JavaScript redirect<\/h3>\n
A redirect that uses JavaScript to take users from one page to another is also an example of a client-side redirect. Google warns website managers<\/a> to only use JavaScript redirects if they can’t use server-side redirects or meta-refresh redirects. <\/p>\n Essentially, search engines will need to render the page before picking up the JavaScript redirect. This can mean there may be instances where the redirect is missed. <\/p>\n By far, the safest method for redirecting URLs is server-side redirects. <\/p>\n This requires access to the website’s server configuration, which is why meta refreshes are sometimes preferred. If you can access your server’s config files, then you will have several options available.<\/p>\n The key differences in these status codes are whether they indicate the redirect is permanent or temporary and whether the request method of POST (used to send data to a server) or GET (used to request data from a server) can be changed. <\/p>\n For a more comprehensive overview of POST and GET and why they matter for different applications, see the W3schools explanation<\/a>. <\/p>\n Permanent redirects<\/strong><\/p>\n Temporary redirects<\/strong><\/p>\n There are several good reasons to use redirects. Just like you might send out change-of-address cards when moving house (well, back in the early 2000s anyway, I’m not sure how you kids do it now), URL redirects help ensure that important visitors don’t get lost. <\/p>\n A redirect means that when accessing content on your site a human visitor is taken automatically to the more relevant page. <\/p>\n For example, a visitor may have bookmarked your URL in the past. They then click on the bookmark without realizing the URL has changed. Without the redirect, they may end up on a page with a 404 error code and no way of knowing how to get to the content they are after. <\/p>\n A redirect means you do not have to rely on visitors working out how to navigate to the new URL. Instead, they are automatically taken to the correct page. This is much better for user experience. <\/p>\n Similar to human users, when a search engine bot hits a redirect, it is taken to the new URL. <\/p>\n Instead of leaving them on a 404 error page, it can identify the equivalent URL straightaway, negating the need for the search bot to try to identify where, if anywhere, that original URL’s content might now be housed.<\/p>\n Search engines will use redirects to determine if they should continue displaying the original URL in the search results. <\/p>\n If there is no redirect from an old, defunct URL to the new one, then the search engines will likely just de-index the old URL as it has no value as a 404 page. With a redirect in place, however, the search engine can directly link the new URL to the old one. <\/p>\n This only happens if they believe the new page to be the equivalent of the old one in terms of value to searchers. <\/p>\n There are instances where this will not be the case, however, usually because the redirects have been implemented incorrectly. More on that later. <\/p>\n There are some very common reasons why a website owner might want to implement redirects to help both users and search engines find content. Importantly for SEO<\/a>, redirects can allow the new page to retain some of the ranking power of the old one. <\/p>\n Vanity URLs are often used to help people remember URLs. For example, a TV advert might tell viewers to visit www.example-competition.com to enter their competition. <\/p>\n This URL might redirect to www.example.com\/competitions\/tv-ad-2024, which is far harder for viewers to remember and enter correctly. Using a vanity URL like this means website owners can use short URLs that are easy to remember and spell without having to set up the content outside of their current website structure.<\/p>\n There may be instances when a URL needs to be edited once it’s already live. <\/p>\n For example, perhaps a product name has changed, a spelling mistake has been noticed, or a date in the URL needs to be updated. In these cases, a redirect from the old URL to the new one will ensure visitors and search bots can easily find the new address. <\/p>\n Restructuring your website might necessitate redirects. <\/p>\n For example, you may be merging subfolders or moving content from one subdomain to another. This would be a great time to use redirects to ensure that content is easily accessible.<\/p>\n Website migrations, like moving from one domain address to another, are classic uses of redirects. These tend to be done en masse, often with every URL in the site requiring a redirect. <\/p>\n This can happen in internationalization, like moving a website from a .co.uk ccTLD to a .com address. It can also be necessitated through a company rebrand or the acquisition of another website and a desire to merge it with the existing one. <\/p>\n There may even be a need to split a website into separate domains. All of these cases would be good candidates for redirects.<\/p>\n Not as common now the internet has largely woken up to the need for security is the migration from HTTP to HTTPS. <\/p>\n You still might need to switch a site from an insecure protocol (HTTP) to a secure one (HTTPS) in some situations. This will likely require redirects across the entire website.<\/p>\n Dig deeper: <\/em><\/strong>What is technical SEO?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The main consideration when implementing redirects is which type to use. <\/p>\n In general, server-side redirects are generally safest to use. However, the choice between permanent and temporary redirects depends on your specific situation. <\/p>\n There are more potential pitfalls to be aware of.<\/p>\n Redirect loops happen when two redirects directly contradict each other. For example, URL A is redirected to URL B; however, URL B has a redirect pointing to URL A. This makes it unclear which page is supposed to be visited.<\/p>\n Search engines won’t be able to determine which page is meant to be canonical and human visitors will not be able to access either page. <\/p>\n If a redirect loop is present on a site, you will encounter a message like the one below when you try to access one of the pages in the loop:<\/p>\n To fix this error, remove the redirects causing the loop and point them to the correct pages.<\/p>\n A redirect chain is a series of pages that redirect from one to another. For example, URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C, which redirects to URL D. This isn’t too much of an issue unless the chain gets too big. <\/p>\n URL chains can start to affect load speed. John Mueller, Search Advocate at Google, has also stated<\/a> in the past that:<\/p>\n Another problem that can arise from using redirects incorrectly is that search engines may not consider the redirect to be valid for the purposes of rankings. <\/p>\n For example, if Page A redirects to Page B but the two are not similar in content, the search engines may not pass any of the value of Page A to Page B. This can be reported as a “soft 404” in Google Search Console. <\/p>\n This typically happens when a webpage (e.g., a product page) is deleted and the URL is redirected to the homepage.<\/p>\n Anyone clicking on the product page from search results wouldn’t find the product information they were expecting if they landed on the homepage.<\/p>\n The signals and value of the original page won’t necessarily be passed to the homepage if it doesn’t match the user intent of searchers<\/a>.<\/p>\n It can be a mistake not to consider previously implemented redirects. Without checking to see what redirects are already active on the site, you may run the risk of creating loops or chains. <\/p>\n Another reason for planning redirects in advance is to limit the need to frequently change them. It is important from an internal productivity perspective, especially if you involve other teams in their implementation. <\/p>\n Most crucially, though, is that you may find the search engines struggle to keep up with frequent changes, especially if you incorrectly suggest the redirect is permanent by using a 301 or 308 status code. <\/p>\n Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tServer-side redirects<\/h3>\n
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Why use redirects<\/h2>\n
Human website users<\/h3>\n
Search engines<\/h3>\n
Demonstrating equivalence<\/h3>\n
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Typical SEO use cases for redirects<\/h2>\n
Vanity URLs <\/h3>\n
URL rewrites<\/h3>\n
Moving content<\/h3>\n
Moving domains<\/h3>\n
HTTP to HTTPS<\/h3>\n
Redirect problems to avoid<\/h2>\n
Loops<\/h3>\n
![\"Error](\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/05\/Error-too-many-redirects.png\")
<\/figure>\nChains<\/h3>\n
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Soft 404s<\/h3>\n
Ignoring previous redirects<\/h3>\n
Frequent changes<\/h3>\n