301'ing over 700 internal links to the main page

[skgppa]

I just got a contract for a site. After I analyzed their website, I noticed that they have over 700 pages indexed. However, their internal linking structure sucks. It's basically all 700 pages in one directory.

What do you recommend? I redirect all the internal structures to their new locations, or would it be better to redirect all those internal pages to their main domain name, and build a completely new seo-friendly structure?

Redirecting their current pages to each individual page is gonna take a lotta time, and I don't think they're gonna pay for it. :l

[loopyal]

EGOL has a very important answer you need to consider, which is what I was really getting at in my second and last sentences. (but I didn't say it well)

But to answer about the redirect of every page to the root: I don't have any actual experience of this but I wouldn't think it would be a good thing because the front page is untargeted, compared to the page the visitor thought they were going to get.

If doing this was a good idea, there would be no reason for using a 404 page not found. You would instead just redirect all missing pages to the front page.

My guess is that as soon as that pattern was discovered, the value you got from it would evaporate.

Remember that the whole purpose of all those pages was to satisfy the needs of a visitor. Send them to an inappropriate place and you have failed. (by the way,  google does this a lot themselves. Their own redirects leave a lot to be desired.)

[EGOL]

After I analyzed their website, I noticed that they have over 700 pages indexed. However, their internal linking structure sucks. It's basically all 700 pages in one directory.

What do you recommend?

STOP!

Do not do this until you have clearly defined two things.

1. Why you are doing this.

2. The goal that you want to accomplish.

Any actions that you take without considering BOTH of those questions are shooting without taking aim and not  knowing what your target should be.

You might not need the redirect because linking structure and directory structure are completely different things.  Redirects could cause a significant loss of power for this site.

[SEOKeith]

If the pages you are redirecting have links pointing at them and you 301 them to your home page, chances are your home page will rank higher and DA will increase.

Whatever plan you decide on, my advice would be to do it a few pages at a time and see what happens.

[skgppa]

Thanks for the detailed response.

I've been analyzing the website and their pages for the past hour.

For example, lets say the keyword is "send flowers to city". The domain name is "cityflorists". And she has pages for every city. I'm gonna 410 them, and just keep pages relevant to the city, it'll being down the number of pages to below 50 for sure.

The main question I want to ask, however, without any complications is, that what happens if you 301 over 700 internal pages to the main domain? Will the website get penalized? Or will the domain authority increase?

[loopyal]

700 pages is nothing.

It really depends on what you are trying to do, but if you are a programmer, it would be very simple and fast to decide how to split up the files into the final structure, then get a listing of the new locations and generate the .htaccess file from that, because you know the original location.

I would do it by taking an exact copy of the current data and do this in a different location, so as not to cause any disruption. Once it all works, then do a fast swap.

What would make this more complex is if you had to rename the pages, but I would just write a file that contains old,new and use that to generate the needed changes.

interlinking the pages is another job (in their new locations) but if you are a programmer, as noted in the previous line, it is simple.

Something else you must consider is how will the client manage the system afterwards. Be sure not to put them in the situation that they need you in order to add a new page..

At least you are thinking about this before doing it. I just heard from a friend whose client got someone else to restructure his site and they completely destroyed the fantastic #1 and page 1 ranking they spent years creating.

[Vahe.Arabian]

Hi,

Will do my best to understand and your answer question appropriately.

If those pages are not are not providing any value in terms of traffic, ranking or links then there's no point of keeping them on the site. You could redirect but I would just implement a 410 status code to indicate to search engines that these pages no longer exist.

For pages which are providing value, restructure the site and place them in different directories (with 301 from old to new pages). Obviously you should build out these pages in terms of content and links in the following months.

It wouldn't be too difficult to evaluate your most important pages through Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools e.t.c

However the most difficulty for this project is prioritsation and how you present this to the client, considering there are 700 pages. Take the following steps when handling this with the client:

(1) Map out and plan how you want to structure the site.

(2) In plain english, list what you want to do with the site and the steps you will be taking to do so (for the next 3-6 months). Also be prepared for alternatives and difficult questions the client might potentially ask. In addition calculate the time, resource and how much you can do based on your allocated budget.

(3) Present this to the client in a clear and honest approach- be upfront with the situation. You should try and negotiate a common ground - Maybe he can give you a bit more budget this month but you get less next month for link building. How you bargain this depends on your payment terms which I do not know. But you should also be prepared to take some of the costs from your own pocket.

Next time I would suggest before taking on a contract to clearly identify the number of pages, site issues e.t.c so that project scope creep and this difficult situation does not occur to you again.

But to end this on a calmer note, buddy it's ok and you shouldn't allow yourself to get stressed about this, its all good and take this as a positive step towards your career. Whatever happens, just know that in future effectively planning will help you anticipate these issues beforehand and behave accordingly.

Take care and hope this helps.

Vahe