediums above. For more methods and code, check out this excellent reference: How to create redirects
Also it’s important to understand that you can 301 redirect from one website to another. Example you can redirect from http://www.oldsite.com to http://www.newsite.com
For most redirecting I suggest you use .htaccess. Why? It’s pretty reliable, relatively easy to setup, control and edit latter. Although using redirection at the domain registrar level is very reliable too.
Here are my suggestions for redirection needs and medium to redirect with:
| Redirection Needed | Medium Should Use |
| Whole website | Domain registrar level (second choice is .htaccess) |
| Several pages | .htaccess (second choice is PHP or ASP) |
| One page | .htaccess (second choice is PHP or ASP) |
How does this effect anchor text from links to the old page?
Surprisingly most anchor text will be attributed and count towards the new (redirected to) page. Here is a short video with Matt Cutts explaining the answer to that very question.
Comments
[...] For example if you’re URL is redirected using 302 redirection then you’re not likely to be getting all the link juice that you could from any links pointing to your short URL. But on the other hand if it’s a 301 redirect you’re more likely to get all those dofollow links pointing to your short URL counted to the page URL it’s short for. For more info on how 301 redirect effects anchor text check out our post on How To Create A SEO Friendly Redirect. [...]
