Web Site Redirection - How To Implement A 301 Redirect
|
|
You just created a new web site but want to pass on thesearch engine rankings of the old one to the new one. Whatis the most effective and spider/visitor friendly strategyto implement your web site redirection? You should use a301 redirect.
What is a 301 redirect?
It is used when you want to redirect your web site or web pages. The code "301" is interpreted as "moved permanently". After the code, the URL of the missing or renamed page is noted, followed by a space, then followed by the new locationor file name.
Requirements for using a 301 redirect
Apache server.
Most hosting services used these days have Apache servers. Check with your host if you are not sure.
.htaccess file
When a search engine spider requests a web page, your webserver will check for an .htaccess file. The .htaccess filecontains specific directions that are processed then sentback to the browser.
How do I implement a 301 redirect?
1. Create an .htaccess file - you can use Notepad to createthe file. Remember to insert a period at the beginning ofthe file name with no extension at the end (ie .htaccess).
2. Create a line of code that reads like this:
Redirect permanent / http://www.domainname.com/
The first "/" indicates that everything from the top levelof the site down should be redirected.
All current links within the search engine results from theold site will redirect to the top level of your new site.
If you already have an .htaccess file on your server, openit up in Notepad and look for lines of code that are there.If lines of code are present, don't change any of them butleave a space, then insert the above 301 redirect code.
3. Save the .htaccess file to your root directory andupload it to your server.
4. Test it out by typing in the old web site address. Youshould immediately be redirected to your new web siteaddress.
Redirecting a Web Page
The above example shows how to redirect a whole web site.What if you want to just redirect a web page that you havechanged but want to keep the rankings of the old page?
Follow the same steps as above but write the code likethis:
redirect 301 /old/old.htm http://www.you.com/new.htm
/old/old.htm (the original folder path and file name)
http://www.you.com/new.htm (new path and file name)
Note:
When the search engine spiders visit your old web site or web pages, they will automatically be redirected tothe new web site or web page.
Conclusion:
It may take several weeks or months for the old rankings to be passed on to the new site. Therefore don't remove your old domain name, web site or web pages just yet.
Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com - AffordableWeb Site Design and Web Hosting. Subscribe to his "Marketing Tips" newsletter for more original articles.subscribe@isitebuild.com. Read more of his in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE NewsletterTried And Tested Tips To Improve Your Website - Part 1
1. DO NOT use excessive graphics or banner images on a single web page. They tend to slow the loading of your Web page. Impatient surfers might close their browser and move on. If you have many images on a single page, consider deleting few of them or moving them to a new page.2. You should include these elements on your website: About Us [Brief description of your company and its products. You can include a few personal details about yourself and your employees], Contact Us [Provide the postal address, telephone, fax, email of your company or business.], A Links to Related Sites page, A Home Page link on each page and Site Search tool to allow visitors to find information on your site.3. Give something FREE on your website. You can offer free ebooks, articles and/or software. The stuff that you give away should be related to the topic...(related: Web Design)
You Too Can Have An Amazing Website
It is a well-known fact that a successful business depends greatly on how it is marketed. With an ever increasing dependence on the web, the use of a professional website is not only a necessity, but a priority. Although it is a common thought that only large businesses can have top-notch websites, with the tools available today what seemed impractical can now be a reality. Best of all, designing an ...(related: Web Design)
How To Rescue Your Graphic Design Project When All Else Fails
Whether you're giving a critical sales presentation to a client, producing visuals for a meeting, event, trade show or seminar, or unveiling the new company logo before an audience of shareholders, top-notch graphics will help ensure that you, your products, and your message receive the attention they deserve.Yet when you decide to do the graphics in-house to reduce turnaround ...(related: Web Design)
Power Of Squeeze Pages For Realtors
Squeeze pages are a very hot topic in the internet marketing scene. What a squeeze page is is a page that is built to get ...(related: Web Design)
The Importance Of Choosing Your Website Keywords Carefully
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very high. The reason for this is many search engines rely on keywords, at least partially, to help determine the rank of your web page when certain keywords are searched for. As a result, you want to make sure you know how to utilize keywords properly so that you get the most benefit from this wonderful tool. However, if you do not...(related: Web Design)
Dos And Donts In Web Design - Part 1 (design)
Do use a consistent look and feelYour site should stand out as a whole. Use the same look and feel for all the pages at your site. This way your visitors have a sense of recognition when they visit various pages. Using stylesheets makes it much easier to maintain the look and feel of numerous pages.Do use recurring visual elements Repeat visual elements (images, colors, fonts etc.) on several pages. This will add to a consistent look and feel.Don't use dark backgroundsDark backgrounds tend to make text less readable. So avoid dark colors or dark backgroundimages. If you do need them, use a nonserif font for the text (like Arial, Universe, Helvetica) and be sure to not to use a small fontsize.Don't cram your p...(related: Web Design)
Marketing Basics For The Webmaster
What is the relationship between Marketing and Web designing? How can a better understanding of Marketing help the web designer manage his business more profitably?What is marketing?
Pop-ups Still Work. At Least For The Time Being
Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a child? You knew that if you kept winding it up, eventually jack was going to burst out of the top and startle you!Many of you found old jack-in-the-box an annoying toy and confined it to the toy box.....Well, it reminds me of pop-ups on the internet. Eventhough you know that when ...(related: Web Design)
The Importance Of Choosing Your Website Keywords Carefully
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very high. The reason for this is many search engines rely on keywords, at least partially, to help determine the rank of your web page when certain keywords are searched for. As a result, you want to make sure you know how to utilize keywords properly so that you get the most benefit from this wonderful tool. However, if you do not...(related: Web Design)
Colorblind People, Can They Really Read Your Web Site?
I once created a notepad-like editor. It is possible with this editor to write Russian text on a western Windows without using a Cyrillic keyboard in front of your computer.This software is equipped with an on screen Russian keyboard which is situated under the text field of the notepad like editor. The keys on th...(related: Web Design)
Keyword Density
We can't emphasize enough the importance of including keyword-rich content on your site to increase your ranking potential. Simply put, keywords are the words and/or word phrases people use when searching. As we've mentioned throughout the site, search engine spiders love content. Therefore, the more keyword-rich content you have, the better. When a search engine spider crawls your site, it won't recognize pictures or images.So, if you have limited amounts of text (or none at all) and you've got a lot of beautiful pictures or Flash animation, the spider may deem your site unworthy of listing.What Is Keyword Density? Keyword density is the ratio of a keyword or key phrases to the total number of words on...(related: Web Design)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Design