301 Redirects From a URL without Keyphrases to one With Keyphrases
-
I have a client that sells services. Each service offered currently has a URL structure like this:
www.companyname.com/product/asp$view-id-page3022-item-24
These pages are pretty old, and I would love to have a more user-friendly URL like this:
www.companyname.com/product/purple-swatch-watch
If I rename the URL and do a 301 redirect, what impact will that have on search? Ideally, this page will be optimized for "purple swatch watch", but the current URL structure is so... well, you know.
My apologies if this has been answered before. I tried looking through archived of 301 issues, but lost hope after my first 10 or so attempts at answered didn't help this specific issue.
-
Agree with everything although I understood a 301 gives a very slight shave off the optimum link value, but the benefits in terms of user experience and keyworded URLs outweigh that.
I'm a fan of Fiddler for watching header responses.
-
Thanks, Tom. I appreciate the comment. Our tech guru is ready with the proper 301 redirect, so I feel confident there. Even if it is a small benefit, I feel like it's best practice anyway, so I'm glad you agree!
-
Hi Erica
In my eyes, this should be a positive move.
Implementing a 301 redirect will pass all of the link equity, which should bring the new URL up to par very quickly. Combine that with the fact that there is evidence to suggest correlation between having keywords in the URL and ranking higher for the term, albeit a slight benefit, means that for SEO purposes it could be a positive move.
In addition, I think this is a much more friendly URL structure for the user and enhancing the user experience can also result in conversions.
I'd definitely make that change, just be sure you implement the 301 correctly. This Moz guide can help.
Hope this helps!
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
-
Naked domain redirection info
Hi Guys Been reading one or two posts about 'naked domains' v the 'www' derivative and was wondering... What is your opinion on this, is there a definitive benefit to your business in making the switch in terms of ranking? Apart from the Google released info, do you have any further recommended reading on this subject matter? Thanks in advance Daren
On-Page Optimization | | ITsoldSEO0 -
What word should I use in my URL for my blog
Should I use the word "blog" in my sub folder as in : http://www.mybusiness.com/blog or should I use http://www.mybusiness.com/news. Is there a difference for when my site is crawled. I understand that a blog works a little differently. Can someone explain the basics?
On-Page Optimization | | graemesanderson0 -
301 vs 302 redirect
Hello Mozers, I have a website which offers subscriptions on a monthly basis, when one profile expires the link of the profile gets a 301 redirect to the main category, just that if the member chooses to come back after a while he can reactivate the profile and the link will work again and the 301 will disappear, Should I be doing 302 redirect, as from this point of view it's only a temporarily redirect ? Thanks in advance
On-Page Optimization | | asmedia0 -
Which URL Structure is best for New Website?
Hello All, I have one client and he want to develop his website but the he want the URL structure for his website page like below: http://www.example.com/category/xxproduct.html But I have suggest him below URL Structure http://www.example.com/category/xx-product.html So Can you people please suggest me that from above which URL structure is better from SEO side as well as from Visual side..? Is using - is better to separate the words in URL?
On-Page Optimization | | jemindesai0 -
Canonical URL problem
On page analysis wanted me to add a canonical url tag. However I added then re ran the on page analysis and it came up with an error. What is the proper way to add a canonical url tag in the head of an index page? ie. add a canonical tag to www.hompeage.com/index.html would it be ? Or should I ignore this for a home page? Because I add it then run the analysis again and get this? Appropriate Use of Rel Canonical Moderate fix <dl> <dt>Canonical URL</dt> <dd>"http://www.ensoplastics.com/index.html"</dd> <dt>Explanation</dt> <dd>If the canonical tag is pointing to a different URL, engines will not count this page as the reference resource and thus, it won't have an opportunity to rank. Make sure you're targeting the right page (if this isn't it, you can reset the target above) and then change the canonical tag to reference that URL.</dd> <dt>Recommendation</dt> <dd>We check to make sure that IF you use canonical URL tags, it points to the right page. If the canonical tag points to a different URL, engines will not count this page as the reference resource and thus, it won't have an opportunity to rank. If you've not made this page the rel=canonical target, change the reference to this URL. NOTE: For pages not employing canonical URL tags, this factor does not apply.</dd> <dd>So do I add it or not? If I don't I get a lower page rating if I take it off I get a higher page rating with room for improvement. </dd> </dl>
On-Page Optimization | | ENSO0 -
301 Dilemma
Hi Everyone, I have written new content for a product page and at the same time put it on a different URL: example.com/product The previous URL was something like this: example.com/brand/type/product (PR4) So all in all this is an easy enough 301, however, we also have a shop page for this product: example.com/shop/brand/type/product_shoppage.php (PR4) Should I also do a 301 from this page to the new page?: example.com/product Can you have two 301 redirects like what I am proposing? Kind Regards,
On-Page Optimization | | Paul780 -
How do you see a list of URLs with duplicate page titles?
When looking at the Duplicate Page Title report, the Other URLs column has various numbers that presumably indicate the number of pages that share the same title. When I click on one of these numbers, say a URL that shows 4 in that column, the next page reports "No sample duplicate URLs to report". Why isn't it showing me the other 3 URLs with the same page title?
On-Page Optimization | | jkenyon0