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    4. Creating Redirect Maps -To include PDFs or Not to include PDFs?

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    Creating Redirect Maps -To include PDFs or Not to include PDFs?

    Intermediate & Advanced SEO
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    • emilydavidson
      emilydavidson last edited by

      When creating a redirect map for a site re-build or domain change, it is necessary to include .PDFs or any other non-HTML URLs? Do PDFs even carry "seo juice" over? When switching CMS, does it even matter to include them?

      Thanks!

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • PatrickDelehanty
        PatrickDelehanty last edited by

        Hi there

        If the PDF's URLs are changing, then yes you should redirect the old URLs to the new URLs. Even more so than a search engine perspective, if users have bookmarked or saved the link to your content, they need to be redirected. My vote - include them, be on the safe side. Also make sure internal links and the sitemap XML is updated to include the new URLs.

        Hope this helps! Good luck!
        Patrick

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