Re-write of url
-
Hi,
I would like your input on the following dilemma
I am wanting to target the keyword "download xml".
at the moment Google indexes us on page 2 and indexes the page www.ourdomain.com/download.aspx
I would like to rewrite the url to be /download-xml-editor.aspx
The current page is a pr5 and is our most trafficked and externally inked to page.
My thoughts are quite mixed on how to do this.
approach 1: re-write url of "download.aspx" and setup permanent 301 redirect of download.aspx to download-xml-editor.aspx
approach 2: create a new page called download-xml-editor and 301 redirect that to the current stronger page which is download.aspx
approach 3: create new page called download-xml-editor with unique content and try and get that page to rank over time, allowing it to build up links and not compromise the current page, then later 301 redirect
How would you deal with this and what are your recommendations
-
I have a few questions Andrew.
You want to target download.xml as a keyword and you do, but currently rank on page 2. Therefore you want to increase this rank to page 1.
Why do you need to set up another page?
Why is the current page not suitable for your needs, and can it be optimized better for this keyword?
What is your intent for the new page? Why do you see a need to have a second page to target this keyword?
You say you want to rewrite the URL. Are you saying you want to re-code the URL or do a re-write rule on the URL in the .htaccess file?
With the information you have provided, I see no reason to create a new page, but simply optimize further the page that is already ranking for this term. Perhaps running it through the on-page report card and building some inbound links with exact anchor text.
-
We had the same case in the past, rewrote the URL and told Google the old URL was permanently moved. In one week the new page ranked instead. Once you've done this and other on-site bits go and earn some links as that will me a much more fruitful way of getting the page to a better position.
-
I agree with the other posts. The URL name is one of many factors; I'd concentrate on making other on and off page factors to try and grow the relevance of the page as it is without any redirects. If it was a truly new page with no authority then I'd simply 301 it but that's your decision.
DD
-
Matt Cutts has been quoted as saying that they have probably been paying too much attention to page names, so if I were you, I would not worry about this too much as you can probably expect a change in the algorithm again soon.
Wish I had paid more attention to the article because I can't find it now, but this came through my news feeds when discussing a few other aspects.
Andy
-
Copy the page and name it download-xml-editor.aspx and redirect the old page to this 'new' one. Take the slight ranking hit now while you're on the second page since the higher up you're ranking the more you have to lose.
Just remember that changing the file name/url is not going to always increase your ranking for that keyword - it depends on lots of other factors 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
-
Broken URL Links
Hi everyone, I have a question regarding broken URL links on my website. Late last year I move my site from an old platform to Shopify, and now have broken URL links giving out 4xx errors. When I look at Moz Pro>Campaigns>Insights>links, I can see the top broken URL links, however there is a difference if copy & paste URL directly from Moz Pro and by Export CSV file. For example below, If I copy and paste links direct from Moz Pro, it has the “http://” in front as below: http://www.thehairhub.com.au/WebRoot/ecshared01/Shops/thehairhub/57F3/1D8F/D244/C675/E27D/AC10/003F/35AD/manic-panic-colours.jpg But when I export the list of links as an CSV file, the http:// is removed. www.thehairhub.com.au/WebRoot/ecshared01/Shops/thehairhub/57F3/1D8F/D244/C675/E27D/AC10/003F/35AD/manic-panic-colours.jpg Another Example below: By copy & paste URL direct from Moz Pro
Technical SEO | | johnwall
http://thehairhub.com.au/Shop-Brands/Vitafive-CPR/CPR-Rescue By export CSV file.
thehairhub.com.au/Shop-Brands/Vitafive-CPR/CPR-Rescue Which one do I use to enter into the “Redirect From” field in Shopify URL Redirects? Do I need to have the http:// in front of the URL? Or is it not required for redirects to work? Kind Regards, John Wall
The Hair Hub0 -
SEO Elements for Canonicalized URLs?
I am helping a client with SEO for their ecommerce store. They have around 65 products, but close to 500 URLs all for those same products. Basically they have a bit of an index bloat problem but long story short restructuring was too much of a lift for them, so I got them set up with a canonical URL strategy to ensure all duplicate pages point to one "main" product page. Getting to the point: They also need an on-page overhaul. I've created keyword optimized titles, metas, H1s, etc. for each product. Do these elements need to be added to every single one of the 450+ product pages OR do I only need to add them to the 65 "main" product pages that everything else is pointing to, since that will ultimately be the page that gets crawled?
Technical SEO | | AJTSEO0 -
Changing Urls
Hi All, I have a question I hope someone can help me with. I ran a scan on a website and it has a stack of urls that are far too long. I am going through and changing the urls to shorter ones. But my question is regarding redirections. Wordpress seems to be automatically redirecting the old urls to the new ones, should i be adding a more solid 301 in as well or is the wordpress redirect enough? I ask as they dont all seem to stay redirecting Thanks in advance for the help
Technical SEO | | DaleZon2 -
Should we re-use our old re-directed domain for a new wesbite ?
Hi One our clients has an old domain that has been redirected to another website of his. Now he is asking us to build a new website for that domain and direct it back. This is new website will be very relative to it's own old content and where it has been re-directed recently. I guess the only benefit of this would be taking advantage of the age of this domain. Do you recommend doing that or getting him a new domain ?
Technical SEO | | Dynamo-Web0 -
Webmaster tools...URL Errors
Hi mozzers, Quick question. Whats the best thing to do about URL errors in webmaster tools. They are all 404s that point from external sites. Many of them are junk spam sites. Should I mark them as "fixed" or just leave them. I'm hoping google is aware it's out of my control if spam sites want to link to 404s on my site. Peter
Technical SEO | | PeterM220 -
URL Structure: When to insert keywords?
I read the SEOmoz beginers guide and it said that it's beneficial to place keywords in the URL as long as you don't overdo it. However, this seems awkward for common pages, such as "Home", "About", "Contact" etc.... I've currently targeted a specific keyword for each page on my site, as follows: Home: "Green Screen" Work: "Greenscreen" About: "Event Photography" Pricing: "Green Screen Photography" Should I rename the URLs as: Home: ...com/green-screen-home.html Work: ...com/greenscreen-work.html About:...com/about-event-photography.html Pricing:...com/green-screen-photography-pricing.html
Technical SEO | | pharcydeabc0 -
New URL or Folder Off Existing Site
I am working on a project that is promoting dining in a particular region of the southwest for a destination marketing company. The parent Web site is an authority in the region and ranks well for almost all terms related to the leisure experience in the region. A completely separate Web site was built to promote this culinary program as it involves a committee of different stakeholders, but it’s solely focused on the region. My question is this. The site is on a different CMS, etc., but the overall experience on the site is similar to the parent DMO site in terms of creative. The client has a brand new domain that they purchased for this initiative, but we are also considering mapping the parent site URL to the new culinary site. Parent: www.regionalsite.com New Themed Site: www.regionalsite.com/theme/ Or www.themeurl.com My fear is that if I take the approach of the new URL that it will take forever for the site to build any link clout at all, as the client doesn’t really get the fact that working a link strategy is so critical. However, I know that having links from the regional site over to the theme URL will have an impact. Also, if I do take the approach of mapping the URL to a new folder off of the parent domain, do I risk that 2<sup>nd</sup> tier links on the micro-site will have a challenge indexing as they will essentially be on tier 3? Any advice would be appreciated.
Technical SEO | | VERBInteractive0 -
Where to place your brandname in your URL?
Hello everybody! Quick and short question: What is better when you want to rank for your your brandname? www.jobsbrandname.com or www.brandnamejobs.com I think for SEO it's better to use the last one but marketing has the wish to use the first one. Thanks for your responce!
Technical SEO | | ltom0