Element Fusion

Now that we have added 301 Redirects to our Content Management System, I’ve had quite a few requests to go into more detail as to why someone would use a 301 redirect. 301 redirects tell your internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc) and search engines that a page has been permanently moved from one URL to another.

Top reasons to use 301 Redirects

1. Moving your current site to a new platform. This is the most popular and frequently used application for the 301 Redirect. When you move your site to a new platform the number one thing to consider is what happens to the pages that are currently indexed or bookmarked. Without telling the browsers the page has moved they will get a 404 or Page not Found error. Luckily, in our system the 404 Error still displays the sitemap so the user can still navigate to the page they were looking for. However, using 301 redirects can help avoid the "page not found" errors altogether which is the best case scenario.
    
2. Renaming a page on your current site. Maybe you misspelled a URL and didn’t catch it for a few weeks/months after the site launched (it happens). Now you want to correct it, but you don't want to disrupt any links that might exist to the previous, incorrect, version of the URL.  Make sure you use a 301 Redirect even if the misspelled URL was only there for a brief time. Chances are Google already knows about it and has it indexed.
    
3. Changing your online strategy. Many times we need to change the structure or focus of our websites in order to direct people down the path that will lead them to convert into a sale/lead. Sometimes this change means creating new pages or just restructuring the navigation of your website. When we restructure navigation, it is good to remain consistent with the menu name and page name. This means that your URL will more than likely change in the restructuring of your site.  When you change the URL you need to remember that the current URL is indexed and people may continue to visit it, so don’t forget to add a 301 Redirect just in case.
    
4. Traditional Advertising. When you run an ad in a newspaper, magazine or on the radio, you may want to give it a unique URL (i.e. "yourdomain.com/SaveNow"). For most of these ads you will probably want to create a new page, but there could be circumstances where you want to use an existing page. If you already have a page created and you don’t want to duplicate or share the content between the pages, then a 301 Redirect would work perfectly to redirect your ad traffic.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I don’t care about or don’t have Search Engine Rankings. Do I still need 301 Redirects? Yes. First of all, you can check to see if you are indexed by search engines by typing "site:www.yoursite.com" into a search engine. But 301 Redirects are not all about search engines. Even if you aren't indexed, your site visitors may have some of your pages bookmarked (socially or locally). If that page does not exist then they will get "page not found" errors. This could be damaging to your conversion rate and may even hurt your online reputation a bit.
    
2. How long should I keep 301 Redirects? As long as your website is live your 301 Redirect should remain in place. Make sure to use 301 Redirects whenever you feel it is necessary. There are no penalties for using multiple 301 Redirects.
    
3. My site isn't getting any traffic, do I still need redirects? No, if your analytics or stats program is showing that nobody is visiting your site, then 301 Redirects won't help much. But, if you'd like to see your website traffic increase, let us know. We can help.

It may be time to add 301 Redirects to you Todo list. They are crucial to making sure your site changes come off without a hitch. Contact a consultant to take advantage of our feature rich CMS today.