SEO Tycoon

**anchorjack** · 12-16-2008, 12:02 PM

After radically redesigning my web site with new pages and new file names, etc I wonder if there is a way to redirect each of the old pages to the content of the new pages so that I don't lose the advantage of the old indexed pages.

Is this a good idea anyway - would Google penalize me for this - or should I just bite the bullet and start afresh!

**chrishirst** · 12-16-2008, 12:11 PM

Quote:

I wonder if there is a way to redirect each of the old pages to the content of the new pages

yes there is
http://www.webmaster-talk.com/seo-ta...redirects.html
http://www.highrankings.com/forum/in...showtopic=5644

Quote:

Is this a good idea anyway - would Google penalize me for this - or should I just bite the bullet and start afresh!

Yes, No, and Sure, if you want to lose most of your traffic for upto 6 months

**anchorjack** · 12-16-2008, 12:57 PM

thanks for the info - through those links I stumbled on a tutorial about 301 redirects - great stuff - and I found a line of code to insert into the .htaccess file that would redirect one page to another in the same domain.

the code I found is: Redirect 301 /old/old.html http://www.you.com/new.html

However -

- what do I do when I have multiple html pages to redirect? Do I create one line per page in the .htaccess file? I realise that I cannot use an all emcompassing command like I would to make sure all non www. requests go to the www. URL.

**VirtuosiMedia** · 12-16-2008, 02:15 PM

Short answer: It depends on how your site was organized and if it is dynamic or not.

Longer answer: You can redirect using patterns, but it generally works best if both the old and the new urls are parametrized or have been created with a consistent naming scheme, which are usually signs of a dynamic site. If that's the case, this will probably be of some use to you, though you may want to Google a few tutorials on URL rewrite rules as well. If your site isn't dynamic or doesn't have a consistent naming schema, then you will probably have to settle to one redirect per line.

**anchorjack** · 02:25 PM

Thanks for the feedback!

Sadly my pages are not dynamic enough to follow your good advice - but assuming am I correct in understanding that my alternative is to use the .htaccess file I wanted to make sure that an .htaccess file can have a number of redirects!

My existing .htaccess file already redirects all no www requests to www. So I am presuming there are no problems in using this same file and simply adding one 301 redirect on each new line for each URL I want to redirect?

Hope so!

**VirtuosiMedia** · 12-16-2008, 02:48 PM

As far as I know, yes, that's the way you would do it.

**omnistar** · 12-16-2008, 08:21 PM

I'm learning Seo right now, and I'm not sure if this can help. What about giving your new pages the old file names? Does this affect the indexing of the pages.

**anchorjack** · 12-16-2008, 09:45 PM

thanks for the suggestion, Omnistar - but one of the reasons I am facing this problem is that I have had to change the file names as part of the general improvement of the site - I really have no option but to change the file names!

**chrishirst** · 12-17-2008, 03:55 AM

Quote:

I really have no option but to change the file names!

Why? ...

**~ServerPoint~** · 12-17-2008, 04:06 AM

Quote:

thanks for the suggestion, Omnistar - but one of the reasons I am facing this problem is that I have had to change the file names as part of the general improvement of the site - I really have no option but to change the file names!

and the URL changed and all SEO affords wasted?

**anchorjack** · 12-17-2008, 06:08 PM

this question may not be as stupid as it sounds ... once I've created all the 301 redirects from the old files to the new improved ones with better file names etc - can I delete the old files? Do I need to keep the old files on the host server to enable the .htaccess file to work?

Is this is stupid question afterall!

**anchorjack** · 12-17-2008, 06:13 PM

in answer to your questions - the site was originally created about 6 years ago and the current revamp has changed the content of each page to the extent that the original file names no longer really reflect the content - maybe I'm jut anal but I like the structure and names to be consistent and ordered.

This is not really a problem in terms of wasted efforts in SEO as there was none at the time! See how much you have all taught me! :-)

**chrishirst** · 12-17-2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

This is not really a problem in terms of wasted efforts in SEO as there was none at the time!

So you are going to throw away the VERY BEST kind of marketing!!
Completely natural results.

You do realise that the filenames are of zero value for SEO don't you.

**anchorjack** · 12-17-2008, 06:34 PM

I do realize that, yes - thanks for the warning - I just like to have things in order.

Any thoughts on my query about deleting the old files once the 301 redirect is in place for each of those pages?

**chrishirst** · 12-17-2008, 06:37 PM

once you have a redirect in place via .htaccess the files have effectively ceased to exist on site anyway.

delete them.

**anchorjack** · 12-17-2008, 06:50 PM

thanks Chris - appreciate your input!

Jack