Proper usage of redirects to maintain link equity

A whitepaper by GearySEO

Executive summary:
This whitepaper explores how search engine optimization professionals can utilize 301 and 302 redirects to ensure the transfer of linking equity and search engine rankings to new pages or websites. URL canonicalization is also outlined as a strategy to mitigate duplicate content penalties for websites that require the same content to be hosted on unique URLs. Other topics to be covered include: Site migration strategies URL mapping Redirect implementations

The SEO value of redirects

When brands transform, website designs improve or pages are deemed outdated, often it is necessary to direct visitors and/ or search engines to new and improved locations. The problem with deleting old pages or entire websites is that earned link value and authority will be discarded, which means rankings and organic traffic will also be lost. To avoid this, SEO professionals need to have a firm understanding of on-page and server-side redirects to maximize link value and traffic producing rankings from existing pages.

301 Redirects
A 301 redirect, also known as a search engine friendly redirect, is a method that can permanently move a webpage, directory or domain to a new location. This redirect passes most of the SEO value and strength from the original page to the new destination. A valuable use of 301 redirects is to funnel duplicate or similar versions of a page/ site to one preferred location. One common use of a 301 redirect is transferring the non-www version of a site the www version. This one simple redirect can create a substantial impact on organic rankings and domain authority because it consolidates link value to one URL. Conversely, omitting this redirect can dilute the power of hundreds or even thousands of inbound links. Web masters and bloggers will naturally link to both www and non-www versions of a site, so it is important to leverage this divided value. It is an industry wide practice to select the more authoritative version of a site as the preferred domain, which is generally the version that has the greater number of authority links pointing at it. In most cases this is the www version. The same logic applies to duplicate pages and categories created by content management systems such as Drupal and Wordpress. Duplicate content can trigger search engine filters that hinder ranking increases, but redirects can be implemented to avoid such penalties. The following are a few common issues that can be resolved with 301 redirects: Non www to www (example: http://example.com/ to http://www.example.com/) Trailing and non trailing slashes (example: http://www.example.com to http://example.com/ ) Upper and lowercase versions of directories (example: http://www.example.com/Directory/ to http://www.example.com/directory/) Dynamic parameter created pages (example: http://www.example.com/?page_id=23094 to http://www.example.com/directory/)

The link equity passing through a site can be leveraged to provide the greatest SEO value to important pages that build a ranking presence for core keywords.

Site Migration with Redirects

Redirects and content migration are two vital steps that are often overlooked by businesses undergoing a site merger/ migration. Without adequate planning or strong SEO knowledge, this can be a dangerous task. For instance, 301 redirecting an old site to a new location will not guarantee that SEO value and rankings are passed on, but taking the time to map out redirects page-by-page and developing a content migration strategy will harness and transfer earned SEO authority up to the point of migration.
URL Mapping - Moving an entire domain to a new location is daunting, so it is not surprising that many inexperienced SEOs take an easy way out. It is

common to see an entire domain, with thousands of quality pages, redirected to a new domains homepage. This strategy only makes sense if every single page of the old site can be supported by the new homepage, but this is probably not the case. More than likely there are subpages of the old site that correspond to subpages of the new site that can better support rankings than a generic homepage. The logic behind URL mapping is to leverage link equity and authority by directing SEO value to the most relevant new pages. The sitemap of an old site may not fit perfectly with the architecture of a new site. Choosing the correct redirect destination will take insight into the traffic producing pages/ keywords, the amount of passable page authority and a keyword mapping strategy for the new site. Each page of the site will need to be evaluated based on these criteria and mapped to corresponding new URLs.
Content Migration This is

another important factor to consider during a site migration as on page content is a large influencer of search engine rankings for target keywords. With a proper page-to-page redirect, a new page will receive a large percent of link value and authority, but on-page elements that contribute to the earned rankings will not be passed

through the redirect. If the new page has limited content and does not support ranking-producing keywords, a site will likely experience position losses. The solution requires balancing the goal of creating a fresh page without sacrificing the existing SEO strategy. It is best to carefully analyze traffic producing keywords and create new pages to support these terms. During this evaluation, mid to long tail keywords should not be ignored. Even though these phrases may only generate a visit or two a month, they generally represent a large percentage of converting organic traffic.

Implementing 301s
After you have decided that a 301 redirect is the best option, you will need to determine how to implement the redirect. There are several options depending on coding language, site layout, type of hosting server and nature of the transition. Another thing to note is that the time it takes a search engine to find the status code will vary as websites are indexed with different frequency based on site age, authority, regularity of updates and the date of its last indexation. The following examples show the coding for 301 redirects in the following forms:
ColdFusion Redirect <.cfheader statuscode="301" statustext="Moved permanently"> <.cfheader name="Location" value="http://www.new-url.com"> PHP Redirect <? Header( "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently" ); Header( "Location: http://www.new-url.com" ); ?> ASP Redirect <%@ Language=VBScript %> <% Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently" Response.AddHeader "Location","http://www.new-url.com/" %> ASP .NET Redirect <script runat="server"> private void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { Response.Status = "301 Moved Permanently"; Response.AddHeader("Location","http://www.new-url.com"); } </script>

JSP (Java) Redirect <% response.setStatus(301); response.setHeader( "Location", "http://www.new-url.com/" ); response.setHeader( "Connection", "close" ); %> CGI PERL Redirect $q = new CGI; print $q->redirect("http://www.new-url.com/"); Ruby on Rails Redirect def old_action headers["Status"] = "301 Moved Permanently" redirect_to "http://www.new-url.com/" end

.htacess redirects
The .htacess is the smoothest way to redirect a page because it is the first file served to a browser, so this method prevents the old page(s) from loading first. The .htacess file is a great way to solve the non-www to www issue that virtually every site experiences. Simply placing the following code in the .htaccess file will 301 redirect the non-www version to the www version.
RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

This is the code for performing the opposite function of redirecting towards the non-www version.
RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^my-domain\.com$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://my-domain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Redirecting an old page to the new is as simple as:

redirect 301 /old/old.htm http://www.you.com/new.htm

The .htaccess is a great way to command redirects, and it is very effective for maintaining SEO equity. It is important to note that the .htaccess file is not supported with Microsoft servers, so the methods used in the .htaccces file will not work on a Microsoft server. Instead, the redirect needs to be defined in the header using the proper coding language as shown above. To update or create a .htaccess file, server level access is needed, which might not always be readily

available. Finally if the .htaccess is not present and needs to be created, you will need to save the file in.txt format at the root directory level.

302 Redirects
The 302 redirect is the status code for a temporary redirect. This redirect is often misused. Many webmasters unknowingly use this redirect when updating page, because a 302 redirect is the default action used by several content management systems. It functions exactly like a 301 redirect from a user perspective, but from an SEO standpoint, it does not pass along the value of redirected pages to the new location. This redirect should only be used for temporary changes to a site as its status code suggests. The 302 redirect can be used to redirect visitors to a temporary promotion, perishable event or even to test new designs of a webpage. It is important to note that the original page will remain in the search engine result pages even after long periods of having a 302 redirect in place.

URL Canonicalization
URL canonicalization is the process of standardizing URLs usually to avoid duplicate content ranking penalties. In addition to search engines considering http://website.com/ and http://www.website.com/ different pages, trailing (www.website.com/page/) and non-trailing (http://www.website.com/page) URLs can pose problems. Search engines also recognize .php and .html versions as different websites, so content duplication and ranking penalties can be implemented. In cases when search engines find pages with duplicate content, they choose which page to index. To help search engines during this process, SEOs can use URL canonicalization to maintain control over which pages are indexed.

Using <link rel= canonical>

While search engine algorithms attempt to eliminate duplicate content, there are several instances when it is appropriate to have similar or identical webpages living on unique URLs. Examples include pages with tracking IDs

(http://www.website.com/product.php?item=bluewidget&trackingid=12&sessionid=34) or pages reached after a user search

query like http://www.website.com/product. To avoid penalties, use rel= canonical in the header tag of duplicate pages to note which page search engines should display. This signifies to search engines which page you prefer to have appear in search results, and search engines note this preference in their indexationdisplaying the preferred page first and not penalizing the other pages for duplicate content infringements. They will also pass along link value from the non-canonical page to the canonical webpage. This essentially acts like a 301 redirect for search engine algorithms because it transfers ranking elements, but it does not impact user functionality. The URL canonicalization tag is appropriate when a page needs to remain active based on the functionality of a site or if it adds value to the user. The most common use of canonical tags is for paginated pages for comments that often create a unique URL to avoid duplicate content issues. The canonical tag allows the page to render appropriately for users while reminding search engines of the root page that authority should be shifted to.

Conclusion
Proper planning and the help of industry experts is the best way to quell concerns about shifting the flow of revenue producing visitors to a new location. The most important thing to remember is the value of information presented to users and search engines. This is critical when transferring, optimizing and maintaining earned link equity because it makes certain that organic search engine reputations are not lost while accommodating evolving user trends. If you are concerned about losing rankings or link authority, consider partnering with SEO experts who can protect your link profile. SEO and link building experts can develop efficient redirect strategies to transfer link equity from existing pages and build authority for target keywords.

About GearySEO
GearySEO is a team of search engine optimization experts who are singularly focused on attaining top rankings for clients. We combine 10 years of success with a strategic and holistic mindset to everything we do. The achievement of conversion, marketing and business goals is the driving force behind our strategy and campaign development. With dedicated resources that create scalable solutions, you can feel confident that your SEO will be done efficiently. Contact us at seoinfo@gearyseo.com to receive additional information about GearySEO services.