Redirecting Web Pages - Learning About the Options and SEO Considerations
2:29 AM |
|
Filed in Flash Web Site Development Company India, Flash Website Design India, web design company india, web designing services india, Website Maintenance Services Delhi |
1 comment
All webmasters who are concerned with search engine optimization (SEO) should take time to learn about redirecting web pages. Because inbound links to a web page weigh heavily in search engine ranking algorithms, understanding how to retain the SEO benefits of those links using redirection when a page is deleted or permanently moved is crucial to optimizing a web site.
What does it mean to redirect a web page?
Typically when a web browser or search engine crawler requests a page at a particular URL on your web site, the web server where your site is hosted tries to locate the page at that URL so that it can return the corresponding HTML to the requester. If the web page exists then the web server returns the HTML needed to render the page as well as a 200 HTTP status in the header of the response. The 200 status notifies the requesting browser or crawler that the page was found and its HTML was returned.
Sometimes web pages on a site must be deleted or permanently moved to a new location. When this situation arises, the webmaster has essentially two options:
* Allow all future requests for the old web page to return a 404 HTTP status indicating that the page could not be found.
* Cause the browser or search engine crawler to request the page using a new URL.
It is this latter option that is referred to when people speak of redirecting web pages.
Common methods of web page redirection
There are several methods that can be used to redirect requests for an old web page that no longer exists. The most common methods of redirecting pages are:
* the meta refresh element
* the 302 temporary redirect
* the 301 permanent redirect
Each of these redirection methods will result in the browser or crawler requesting a new page so that your site does not lose traffic as the result of deleting or permanently moving a web page. However, the three methods offer varying degrees of effectiveness from an SEO perspective.
Redirection with the meta refresh element
The meta refresh element is useful for redirecting pages on sites that do not support 301 and 302 redirection. This is often the case with sites hosted at free web hosting companies. This method of redirection can be used even when HTML is the only tool available for redirection.
Essentially, the webmaster adds a meta refresh element to the head of the web page found at the old URL. This meta refresh element contains the new URL where the user is to be redirected and an indicator of how many seconds the browser should delay before requesting the new URL.
When a browser or crawler requests the old URL from your web site, the web server returns the HTML meta refresh element in the HTML with a 200 HTTP status indicating that the old page was found. The meta refresh element is recognized by the requester when the HTML for the old page loads. The requester delays for x seconds and then requests the new URL. The web server returns the HTML for the new page with a 200 HTTP status indicating the new page was found.
Redirecting web pages using the meta refresh element works, but it is not always guaranteed to be SEO friendly. If a zero second delay is used, some search engines will transfer credit to the new URL for links pointing to the old URL. However, not all search engines support this feature.
Redirection using 302 redirects
Another common method of redirecting involves the use of a 302 (or temporary) redirect. It is called a 302 redirect because of the HTTP status code that is returned by the web server when this type of redirect is used. 302 redirection can be implemented using server-side scripting languages or redirection utilities like Mod Rewrite.
When a browser or search engine crawler requests an old URL from your web site which has been 302 redirected, the web server returns a new URL in the location field of the HTTP header and an HTTP status of 302. The 302 status indicates to the browser or crawler that the web page has been temporarily moved. The browser or crawler will then request the new URL from your web server. The web server will return the HTML from the new URL and a 200 HTTP status indicating the new web page was found.
302 redirects do no transfer credit to the new URL for inbound links pointing to the old URL because the search engines see this type of redirect as only temporary. They simply index the content found at the new URL and associate it with the old URL in their index. This means that the new URL does not benefit from an SEO perspective as a result of the redirect.
Redirecting web pages using 301 redirects
The only truly SEO friendly redirection method involves using a 301 (or permanent) redirect. Like the 302 redirect, it gets its name because of the HTTP status code returned by the web server when this method is used to redirect a web page. And like the 302 redirect, this method of redirection can be implemented using server-side scripting languages or utilities like Mod Rewrite.
When a browser or crawler requests an old web page that has been 301 redirected, your web server will return a 301 HTTP status code with the new URL in the location field of the HTTP header. The 301 status code tells the browser that the old web page has been permanently moved and can now be found at the new URL. The browser or crawler will then request the new URL from the web server which should return the HTML for the new web page with a 200 status code to indicate that the new page was found.
Because the 301 redirect means that the page located at the old URL has permanently moved to the new URL, the search engines will transfer credit to the new URL for all inbound links pointing to the old URL as those links are crawled again and the 301 redirect is discovered for each link. The fact that the new URL gets credit for inbound links to the old URL will benefit the new URL from an SEO perspective. It will assist the new URL in ranking for keyword phrases for which the old web page might have ranked.
Redirection knowledge is power
Knowing how these redirection methods work and affect search engine rankings should assist you in picking the right method for a particular situation. Each method is a useful tool for any webmaster to have in their bag of tricks.
Featured Links
digital marketing agency delhi,digital marketing services,online marketing agency,website promotion company delhi,SEO Services Delhi, web design company india,web designing services india,Flash Website Design India,Flash Web Site Development Company India,Website Maintenance Services Delhi,website designing company,website designing company,Facebook application developer,Facebook app development
open source customization,website development delhi,Indian php programming firm,zen cart Customization india,paid inclusion services, paid inclusion search engine,online affiliate programs,Brand Identity Marketing,Internet Marketing,high PR and regional directories, Directory Submission delhi india
What does it mean to redirect a web page?
Typically when a web browser or search engine crawler requests a page at a particular URL on your web site, the web server where your site is hosted tries to locate the page at that URL so that it can return the corresponding HTML to the requester. If the web page exists then the web server returns the HTML needed to render the page as well as a 200 HTTP status in the header of the response. The 200 status notifies the requesting browser or crawler that the page was found and its HTML was returned.
Sometimes web pages on a site must be deleted or permanently moved to a new location. When this situation arises, the webmaster has essentially two options:
* Allow all future requests for the old web page to return a 404 HTTP status indicating that the page could not be found.
* Cause the browser or search engine crawler to request the page using a new URL.
It is this latter option that is referred to when people speak of redirecting web pages.
Common methods of web page redirection
There are several methods that can be used to redirect requests for an old web page that no longer exists. The most common methods of redirecting pages are:
* the meta refresh element
* the 302 temporary redirect
* the 301 permanent redirect
Each of these redirection methods will result in the browser or crawler requesting a new page so that your site does not lose traffic as the result of deleting or permanently moving a web page. However, the three methods offer varying degrees of effectiveness from an SEO perspective.
Redirection with the meta refresh element
The meta refresh element is useful for redirecting pages on sites that do not support 301 and 302 redirection. This is often the case with sites hosted at free web hosting companies. This method of redirection can be used even when HTML is the only tool available for redirection.
Essentially, the webmaster adds a meta refresh element to the head of the web page found at the old URL. This meta refresh element contains the new URL where the user is to be redirected and an indicator of how many seconds the browser should delay before requesting the new URL.
When a browser or crawler requests the old URL from your web site, the web server returns the HTML meta refresh element in the HTML with a 200 HTTP status indicating that the old page was found. The meta refresh element is recognized by the requester when the HTML for the old page loads. The requester delays for x seconds and then requests the new URL. The web server returns the HTML for the new page with a 200 HTTP status indicating the new page was found.
Redirecting web pages using the meta refresh element works, but it is not always guaranteed to be SEO friendly. If a zero second delay is used, some search engines will transfer credit to the new URL for links pointing to the old URL. However, not all search engines support this feature.
Redirection using 302 redirects
Another common method of redirecting involves the use of a 302 (or temporary) redirect. It is called a 302 redirect because of the HTTP status code that is returned by the web server when this type of redirect is used. 302 redirection can be implemented using server-side scripting languages or redirection utilities like Mod Rewrite.
When a browser or search engine crawler requests an old URL from your web site which has been 302 redirected, the web server returns a new URL in the location field of the HTTP header and an HTTP status of 302. The 302 status indicates to the browser or crawler that the web page has been temporarily moved. The browser or crawler will then request the new URL from your web server. The web server will return the HTML from the new URL and a 200 HTTP status indicating the new web page was found.
302 redirects do no transfer credit to the new URL for inbound links pointing to the old URL because the search engines see this type of redirect as only temporary. They simply index the content found at the new URL and associate it with the old URL in their index. This means that the new URL does not benefit from an SEO perspective as a result of the redirect.
Redirecting web pages using 301 redirects
The only truly SEO friendly redirection method involves using a 301 (or permanent) redirect. Like the 302 redirect, it gets its name because of the HTTP status code returned by the web server when this method is used to redirect a web page. And like the 302 redirect, this method of redirection can be implemented using server-side scripting languages or utilities like Mod Rewrite.
When a browser or crawler requests an old web page that has been 301 redirected, your web server will return a 301 HTTP status code with the new URL in the location field of the HTTP header. The 301 status code tells the browser that the old web page has been permanently moved and can now be found at the new URL. The browser or crawler will then request the new URL from the web server which should return the HTML for the new web page with a 200 status code to indicate that the new page was found.
Because the 301 redirect means that the page located at the old URL has permanently moved to the new URL, the search engines will transfer credit to the new URL for all inbound links pointing to the old URL as those links are crawled again and the 301 redirect is discovered for each link. The fact that the new URL gets credit for inbound links to the old URL will benefit the new URL from an SEO perspective. It will assist the new URL in ranking for keyword phrases for which the old web page might have ranked.
Redirection knowledge is power
Knowing how these redirection methods work and affect search engine rankings should assist you in picking the right method for a particular situation. Each method is a useful tool for any webmaster to have in their bag of tricks.
Featured Links
digital marketing agency delhi,digital marketing services,online marketing agency,website promotion company delhi,SEO Services Delhi, web design company india,web designing services india,Flash Website Design India,Flash Web Site Development Company India,Website Maintenance Services Delhi,website designing company,website designing company,Facebook application developer,Facebook app development
open source customization,website development delhi,Indian php programming firm,zen cart Customization india,paid inclusion services, paid inclusion search engine,online affiliate programs,Brand Identity Marketing,Internet Marketing,high PR and regional directories, Directory Submission delhi india
Interesting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thank you...Web designing services!!!Website Design Company | Website Designing Company
ReplyDelete