9 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
9 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

301 Redirect Question

by noobjackson
8 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I have an old page on my website that I have changed the URL to make it more seo friendly. Now my old page with old URL are still showing up in the search engine and get my 404 error page.

I was going to do a 301 redirect but im on a windows server and .htaccess doesn't work.

Any suggestions?
#301 #question #redirect
  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
    There are several options.

    You should already have done a custom 404. Put links on it.
    That's the best option now.

    You can do a meta refresh. Not the best, but still works decently.

    Not sure if your server does php, but a redirect with that is possible.

    Javascript redirect.

    Leave the page up exactly like the other. There is no duplicate
    content penalty for this. Google (or whatever) will choose to show
    the one that makes more sense at the moment.

    Paul
    Signature

    If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2581742].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author noobjackson
    Thanks paul,

    I do have the 404 page up with links on it to the new page.

    I also have URL Removal request in on google webmaster.

    im not familiar with how to make a .php redirect.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2581756].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author webdango
    If you're on a Windows server, you can use ASP.

    What's the extension on the file you want to redirect from?
    Signature
    I make $2,000 - $3,000 a month and YOU CAN TOO
    Get the exact methods I use in my No Joke Guides:
    How to Build Income Earning Websites
    Search Psychology and Keyword Brainstorming
    How to Find a Profitable Niche
    Read more tips at my NoJokeGuide blog
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2581860].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author noobjackson
      Originally Posted by webdango View Post

      If you're on a Windows server, you can use ASP.

      What's the extension on the file you want to redirect from?

      its a .htm file
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2581977].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author webdango
    OK

    Make your custom 404 page an asp page then and put this on it:

    Code:
     
<%@ Language=VBScript %>
<%
dim sFromPage
 
'Get referring Page
sFromPage = Request.Servervariables("HTTP_REFERER")
 
'check to see if it came from the old page
If Instr(sFromPage,"OLDPAGE.HTM") then
     'if it did come from the old page, do a 301 to the new
     Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently" 
     Response.AddHeader "Location", "NEWPAGE.XXX"
Else
     'if it didn't come from the old page, show the link list-or whatever else you want
%>
List of links.....
<%
End If
%>
    Where OLDPAGE is the name of the old page including the extension

    Where NEWPAGE is the name of the new page including the extension
    Signature
    I make $2,000 - $3,000 a month and YOU CAN TOO
    Get the exact methods I use in my No Joke Guides:
    How to Build Income Earning Websites
    Search Psychology and Keyword Brainstorming
    How to Find a Profitable Niche
    Read more tips at my NoJokeGuide blog
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2582057].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Social-Media-Marketing
      Originally Posted by webdango View Post

      OK

      Make your custom 404 page an asp page then and put this on it:

      Code:
       
<%@ Language=VBScript %>
<%
dim sFromPage
 
'Get referring Page
sFromPage = Request.Servervariables("HTTP_REFERER")
 
'check to see if it came from the old page
If Instr(sFromPage,"OLDPAGE.HTM") then
     'if it did come from the old page, do a 301 to the new
     Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently" 
     Response.AddHeader "Location", "NEWPAGE.XXX"
Else
     'if it didn't come from the old page, show the link list-or whatever else you want
%>
List of links.....
<%
End If
%>
      Where OLDPAGE is the name of the old page including the extension

      Where NEWPAGE is the name of the new page including the extension
      Unfortunately, 404 page handling in IIS is terrible. If your 404 page is anything other than a .htm file, IIS I believe 302 redirects the page request to the 404 page.

      So having the above ASP page for your 404 page means that when the user requests the moved page, they first get 302 redirected to the 404 page and THEN 301 redirected to the new page which is of little value from an SEO perspective.

      That used to be the case with IIS 6.x. Not sure about 7.x.
      Signature
      Personal Injury Attorney - Marc Phillipon
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2582178].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        Ok it's an .htm page, that limits the options.

        I would just leave the page up as is.

        However, I found another way quite by accident that is
        apparently recognized by google.

        Put this in the head of the url:
        <link rel="canonical" href="http://example.com/page.html"/>

        Replace example.com/page.html with your new url.

        Maybe more can provide some insight into what exactly this does.
        It may take time, as usual, for google to get to it.

        Paul
        Signature

        If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2582289].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Social-Media-Marketing
    Originally Posted by noobjackson View Post

    I have an old page on my website that I have changed the URL to make it more seo friendly. Now my old page with old URL are still showing up in the search engine and get my 404 error page.

    I was going to do a 301 redirect but im on a windows server and .htaccess doesn't work.

    Any suggestions?
    If you're on IIS 7.x they now have a redirect utility similar to Mod_Rewrite that is based on web.conf type files instead of .htaccess files. It's very similar to Mod_Rewrite, but of course the idiots at Microsoft had to be different instead of just using what already works.

    If you own/manage your own web server, you can install ISAPI Rewrite from HeliconTech.com. It is a Mod_Rewrite utility for IIS. It is about 98% compatible with Mod_Rewrite and uses the same .htaccess files with the same RewriteCond and RewriteRules type of directives. I highly recommend it. Not sure why Microsoft didn't just buy this company and roll its product into IIS.
    Signature
    Personal Injury Attorney - Marc Phillipon
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2582155].message }}

Trending Topics