Should I redirect mobile traffic to a different url? Will it hurt SEO?
-
I'm working on a site that has lots of great content and ranks well but essentially the money is generated by affiliate links. I don't have a mobile version of the site but the company I'm affiliated with does offer a mobile redirect to their domain. Will redirecting mobile traffic to a different url hurt my SEO? I think the user will get a better experience by landing on a mobile page but I don't know if google will see it like that.
Any thoughts?
-
Hi Samuel,
I understand why it makes sense from a user experience perspective, although I'd be a little concerned that it would be a bit weird, especially if the domains are branded differently.
I'd probably start by avoiding an automatic redirect. The simplest option is probably to include a prominent CTA on the desktop version that says 'view mobile version at www.otherdomain.com'. If you want to get a bit fancier, you could display a message when a mobile user agent is detected, saying something like 'it looks like you're on a mobile device. Would you like to view a mobile-friendly version of this page?'. If you do this, make sure that
- a) the page is still accessible to a crawler with a mobile user agent (in other words, don't require input from the mobile user in order to view the desktop version, just include it as an option)
- b) use a cookie to avoid asking your mobile users to answer the question again every time they visit.
If you really want to do the redirect, start by testing on just a couple pages to check for any negative impact before rolling it out further.
-
I don't think you will have any problem. It won't be a doorway page or something like that because you are not deceiving the users, you are actually showing them the information they are requesting in the best possible way.
-
Thanks for your reply. I makes sense to me to have users land on a mobile page but just to clarify I'd be redirecting mobile traffic to a completely different domain not just a different URL. Will that be a problem?
-
Hi Samuel,
Google won't penalize you in any way if you redirect mobile users to another URL. Here you can find Google's Recommendations for building smartphone-optimized websites.
The best way to go for them is building a responsive design, but as you can see, Google encourages mobile redirections 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
-
Will I have duplicate content on my own website?
Hello Moz community, We are an agency providing services to various industries, and among them the hair salon industry. On our website, we have our different service pages in the main menu, as usual. These service pages are general information and apply to any industry.We also have a page on the website that is only intended for the hair salon industry. On this page, we would like to link new service pages: they will be the same services as our “general” services, but specialized for hair salons. My questions relate to duplicate content: Do we have to make the new individual service pages for hair salons with completely different text, even though it’s the same service, in order to avoid having duplicate content? Can we just change a few words from the “general service” page to specifically target hair salons, and somehow avoid Google seeing it as duplicate content? Reminder that these pages will be internal links inside of the hair salon industry page. Thank you in advance for your answers, Gaël
On-Page Optimization | | Gael_Regnault0 -
Weird 404 Error URL's - Where to redirect?
For some reason, I end up with a bunch of weird 404 error URLs like these. /KRVWZ/SVfSZ/ /wp-content/upl /MKWTZ/RKYQZ/ /wp-content/upload What should I do with them? Should I redirect them or is there a better way to do something with them. I do use Yoast Premium if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance.
On-Page Optimization | | photoseo10 -
Making Shopify URL's Simpler - Losing the words 'collection', 'product' and 'page' in a Shopify store URL. Any advice?
Hi Mozers! I have a Shopify store (of which there are many advantages) however one big SEO disadvantage, is that my URL structures contravene all Moz advice on dynamic URL structure and whats more I am reminded about this every week when I have a Moz site crawl and I have a batch of URL's that are longe than the 75 characters. A Shopify URL will run www.domain name.com/collections/collection-name/product/product-name. According to advice a it should be www.domain name.com/collection-name/product-name - Don't even get started on sub-collections! I sell portfolio books, album etc and keepsake memory boxes (so long keywords) AND, I have a long(ish) business name. So, For user experience and keyword length, do I just ignore trying to achieve a dynamic URL under 75 characters? When I have asked Shopify, the say their URL's are an integral part of the "Ruby on Rails" system, so nothing can be done Or can it ??? I can't be the only Moz member with this issue can I ??
On-Page Optimization | | nick_HandCo0 -
301 twice redirect (no negative)
Can i made twice 301 redirect, because i got "droped" domain and i dont want negative effect to new website. Can i redirect users some other way with no negative effect for fresh website?
On-Page Optimization | | cerar0 -
Different title tags and meta descriptions for desktop and mobile?
Is it possible to use different title tags and meta descriptions for mobile users? For Example: In the SERP for desktop you'll see the desktop title tags and meta descriptions, but in the SERP for mobile you'll the mobile versions of the webpage.
On-Page Optimization | | alex19780 -
How will it effect SEO to have multiple h1 tags on a page?
I have a client who recieved this advice from his marketing consultant: "If there are multiple h1 tags on a page, this can confuse Google and it may have a negative impact on the keyword rankings. If you could ask your web developer to go in and remove the h1 tags on the header images that would be helpful. This way it will be easier for Google to index your site and will help your keyword rankings." How will it effect SEO to have multiple h1 tags on a page?
On-Page Optimization | | GRIP-SEO0 -
Www to non www redirect
HI there, I was worried that my folder was not being crawled as when I searched for site:www.thekeepsakeco.co.uk/marketplace nothing came up but today I tried site:thekeepsakeco.co.uk/marketplace it does. So it is forwarding the www to the non www. When I do a search on links or analyse the domain it says there is a forwarder in place. My site used to dominate in my niche and now is not doing very well since I moved to the new site. I know I did not handle the move well but wonder what I can do about it and wonder if this redirect is causing issues. So any link building it probably going to www. rather than non www so does that mean they are not counting. What would you do? move everything back to www and could I do a 301 redirect for the whole folder? Any help greatly received! Kindest regards Victoria Thanks Victoria
On-Page Optimization | | vcasebourne0 -
What are the benefits of the URL meta tag?
We have too many meta tags and want to get rid of all the outdated ones. However, we don't want to eliminate valuable meta tags by mistake. So, before we say goodbye to the URL meta tag, we want to make sure we understand the pros and cons, if any. By the way, we are not referring to canonical URL tags, just URL as in:
On-Page Optimization | | GRIP-SEO0