<\/span>Create a 301 Redirect When a Page Has Moved<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIf content permanently moved to a new URL, a 301 redirect can send users and search engines from the old location to the new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/old-product-category\/<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\ncould redirect to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/new-product-category\/<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe destination should be genuinely relevant to the original page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Don’t Redirect Everything to the Homepage<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAutomatically redirecting every missing URL to the homepage can create a confusing experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone searching for a specific product or article probably doesn’t expect to suddenly arrive on a generic homepage with no explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Redirect only when there is a meaningful replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Remove Broken URLs From Your XML Sitemap<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nXML sitemaps should primarily contain URLs you actually want search engines to crawl and consider for indexing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If deleted URLs are still included in the sitemap, remove them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Check Links After Website Changes<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAfter a redesign or migration, crawl the website and check for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Broken internal links<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Missing pages<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Incorrect redirects<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Redirect chains<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Missing images<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Broken CSS or JavaScript resources<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Finding these problems before or immediately after launch can prevent a small 404 issue<\/strong> from becoming a sitewide problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/span>Should You Redirect or Keep a 404?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNot every missing URL needs a redirect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use the context of the page to decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider a 301 redirect when:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- The page moved permanently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A product was replaced by a closely related product.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- An old category has an equivalent new category.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Two pages were consolidated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- An important URL changed during a migration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Keeping the 404 may be appropriate when:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n