Spaces in URL line

[BM7]

Hi Gurus,

I recently made the mistake of putting a space into a URL line between two words that make up my primary key word. Think

www.example.com/Jelly Donuts/mmmNice.php

instead of

www.example.com/JellyDonuts/mmmNice.php

This mistake now needed fixing to www.example.com/Jelly Donuts/mmmNice.php to pass W3, but has been in place for a while but most articles/documents under 'Jelly Donuts' are not ranking well (which is probably the obvious outcome of the mistake).

I am wondering whether the best solution from an SEO ranking viewpoint is to:

1. Change the article directory immediately to www.example.com/JellyDonuts/mmmNice.php and rel=canonical each article to the new correct URL. Take out the 'trash' using robots.txt

or to

301 www.example.com/Jelly Donut to the www.example.com/JellyDonut directory?

or perhaps something else?

Thanks in advance for your help with this sticky (but tasty) conundrum,

Brad

[AU-SEO]

I would use a dash "-" Jelly-Donut and 301 to that page. Essentially only use a canonical when there is a direct reason for the similar content to be there like a dynamic database search and a "similar; SEO version. Or Pagination.

Give the Jelly%20Donuts/mmmNice.php will no longer be needed and an exact duplicate of its new location a 301 is best here.

-Phil

[jhinchcliffe]

I agree with Webdeal, go with the 301

[Webdeal]

Hi BM7,

I would go with 301

Some more  information for you -  http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/redirection

Cheers

Dmitriy