URL Redirects For SEO: A Technical Guide for 2023
A redirect is a way to send someone from a URL that is temporarily or permanently down to another, more relevant URL. The main reason to use links is to provide a good experience for the person. People are sent right away to another site on the same topic so they don’t end up on a page that doesn’t exist anymore.
But redirects can be bad for more than just the user experience. They can change and affect many parts of a plan for SEO and usefulness. Because of this, SEOs need to know how redirects work and how to use them properly to keep link authority, rankings, and traffic.
What is a Redirect?
A redirect is a way to link an old URL that might not be used anymore to its new form. A host can set up such a link with a simple line of code, which we’ll talk about briefly, and send people to the new page when they try to go to the old URL.
When to Use Redirects?
Redirects help users and search engines, especially when the content has moved or is unavailable. Redirects help make sure that visitors have a good time using the site. A website can set up a transfer link so that users never end up on a “404” page and have to look for other connected content on the topic on their own.
Redirects are used by search engines so that their bots don’t have to try to figure out what broken URLs or internal links mean. Instead, the crawl fund can be saved so the engine can see real content, understand it, and properly organize it.
Types of Redirects
We’ve already talked about a few changes, and if you’ve been expending attention, you may have noticed that they are all different. Some redirect people to a new URL forever, while others only do it briefly. Also, some redirects move the whole page, while others only move certain parts, and so on.
Let’s clear this up and talk about the different types of results. In general, there are two types of returns:
- Server-side
- Client-side
Server-side Redirects
As the name suggests, the server-side move happens on a computer. When a server gets an HTTP request for a file, it replies with the right status code, which says whether the move is permanent or temporary. On a system, there are a lot of things that can happen. They are most of the time:
301 redirect – moved permanently
A 301 redirect is a server-side switch that moves people from one URL to another URL permanently. 301 reroute an important move from an SEO point of view. It is called a “permanent” reroute for a reason. It tells the search engine that the original URL is no longer in use and that the other page has taken its place.
Based on this information, Bing, Google and other search engines will replace the original URL in their index with the one the redirect goes to.
When to Use 301 Redirects
301 should be used to keep a page’s traffic, rankings, and links even though the page has been completely removed from the site.
301 redirects can help SEO because almost all of the original page’s PageRank will be sent to the new page. It means that after the transfer, the new page will have about the same power as the original information you changed.
301 Redirect Example
https://www.domain-name.com/old.php You’ll probably want to clean this up, so you strength use a 301 redirect to dispatch visitors from that page to a cleaner page – https://www.domain-name.com/new/
302 redirect – moved temporarily
This redirect briefly sends visitors to a new URL. It would be finest to use it to stop people from visiting a certain page for a while. The “302” in its name means that the file (a document or a web page) has moved briefly to a different URL.
When to Use 302 Redirects
With 302 redirects, you should only forward URLs when the original address will be unavailable quickly, and you want to make it live again.
How do 302 redirects impact SEO? Because a 302 transfer is short, it doesn’t pass page authority from the old URL to the new URL. It means the new URL won’t hurt the original file’s image or links, and search engines will always see it as something different.
302 Redirect Example
The code for the 302 Redirect is almost the same as the code for the permanent redirect. The only difference is the answer code you use to explain it.
For example:
Redirect 302 /old-page-name.php/ https://domain-name/new-page-name.php.
303 Redirect
The 303 Redirect works the same way as the 302 Temporary Redirect. It tells the browser (and the search engine) that the item it was trying to get to has been switched with something else.
But there is one difference between them. The 303 route can’t be saved in a cache, so that the search engine won’t store it. It is important if you might move where the redirect goes and don’t want Google to store any of those pages.
When to Use 303 Redirects
Almost all the same things can be done with the 303 Redirect and the 302. But, as was said above, the 303 method is additionally valuable if you want to change the site of the redirect while the temporary redirect is in place.
SEO has nothing to do with the 303 Redirect. It doesn’t send the page’s authority or links to the new URL, so the search engine can’t cache it.
307 redirect – Moved Temporarily
307 is another temporary redirect, but its use differs from the methods above. It is often used instead of 302 redirects when the request method for the target URL cannot be changed. Most of the time, the move must start with the POST rather than the regular GET method.
When to Use 307 Redirects
A 307 redirect is usually used with a form action that needs a specific POST redirect. The 307 redirect has no impact on SEO.
308 Redirect – Permanent Redirect
It is what the 307 Redirect look like in a lasting way. The 308 Redirect ensures that the request method is the same as in the first call. This reroute method works well when a business moves a website using the POST method with many forms.
Client-Side Redirects
Like server-side links, these choices don’t run on the machine. Instead, they happen when a computer tries to open a certain file. Client-side redirects often work when a site can’t set up or control what the server does. A good example is not getting to the .htaccess file on the server to set the route.
This kind of redirection can hurt SEO. Not all computers can use these links, so the person might not be sent to the right place. Also, search engines may trust the redirected page less than the original content.
There are two main types of client-side redirects:
- Meta refresh redirect
- Javascript redirects
Meta Refresh Redirect
The Meta Refresh redirect goes into the <HEAD> part of the file you want to modify. When the browser tries to open the file, the browser is sent to a different location. It tells a computer to restart a page or load another URL after a long time has passed.
It is what the code looks like:
<meta HTTP-equiv=”refresh” content=”0; url=http://domain-name.com/other-url/”>
Even though the person never sees the original page because the redirect runs before they can, the file will still be in their computer records. Processing time: Before the person can see the forwarded page, the computer must read the original URL, find the redirect, and start it.
Javascript Redirects
JavaScript redirects work like the Meta Refresh method, but to get to the target URL, the client (a browser) needs to be able to handle JavaScript.
The JavaScript code for redirection is also in the HTML file’s <HEAD> part. It looks like this:
<script>location.href=’http://www.domain-name.com/‘;</script>
Most of the time, JavaScript redirects send a person to a page that works better on their device or based on what they do. With JavaScript, users can sometimes be sent to different pages.
For example, you can use JavaScript to send people to an internal page after they’ve logged in. To ensure your site follows Google’s rules, consider the goal when looking at JavaScript or other reroute methods. Remember that 301 redirects are the best way to move your site, but you could also use a JavaScript redirect if you don’t have access to your site’s server.
Conclusion:
URL changes are important for website upkeep, redesigns, and user experience. When used properly, redirects can also help SEO by keeping the value of links, avoiding problems with duplicate content, and better crawling and indexing. Nschool Academies Offers a Digital Marketing Course in Coimbatore with Real-time Projects includes SEO, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Google Ads Etc.. Using these tips, you can ensure your URL changes are good for users and search engine optimization.