6 replies to this topic

[Newtron]

[I've moved this topic to the dynamically-generated pages category, as it seems more appropriate there. - Jill]

I have just received a site that is mostly dynamic with instructions from its owner to make it SE friendly. I had originally performed minor SEO work on the site and it is beginning to receive a bit of traffic.

In the process of re-working the site and removing much of the dynamics, it was necessary to alter the structure such that some of the original pages no longer exist under the original name.

So, the question is, is it okay to build blank pages using the old names that link from the SEs with a "0" refresh to the new page name...thereby saving the traffic, which wil certainly receive a 404 file without the new blanks, and bridge the gap until the new page names are indexed? After the new pages show up in the returns, I plan to delete the temp pages.

Thanks for any advice and/or opinions.

Larry

Edited by Jill, 14 August 2003 - 12:18 PM.

[Mel]

Why not just use the old page names with a 301 redirect? This will get the users and search engines to the right content and will get your new pages spidered.

[Newtron]

Hi, Mel!

Thanks for the reply.

I seem to recall from my reading that redirects were definitely SE unfriendly...seems that I read that on SEWatch a year or so ago. I guess I should've asked if there is a difference between "refresh" and "redirect" as far as the SEs are concerned...either of them are a simple fix to a temporary problem...but, I would rather loose the current traffic than jeopardize the future traffic.

So, let me restate the question, is there a way that is acceptable to the SEs to save the current traffic without jeopardizing future traffic/indexing? If there is more than one way, which is the preferred way by the members of this list?

Thanks Again!

[Web Player]

HR 1:

Using redirects are one area I'm trying to investigate but haven't found a solid answer. I redid a site but instead of using the redirect, I left the old pages but removed the graphics, navigation, and tables. I then added a clickable link to take the person to the appropriate new page or to a site map if the old page didn't have an equivalent new page. I plan to delete the old pages when site stats show no hits for those pages.

I thought it better to let the user know that the old page was no longer supported and to ask them to update their bookmark - if needed. Also, because the old pages were indexed in the search engines, I hoped that I would get better results than with a redirect with no explanation.

Not sure this helps but thought I would throw it out. My pages were and are static so definitely not the same as dynamic page, but you could recreate the text of the page - but sounds like too much effort.

Any better ideas out there?

[Scottie]

Welcome, Web Player!

A 301 permanent redirect from the old pagename to the new pagename will be followed and indexed by the search engines. IMO, that is the best way to go.

I would also recommend setting up a custom 404 error page with your basic site navigation on it in case any "slip through". This helps your visitor find their way back into your site.

[Web Player]

Thanks: scottiecl

I forgot to mention that I did create a custom 404. The only problem I had was I found that the links had to be absolute because relative links didn't work if the error was generated outside of the root directory.

I have another site coming up and may use the redirect and see if I can compare any difference.

One question with the redirect.
It appears that I will need to place a redirect on each old page or is there a quicker or better way? I assume this could be done through the htaccess file? I haven't used the redirect except on page.

Also, I seem to be finding a lot more sites using absolute links for all linking. Is there a good reason for this or am I in the wrong forum for this question?

[Newtron]

Thanks to Scottiecl, Mel, and Web Player for the great responses to my query. I would have thanked you sooner, but we seem to be having some power issues in the Detroit area.

I will create a redirect for each of my old pages...incidentally, Googlebot spidered the site in question last night and picked up all my new pages via the new navigation I had setup....I made them extremely easy to find.

Thanks again to everyone and I hope I can return the favor in the future...this is a great forum.

Larry