How do I get rid of all the 404 errors in google webmaster tools after building a new website under the same domiain
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I recently launched my new website under the same domain as the old one. I did all the important 301 redirects but it seems like every url that was in google index is still their but now with a 404 error code. How can I get rid of this problem? For example if you google my company name 'romancing diamonds' half the link under the name are 404 errors. Look at my webmaster tools and you'll see the same thing. Is their anyway to remove all those previous url's from google's indexes and start anew?
- Shawn
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Gotcha, well depending on the crawl rate (PR/Update Frequency, etc.) and number of pages, Googlebot should be back to check it out, more than a month and I would start to wonder about other issues.
But, hey, as Matt said above, if you can gain something from keeping those pages, 301 them to an equivilant page on the new site.
If you know that thosee pages were low value or had no links (except internal ones), you could go the Remove URL route.
Brian
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recently is a week ago
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How recently is recently? The crawl should clear most of that up. But if they are 404ing right now, you could always use the webmasters tools Remove URL (Site Configuration > Crawler access > Remove URL Tab) to request the URL be removed from the index.
Brian
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You want to re-submit the new sitemap.
It's also a good idea to redirect ALL URL's not just the "important ones" as many of those URL's may have had links or references elsewhere and if you don't redirect that URL not only does Google find the dead link and attribute that to your domain, but you're also missing out on passing that links authority on to your new site.
It's a pain in the ass, but trust me, the more time you spend fully re-directing the old URL's to the new appropriate pages, the happier you'll be.
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