What to do when a Bad URL has to stay?
-
I am working with a friend on optimizing a site that has a troublesome set of issues.
The company has integrated some ERP system that cannot be changed or removed and it is creating goofy URL's. So my question is which URL do I build links to? the www.xxx.com or the crazy URL that it is being redirected to.
Site URL: www.nauticalchartsonline.com
redirect: http://www.nauticalchartsonline.com/n.c/NauticalChartsOnline.htmlI would greatly appreciate constructive feedback.. Thanks, Jeannie
-
I agree with James here. Especially if you have anchor text in the link, people aren't going to see that URL as much. While it's not the best URL, I've certainly seen worse.
Do you have any update you can give us with any interesting lessons learned or things that you did?
-
Send links to the new (ugly) URL. Consistency is critical, all links to the same content must use the same URL. The actual URL is less important; more a "would be nice" rather than a "must have"
-
Moldy, they will not allow me to change URL structure and know SEO will be limited. We are going to go ahead. Your answer was really helpful.
-
Can't you just do a quick .htaccess url rewrite to remove the /n.c?
If you want the links to have more value sending them to the actual /n.c/ directory would be better (as long as there is no plan to change the url stucture in future.)
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
-
Redirect from a previous url
Hi - newbie question I have a customer who's had previous versions of his website. Previously it was known as "princess-interiors.co.uk" (been around for a few years) and is now "princess-design.co.uk" (been around also for a few years). New site is WordPress - what would be the best way to redirect (I have access to the previous version of the site which is still hosted). I expect it's to use 301, but how would I do that (step by step), and does www. versus non-www need addressing (and how). Really concerned, as this site has gone to zero organic visits!! Hoping somebody can help. Thanks
Link Building | | Gokart0 -
Is ListofDomains.org a bad linking site?
I am trying to clean up/disavow bad linking domains and ListofDomains.org appears numerous times. Any idea what this site is about and should it make the disavow list?
Link Building | | khull0 -
1000 of links on my website ? is it good or bad
Hi guys my site: www.dorchdanola-netbutik.dk is a e-commerce store, and generally we have many links on all pages because of the many products and categories. Im not sure if this is actually bad or good? I've been told that it will definately harm my site when google crawls it. The thing is that google visit my site often and I still have good pageranks in google. So does it actually harm my site having all these products and categories? And what can I do about it if google see every page as duplicate content? I also link to my social pages like FB, G+, e.g. Should I put rel="nofollow" or rel="me" on these social links? Thanks guys!
Link Building | | Dorchdanola0 -
"Bad" backlinks
Hello dear community, I am new here and quite new to SEO. Perhaps someone could give me a hint on a following question: Which tools can help me to track "bad" baclinks, e. g. links which would rather downgrade my SEO performance?
Link Building | | hochzeitsfotograf0 -
URL shortener and backlinks
Are there any SEO benefits drawn from creating backlinks with Google url shortener service(especially for the very deep links) or for the do-follow link juice I have to use a complete address?
Link Building | | SirMax0 -
Blog Commenting good or bad?
I spend a good amount of time on SEO forums and I found a thread about building links within comments.. I personally don't see how putting my keyword in my name place and linking it to my site will benefit me, I feel like google is already on to this and no one is going to click on it. Is this a waste of time?
Link Building | | SEODinosaur1 -
Link Directories - Good or bad?
I've just done a search on open site explorer for a competitors site that has is ranked number one. Most of their highest authority backlinks are from link directories. I just read an article on here saying to stay away from directories that state things like 'seo friendly directory'. Many of my competitors links are from these kind of sites! Will it harm me to get links from such sites? It seems to be working for my competitors.... confused.com!
Link Building | | SamCUK0 -
Index.php OR .php - Which is better for urls
I was wondering. When I build links should I build them using "index.php" OR ".php" at the end? Does one have any more value than the other from an SEO standpoint Example: www.mywebsite.com\hotdogs\index.php or www.mywebsite.com\hotdogs.php
Link Building | | openspan0