Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages
-
Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.
Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.
Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.
For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.
However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).
What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?
-
Redirecting 18k pages to the homepage is risky for SEO. While it might seem like an easy fix, it could dilute the homepage's authority and negatively impact user experience. Instead, a more targeted approach is ideal:
Category-Based Redirects: Redirect related content sections to the most relevant category or subpage rather than the homepage. This helps preserve relevancy and SEO value.
Custom 404 with Helpful Links: If category-based redirects aren’t possible, a custom 404 page with links to important sections is a good option. This minimizes user frustration and preserves SEO value without overwhelming your homepage.
Overall, avoid overloading the homepage with unrelated redirects to prevent potential penalties or ranking issues. Aim for logical, content-driven redirects where possible.
-
@davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:
Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.
Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.
Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.
For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.
However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).
What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?Redirecting 18k pages to the homepage is risky for SEO. While it might seem like an easy fix, it could dilute the homepage's authority and negatively impact user experience. Instead, a more targeted approach is ideal:
Category-Based Redirects: Redirect related content sections to the most relevant category or subpage rather than the homepage. This helps preserve relevancy and SEO value.
Custom 404 with Helpful Links: If category-based redirects aren’t possible, a custom 404 page with links to important sections is a good option. This minimizes user frustration and preserves SEO value without overwhelming your homepage.
Overall, avoid overloading the homepage with unrelated redirects to prevent potential penalties or ranking issues. Aim for logical, content-driven redirects where possible.
-
@davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:
Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.
Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.
Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.
For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.
However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).
What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?
If you have 18k highly-linked pages, it’s best to 301 redirect them to the most relevant, high-quality destination on your site. Ideally, these pages should point to content that’s closely related to the original topics. If no specific match exists, redirecting them to a broader category page or a useful, high-authority page (like your homepage) is an option. Just avoid sending everything to the homepage if possible, as that can dilute relevance signals. Good luck
-
Recommended Approach for Redirects:
Best Practice: Redirect each page to the most relevant remaining page. This preserves SEO value and improves user experience.Why: Google favors relevance, and this avoids the "soft 404" issue or penalties for generic redirects.
If 1:1 Mapping Isn’t Feasible:Option A: Redirect to category pages or sections related to the old content.
Option B: Split redirects between the homepage and a custom 404 page, depending on relevance.
Avoid These Mistakes:Redirecting all pages to the homepage can confuse users and may not preserve link equity.
Redirecting to a custom 404 loses SEO value entirely.
Mitigate Concerns About SEO Penalties:Ensure the homepage (if used) is relevant, with clear links to key sections.
Use Google Search Console to monitor performance and adjust as needed.
Redirect relevance is the key to preserving both SEO value and user satisfaction. -
What should I do now to get the good rankings in Google search? It's been more than 3-4 months now, Not a single website of mine is getting good ranks. It's because google is not considering backlinking, Or what is the reason behind this?
-
@davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:
Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.
Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.
Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.
For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.
However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).
What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?
If redirecting each page contextually isn’t feasible, consider a blended approach. Redirect the most valuable or relevant pages to closely related section pages, and direct the remainder to a custom 404 page. This preserves link equity for high-value pages while reducing the likelihood of “soft 404” issues or other penalties.
-
@davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:
Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.
Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.
Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.
For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.
However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).
What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?
When dealing with redirects for a site decommission, it’s important to keep SEO value intact. Redirecting all pages to a single destination like the homepage can be tempting, but search engines, including Google, may treat mass redirects to one page as a soft 404, which could diminish SEO strength. A more effective approach would be to redirect each section to the most relevant remaining pages. For instance, if you’re managing content related to video editing software like PowerDirector or Filmora, redirecting each page to an active section on similar video editing tips or resources would make sense. This way, you’re distributing link equity across relevant content and providing users with pages that align with their intent. A custom 404 page with helpful links is a good fallback option for pages without a suitable match.
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
-
Unsolved Why My site pages getting video index viewport issue?
Hello, I have been publishing a good number of blogs on my site Flooring Flow. Though, there's been an error of the video viewport on some of my articles. I have tried fixing it but the error is still showing in Google Search Console. Can anyone help me fix it out?
Technical SEO | | mitty270 -
Why Product pages are throwing Missing field "image" and Missing field "price" in Wordpress Woocommerce
I have a wordpress wocommerce website where I have uploaded 100s of products but it's giving me error in GSC under merchant listing tab. When I tested it show missing field image and missing field price. I have done everything according to https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/product#merchant-listing-experiences and applied fixed i.e. images are 800x800 and price range is also there. What else can be done here?!merchant listing.jpg
Technical SEO | | Ravi_Rana0 -
What do you do with product pages that are no longer used ? Delete/redirect to category/404 etc
We have a store with thousands of active items and thousands of sold items. Each product is unique so only one of each. All products are pinned and pushed online ... and then they sell and we have a product page for a sold item. All products are keyword researched and often can rank well for longtail keywords Would you :- 1. delete the page and let it 404 (we will get thousands) 2. See if the page has a decent PA, incoming links and traffic and if so redirect to a RELEVANT category page ? ~(again there will be thousands) 3. Re use the page for another product - for example a sold ruby ring gets replaces with ta new ruby ring and we use that same page /url for the new item. Gemma
Technical SEO | | acsilver0 -
Getting rid of pagination - redirect all paginated pages or leave them to 404?
Hi all, We're currently in the process of updating our website and we've agreed that one of the things we want to do is get rid of all our pagination (currently used on the blog and product review areas) and instead implement load more on scroll. The question I have is... should we redirect all of the paginated pages and if so, where to? (My initial thoughts were either to the blog homepage or to the archive page) OR do we leave them to just 404? Bear in mind we have thousands of paginated pages 😕 Here's our blog area btw - https://www.ihasco.co.uk/blog Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Technical SEO | | iHasco0 -
301 Redirect non existant pages
Hi I have 100's of URL's appearing in Search Console for example: ?p=1_1 These go to on to 5_200 etc.. I have tried to do htaccess and the mod rewrite is on as I can redirect directories to the root i.e RewriteRule ^web_example(.*)$ /$1 [R=301,N,L] However I have tried all kinds of variations to redirect ?p= and either it doesn't work at all or it crashes the website. Can anyone point me in the right direction to fix this.
Technical SEO | | Cocoonfxmedia0 -
Should I disavow links from pages that don't exist any more
Hi. Im doing a backlinks audit to two sites, one with 48k and the other with 2M backlinks. Both are very old sites and both have tons of backlinks from old pages and websites that don't exist any more, but these backlinks still exist in the Majestic Historic index. I cleaned up the obvious useless links and passed the rest through Screaming Frog to check if those old pages/sites even exist. There are tons of link sending pages that return a 0, 301, 302, 307, 404 etc errors. Should I consider all of these pages as being bad backlinks and add them to the disavow file? Just a clarification, Im not talking about l301-ing a backlink to a new target page. Im talking about the origin page generating an error at ping eg: originpage.com/page-gone sends me a link to mysite.com/product1. Screamingfrog pings originpage.com/page-gone, and returns a Status error. Do I add the originpage.com/page-gone in the disavow file or not? Hope Im making sense 🙂
Technical SEO | | IgorMateski0 -
Best Practice on 301 Redirect - Images
We have two sites that sell the same products. We have decided to retire one of the sites as we'd like to focus on one property. I know best practice is to redirect apples to apples, which in our case is easily done since the sites sold the same thing. www.SiteABC.com/ProductA can be redirected to www.SiteXYZ.com/ProductA. My question is how far does that thinking go regarding images? Each product has a main product page, of course, and then up to 6 images in some cases. Is it necessary to redirect www.SiteABC.com/ProductA-Image1.jpg to www.SiteXYZ.com/ProductA-Image1.jpg? Or can they all be redirected to just the product page?
Technical SEO | | Natitude0 -
404 error - but I can't find any broken links on the referrer pages
Hi, My crawl has diagnosed a client's site with eight 404 errors. In my CSV download of the crawl, I have checked the source code of the 'referrer' pages, but can't find where the link to the 404 error page is. Could there be another reason for getting 404 errors? Thanks for your help. Katharine.
Technical SEO | | PooleyK0