Updated on December 2nd, 2024 at 05:17 pm
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Issue: Permanent redirects (301/308) are useful but can waste crawl budget if overused. Too many redirects can also confuse users and slow down their browsing experience.
Fix: Review your permanent redirects and replace them with direct target URLs wherever possible.
How to Fix for Beginners
- Identify Redirects: Use an SEO tool to find URLs that redirect users to another page using 301 or 308 redirects.
- Example:
https://example.com/old-page
permanently redirects tohttps://example.com/new-page
.
- Example:
- Update Internal Links: Replace links to the redirected URL with links to the final destination page.
- Example: Change links pointing to
https://example.com/old-page
to point directly tohttps://example.com/new-page
.
- Example: Change links pointing to
- Limit Chains: Avoid redirect chains where a URL redirects multiple times before reaching the final page.
- Example: Instead of
Page A -> Page B -> Page C
, make itPage A -> Page C
.
- Example: Instead of
- Check for Unnecessary Redirects: Remove redirects that no longer serve a purpose or are outdated.
- Example: If
https://example.com/temp-redirect
was a temporary fix, delete it and use the final page link.
- Example: If
- Monitor Crawl Efficiency: Use tools like Google Search Console to track your crawl budget and ensure search engines can efficiently access your site.
Tip: Minimizing unnecessary redirects improves crawl efficiency, speeds up navigation, and enhances user experience.