Websites are important! It is not a hidden secret that almost all adults in the United States own a computer that they carry around in their pockets. Millions upon millions of Google searches are performed each day.
As a business or entity, having a website that functions at optimal capacity is vital in competing in Google's algorithm. That algorithm awards websites that go through updates and redesigns as it shows that the website is active.
When redesigning, updating, merging, or moving, a website one can get lost with the excitement of publishing the new site and forget the intricate details that allow the website to perform at it's highest ability.
Ensuring that your newly updated site is humming with strong 301 redirects will give your website the chance to continue to rank on Google searches, and hopefully improve its rank. By not paying attention to the details of a 301 redirect you are dooming your website or client from the attraction that it could be receiving.
What is a 301 Redirect?
If you need to change the URL of a page as it is shown in search engine results, to make it more reader-friendly or improve SEO, Google recommends that you use a server-side 301 redirect. This is the best way to ensure that users and search engines are directed to the new page.
A 301 redirect is a status code that instructs search engines that a page/post has permanently moved to a new location. It asks the search engines to transfer prior SEO history to the new piece of content and at the same time, it pushes website traffic to this new location.
By not redirecting the information, the listing of the page on Google will be lost and traffic to that page will also be lost. The worst part is Google will delist that page and all of its previous content. The result will be a drop in your overall site ranking on Google, which we know can be monumental for business.
When Should You Use a 301 Redirect?
You’ve moved your site to a new domain and you want to make sure both traffic and SEO history is routed to the new destination.
You’ve changed a URL (page, post, product, category, etc.) and you want your existing page rank to transfer to the new URL.
You’ve changed a URL and you want your traffic to the old URL rerouted to the new URL.
You’re merging two websites and want to make sure that links to outdated URLs are redirected to the correct pages.
During these times it is important to know that each piece of content, including individual blog posts, pages, videos, etc, must be redirected to the new desired location or that content runs the risk of being delisted and lost.
The last thing that you want as a marketer is to spend hours upon hours generating SEO traffic to a website and establish a platform that is continuing to reach a large audience to be swept away due to not planning out a 301 redirect strategy.
Each web development platform has an easy and simple way to redirect links to the desired target. It can feel tedious at times, in situations where you are doing a complete overhaul of a website, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to retain your Google traffic.
If you are looking to redesign or upgrade your current website, Razor Thin Media is here to help. The knowledge that the Razor Team brings with its years of experience can ensure that your new website is ready to perform at its peak capacity.
Contact us today at 928.978.5077 or visit us at www.razorthinmedia.com for more information.