Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Should I 301 Redirect The index.html Page?
-
Hello,
As an experiment I am trying to work with an SBI site but am noticing index.html is being forced on me as the homepage.
As I understand it's good practice to 301 redirect the index.html page to the to the actual home page. Can someone please confirm that I am right in thinking this?
Here is an example:
http://www.anguilla-beaches.com/index.html
http://www.anguilla-beaches.com/According to yahoo 773 links are pointing to the index.html page and 771 links are pointing to the / page.
I'm sure Google knows that these are the same pages and does not consider them as duplicate but surely the index.html page should be redirected right? am I going mad here?
Now if we look at this site:
http://www.jugglenow.com the homepage has 198 links according to yahoo
http://www.jugglenow.com/index.html this page also has 198 links? now I am confused, are these 2 the same page?On this page:
http://www.jugglenow.com/juggling-balls.html notice how there is no link to the actual homepage but there is a link to the index.html page.
Am I missing something here because I can't figure it out, surely there should be just 1 homepage without a index.html page.
Any help would be appreciated
-
The most important factor is to ensure only one URL is available for each page. You should not present the same page through both the /index.html and / URLs. Pick one.
My strong preference is to use the simple / URL as "index.html" does not offer any value to users nor search engines. It just makes the URL longer and more cluttered.
I'm sure Google knows that these are the same pages and does not consider them as duplicate ...
Not true. On your site you may choose to offer the same content via /index.html and /, but another site could choose to present completely different content on those pages. You are offering two unique URLs, your content is duplicated and that can cause multiple issues. Duplicate content is an issue and a division of your links is another issue.
The simple fix is to design your site from the beginning to only offer a / page and not a index.html page. If you have an existing site where this is an issue, use the 301 redirect to fix the problem.
-
Go ahead nad 301, SE see it as a canonical as index,html is not always the default page. make sure you dont have any internal links point t the .html, of you will leak link juice though the 301 un-necessary.
doing a 301 should consolidate you link juice.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How does indexing backlinks affect SEO and search engine rankings?
Indexing backlinks plays a crucial role in the overall SEO strategy and search engine rankings. When search engines like Google crawl and index a website, they also consider the quality and relevance of the backlinks pointing to that site. Here's why indexing backlinks is important: Visibility in Search Results: Indexing ensures that search engines recognize and attribute value to the backlinks you have acquired. When indexed, these backlinks contribute to the overall link profile of your website and can positively impact your visibility in search results. Faster Indexation: By submitting your backlinks for indexing, you can speed up the process of search engines discovering and recognizing those links. This helps search engines recognize the relevance and authority of your website sooner. Enhanced Crawling and Ranking: Indexing allows search engines to crawl and evaluate the backlinks pointing to your site. These backlinks are considered as signals of trust and authority, which can influence your search engine rankings. Improved Domain Authority: When high-quality backlinks pointing to your site are indexed, they contribute to your website's Domain Authority (DA). A higher DA indicates a more authoritative and reputable website, which can positively impact your rankings and organic search visibility. Competitive Advantage: Indexing your backlinks gives you a competitive edge by ensuring that the value and authority of those links are properly recognized and taken into account by search engines. This can help you outrank competitors who may have unindexed or low-quality backlinks. It's important to note that not all backlinks may require manual indexing, as search engines can discover and index them naturally. However, for specific or newly acquired backlinks that may not be indexed quickly, manual submission or using indexing services can help ensure they are recognized by search engines and contribute to your overall SEO efforts.
Link Building | | Morries88880 -
Does no-indexed page has an impact on bounce rate
my question is: I have a page that contains some external links, I know when visitors click on them and leave my site it hurts my bounce rate, But I have a solution for that, I am using external link redirection code, with this code after users clicking on external links they are not leaving my site and first went to some link like this: "http://mysite.com/redirect/https://externalsite.com/" and after 10 seconds they redirect to the external site, I make this redirect page noindex and nofollow. but the question is does this noindex page can decrease my page bounce rate because users don't leave my site and first go to another page of my site. but I don't know does no-indexed page has an impact on bounce rate or my struggle is worthless
Link Building | | mmohammadi1250 -
Does Google index a content in iframe?
Hello guys, I´ve done a infografic and i want to share it with some bloggers. But, i want to share an iframe, not an image (beacuse there is some links on it). My question: Can Google consider the links inside an iframe (for link building)? Thank you 🙂
Link Building | | seomobly0 -
What are your favorite tactics for getting links to money-pages?
We've got content marketing and other great tactics for getting links to content pages, but what are your favorite tactics for getting links to your money pages (i.e. product pages, landing pages, devices pages, sales letters, etc.) For example: For certain sites (especially some ecommerce sites), one can get a few backlinks by doing giveaways, contests, or events Some sites can give their product to bloggers to review If you're selling an exciting product and/or a product that appeals to a passionate user base, such tactics can work great. There are some sites that such tactics won't work very well for, though. For example, if you sell a boring or highly specialized product that bloggers won't want to review or giveaway as a contest prize - such as valves used in a specific commercial application, or an expensive B2B product that you can't really giveaway. Creativity is of course important, but sometimes it can only take you so far. What are your favorite strategies for getting quality backlinks to your "money pages" especially for sites that don't fit into the "ecommerce site selling cool stuff" category?
Link Building | | AdamThompson0 -
How does Google treat multiple backlinks on the same page?
Hello mozCrew Just a quick yay or nay. We have an embeddable code on our site for customers who want to post our link on their website listed here: http://www.accupos.com/etc/embed-code-restaurants.php But in our link, there are actually 2 separate links, one branding link that says the name of our company, AccuPOS, and another link which targets a specific target keyword "Restaurant POS Software". My question is, does Google only give credit for the branding link, since it is listed FIRST? Or will we get double credit? Is this a good or bad practice, and what would you recommend? Thank you! Derek Moore
Link Building | | DerekM880 -
Why is my Page Rank 0.
Hi, I am trying to understand why my Page Rank is 0. Many forums say that it is because my site has been blocked by google. Any help with this would be much appreciated. http://davincidrivers.com
Link Building | | MariaPerrone0 -
Site stuck on 2nd page on Google - how can it improve?
Hi I am working on a site http://www.harrisbassett.co.uk that for search terms such as 'Chartered Accountants Swansea' appears near the top of the 2nd page of Google. When looking at what is listed on the 1st page for 'Chartered Accountants Swansea' I would appreciate any advice/guidance on what else could be done to give the site a final push to get on the 1st page of search results. Over the past 2 weeks I have been building inbound links from local citation sites yelp, qype etc along with sites from competitor analysis via opensiteexplorer. Looking at the sites that are on the 1st page I cant understand why many of them are ranking higher than me? Any insight and plan of attack would be most appreciated from any search experts on the forum. Many Thanks
Link Building | | idv0
