Re-write of url
-
Hi,
I would like your input on the following dilemma
I am wanting to target the keyword "download xml".
at the moment Google indexes us on page 2 and indexes the page www.ourdomain.com/download.aspx
I would like to rewrite the url to be /download-xml-editor.aspx
The current page is a pr5 and is our most trafficked and externally inked to page.
My thoughts are quite mixed on how to do this.
approach 1: re-write url of "download.aspx" and setup permanent 301 redirect of download.aspx to download-xml-editor.aspx
approach 2: create a new page called download-xml-editor and 301 redirect that to the current stronger page which is download.aspx
approach 3: create new page called download-xml-editor with unique content and try and get that page to rank over time, allowing it to build up links and not compromise the current page, then later 301 redirect
How would you deal with this and what are your recommendations
-
I have a few questions Andrew.
You want to target download.xml as a keyword and you do, but currently rank on page 2. Therefore you want to increase this rank to page 1.
Why do you need to set up another page?
Why is the current page not suitable for your needs, and can it be optimized better for this keyword?
What is your intent for the new page? Why do you see a need to have a second page to target this keyword?
You say you want to rewrite the URL. Are you saying you want to re-code the URL or do a re-write rule on the URL in the .htaccess file?
With the information you have provided, I see no reason to create a new page, but simply optimize further the page that is already ranking for this term. Perhaps running it through the on-page report card and building some inbound links with exact anchor text.
-
We had the same case in the past, rewrote the URL and told Google the old URL was permanently moved. In one week the new page ranked instead. Once you've done this and other on-site bits go and earn some links as that will me a much more fruitful way of getting the page to a better position.
-
I agree with the other posts. The URL name is one of many factors; I'd concentrate on making other on and off page factors to try and grow the relevance of the page as it is without any redirects. If it was a truly new page with no authority then I'd simply 301 it but that's your decision.
DD
-
Matt Cutts has been quoted as saying that they have probably been paying too much attention to page names, so if I were you, I would not worry about this too much as you can probably expect a change in the algorithm again soon.
Wish I had paid more attention to the article because I can't find it now, but this came through my news feeds when discussing a few other aspects.
Andy
-
Copy the page and name it download-xml-editor.aspx and redirect the old page to this 'new' one. Take the slight ranking hit now while you're on the second page since the higher up you're ranking the more you have to lose.
Just remember that changing the file name/url is not going to always increase your ranking for that keyword - it depends on lots of other factors too
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 do I customize Magento product urls?
I would like my product urls to be /category/manufacturer/name/part#. This would be the only url the item uses and how the product is accessed. It would also be used for product feeds. My first attempt was to use https://amasty.com/magento-unique-product-url.html This creates a single url but I can not customize it. Sometimes it selects the manufacturer and sometimes the category. My second attempt was with https://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/custom-product-urls-seo.html I have it installed but it doesn't change the urls. Has anyone been able to do this successfully?
Technical SEO | | Tylerj0 -
Exclude URL Parameters?
Hello, I am new in SEO and I am trying to understand the basics in URL parameters. Let’s assume that I have an ecommerce site with Categories (Category1, Category2) Views (listview=1, listview=2) Orders (OrderBy=1, OrderBy=2) Pages (pg=1, pg=2) Why should I add google to index pages with different views and Listing orders? What is the benefit for the site to have the same content with different order? I am not sure but maybe only need pages in order to google to “travel” between the pages? For example: www.mydomain.com/books/pg=1 www.mydomain.com/books/?order=date www.mydomain.com/books/?listview =1 The products in pages (pg) will always include products in order and listview? Why should google index again the content? Furthermore, from the last time that google index the pg=1 the products has changed. Thank you in advanced
Technical SEO | | ArisGast0 -
PortfolioID urls appearing in my wordpress site- what to do?
Hey guys, Hoping someone may have some advice on a wordpress site. Most of their URL's are duplicates due to a PortfolioID appearing in the URLs causing a duplicate title tags
Technical SEO | | Swanny_s
It's the same page but it's being flagged as duplicate. Would you remove the portfolioID url or 301 redirect? Many thanks
Simon0 -
Want to change URL for a page
Hey there Mozzers. I want to change the url of a certain page on my website. Example: www.example.com/poker-face I want to change this www.example.com/poker-faces Should I create a new page and make the old one 301? Does 301 pass all the link juice in the new page or do i have to make a rel=canonical also ?
Technical SEO | | Angelos_Savvaidis0 -
Automatic redirect to external urls
Hi all, I'm developing a dynamic qr code service.. The service works in the following way: You create an account with an associated QR CODE pointing to a url like:
Technical SEO | | raulo79
- http://domain.me/username The user can change the target of this url.. he can:
- point to an external url ( his website for example)
- point to a vCard download page
- a mobile ready webpage ( no redirection in this case)... Visiting http://domain.me/username my company logo is displayed and we redirect the visitor with a: header("Refresh: 5;URL=http://userdomain.tld"); Google is indexing many user's URLs, this is good for those users pointing to the mobile ready webpage, in this case there is no redirection, but Google is indexing many urls that redirect to an external url and I don't know how to avoid this.. I can't do an header('Location: http://www.example.com/'); because I need to display our logo after redirection.. how can I do google friendly? Sorry for my english, I hope you can undestand the problem. Best regards.
Mauro.0 -
Urls with or without .html ending
Hello, Can anyone show me some authority info on wheher links are better with or without a .html ending? Thanks is advance
Technical SEO | | sesertin0 -
Should me URLs be uppercase or lowercase
I'm in the middle of doing a bunch of 301 redirects for me site. Should I make them Lowercase, uppercase, or does it matter? Also, do I want to be using hyphens (-), or underscores (_)? Any other tips? EX: http://www.stupid.com/golf-slippers.html OR http://www.stupid.com/Golf-Slippers.html
Technical SEO | | JustinStupid0 -
URL Length
What is the ideal length for an item's URL. Theirs a few different options. A) www.mydomain.com/item-name B) www.mydomain.com/category-name/product-name C) www.mydomain.com/category-name/sub-category-name/product-name Please choose A, B, or C and explain why you made that decision. Looking forward to the responses.
Technical SEO | | Romancing0