Reusing an already 301 redirected URL for a very important keyword
-
I have a question about reusing an already 301 redirected URL
Till now I never reused an URLs that has been already redirected with a 301 redirect. However, I just started working on a website where in past they created a lot of 301 redirects without thinking about the future, and now certain URLs, that are currently redirected with a 301, would be very useful (exact match) and needed (for some of the most important keywords for this specific business), to maintain an optimal, homogeneous and "beautiful" URL structure.
Has any of you ever reused a URL that was previously redirected with a 301 redirect?
If yes what are your experiences with it? Can content on the reused URL (that was previously 301 redirected and than the redirect removed) normally rank if the page is reestablished and the redirect is removed (and you do great content, on page, internal linking, backlinking, .... ) or is such an URL risky / not recommended / "burned" forever and not recommended to be reused again... especially for very important keywords since it present the exact match ?!
Thank you very much for all your help!
Regards
-
@Tracey_Evans agreed. You should also consider that browsers will cache data for websites they visit @moz46y
If a user visits a URL that returns a 301 status code it will remember this. If the user tries to access that redirect URL in the future the browser can just take them to the version that returns a 200 status code (in the name of efficiency).
This can be undone, but it requires the user clearing their browser's cache.
Not sure if it would be an issue in your use case but it's worthwhile knowing!
Cheers,
Stefan -
@moz46y
Reusing a URL that has already been redirected with a 301 redirect is indeed feasible, but it requires careful consideration. When you remove the 301 redirect and re-establish the original URL with new content, search engines like Google need time to re-crawl and re-index this URL. The success of this approach largely depends on the quality and relevance of the new content. If the content is high-quality, relevant to the keyword, and offers a good user experience, there's a good chance that the URL can regain its ranking potential. It's important to focus on on-page SEO, internal linking, and backlinking to aid in quicker re-indexing and potentially restore the URL’s authority.However, there are risks involved. The URL may not regain its previous ranking quickly, especially for competitive keywords. The history of redirects might cause search engines to take more time to trust the URL again. Therefore, it's crucial to monitor its performance closely using tools like Google Search Console to track changes in ranking and traffic. If the URL is crucial for very important keywords and you're concerned about potential risks, you might consider creating a new, similarly optimized URL as a safer alternative. In summary, while reusing a previously 301 redirected URL is possible and can be successful, it's a strategy that requires a strategic approach, careful implementation, and continuous monitoring.
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
-
Domain forwarding or 301 redirects?
I have two domains and one of them is being phased out. Currently, there are some 301 redirects in place for the main pages but I was wondering if it would be better / easier to just set up domain forwarding? I can't seem to find anywhere that tells you the "type" domain forwarding, is it 301? 302? etc. Thanks,
SEO Tactics | | BrandonDebison0 -
301 Redirects from Subdomain to Location Pages
I have a client site that is getting redesigned. Its a multi location service provider. Currently (for whatever reason) the location pages are sub domains. https://<location-name>.site.com/ In the new design the locations will be on the main domain. https://site.com/locations/<location-name> We are considering using 301 redirects from the current sub domains to the new location pages on the main domain. The current sub domains are setup on a multi-site with A records for each one in our GoDaddy account. Would like to get feedback on any unforeseen SEO issues that anyone might have input on.
Technical SEO | | ColeBField12210 -
Blogger to Wordpress 301 and Meta Refresher Redirect
Hi Everyone! So my client has a blogger that she has developed a good amount of link equity for. It is a hersite.blogspot.com (she doesn't own her own domain yet). She is moving to the Wordpress platform though and the only way we can do a redirect is through a meta refresh redirect (since she doesn't have access to the servers on blogger). I went to Google Webmasters to do a change of address and found that the 301 checker said it couldn't find any 301 redirect, which is disappointing. What we're planning is telling all the places that link to the blog to change their links to the new blog but other than that what does anyone recommend to keep this link strength? Thanks!
Technical SEO | | mattdinbrooklyn0 -
Do you only allow one URL (link) per Keyword?
I'm basically working with an outsourced SEO company. They fix 20 on-page links every month. To broaden my point, I'd like to know how to check up on their progress by using MOZ. Do you have any advice? Also, would we be able to use more than one link per keyword? I don't see this option but maybe you can help me with any suggestions. Thanks! Nzo Tiano
Technical SEO | | ckroaster0 -
301 redirect from Blogger
Hello, I have a client with a Wordpress network of blogs, each blog is owned by a different blogger. Many of them were migrated time ago from Blogger. I have seen that the way used to redirect them is a meta refresh, so no authority is being passed. I cannot find any reliable way of making a 301 from Blogger, There are some plugins, but I'm afraid of using them. Any of you have experience with this situation please? I have even thought about placing a global rel canonical before the meta refresh, but I think that here the problem is the meta refresh itself.... Thank you in advance
Technical SEO | | Juandbbam0 -
Creating new website with possible Url change (301 involved?)
Hi, I am currently getting a web designer to upgrade my website. I have built lost of links to my internal pages, should I get him to 301 redirect example.com/about.html (old) to example.com/about (new) OR Is there any need for this once the page doesn't change to example.com/about-us? Thank you in advance 🙂
Technical SEO | | Socialdude0 -
301 Redirect & Cloaking
HEllo~~~~ People. I have a question regarding on cloaking. I will be really greatful if you can help me with question. I have a site www.example.com and it is targeting for multi countries. So I use sub directories for targeting multi countries. e.g. www.example.com/us/ www.example.com/de/ www.example.com/hk/ ....... so on and on. Therefore, when people type www.example.com, I use IP delivery to send users to each coutries. Here is my question. I use 301 redirect for IP delivery, which means when user enter www.example.com, my site read user's IP and send them to right country site by 301 redirect. In this case, is there any possibility that Google considers it as cloaking? Please people.... share me some ideas and thoughs.
Technical SEO | | Artience0 -
301 Redirect Help
Hello! I am getting ready to launch my freshly coded site in the next week or so. My product URLs are changing SLIGHTLY and want to confirm I am going about things the right way: A. My LIVE site store URLs look like http://hiphound.com/shop/dog-collars . My DEV site store URLs look like http://hiphound.com/dog-collars . No /shop directory. B. The dev firm installed the rewrite rule below: ############################################ enable rewrites Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine on #RedirectMatch 301 ^/shop?/$ http://hiphound.com/ RedirectMatch 301 ^/shop?/$ http://hiphound.com ########################################### C. When I manually enter a URL with /shop in the address the website redirects to the correct page which is good. QUESTIONS I HAVE 1. Is the above redirect correct? I need them to permanent. Don't think the above is right... 2. Will links in the Google index be redirected as well? I am assuming yes but just want to confirm. 3. For each page indexed in Google will its pagerank, etc. be passed to the new page using just the 301 above? 4. Do I need to create addtional 301s for each page? So mapping the old page to the new page? Please advise. The goal here is to of course preserve the rankings of the pages already in the Google index. THANK YOU!!! Lynn
Technical SEO | | hiphound0