Ah, those redirects! Everyone knows what they are and what they are used for, essentially. However, they are puzzling many people in another way. Take apples, for example. Everyone knows what an apple is and you are supposed to eat it. The problem is that everyone would rather have an apple pie, which is not that simple to create.
The same goes for redirects. Everyone knows what they are and what they do. If you want to gently push your visitors to another URL instead of the one they clicked on, set up a redirect. That's all there is to it, right? Regardless, managing them correctly to achieve a delicious cake or, in this circumstance, an amazing SEO result for a particular page or post, is not as straightforward as it sounds.
So how do you actually use redirects to your advantage? Or, to be more precise: how do you use them to improve your SEO score? Until a couple of years ago, using redirects could be detrimental. Google's page ranking algorithm used to establish search rankings noted that pages lose value when redirected. Regardless, in 2019, Google has assured us that the value will not go down, and in some cases, redirects can help you improve it. So, let's get down to business.
Optimize redirects
There are many ways that redirects can help your SEO. The first and foremost is to redirect your users from old, outdated or recently deleted content to a fresh new page. This is a must for any web portal owner, as there are many ways that outdated content can harm your visitor's overall experience on your site and your SEO.
The 404 redirect is another important aspect here. Although these are a fairly normal part of every web portal and the Internet as a whole (meaning Google won't punish your site for having them), they can create a bad user experience. Remember how frustrated you were the last time you went to a page and saw this error? Your visitors feel the same. Thus, it might be helpful to figure out a redirect for some of the more common causes of 404 errors and lead visitors to an alternative, relevant page.
On another note, there is a chance that you have changed your domain name or created a new site. There is no reason not to maintain your audience and your backlinks, right? But be careful here. If you're using content from an expired source, you could be heading into the SEO gray area, and Google may not be very happy with that.
The fusion technique (cocktail)
Plus you can use 301 redirects to double your site traffic! The cocktail technique it is the best way to handle posts and pages ranked for the same keyword and convert them into a single post (with the help of a redirect). Then you can drive twice the traffic to a single post.
How can you do this? Look for posts or pages that cover the same topic and receive a moderate amount of traffic. Or use an SEO tool like moz or ahrefs to see which search terms you are ranked multi-page for. Choose one of them and update it. Refresh it, add new content, and make sure it's relevant and up-to-date. After publishing the new version, configure the other to redirect. Voila! You now have a single post or page that maintains the backlinks and PageRank score of the previous two versions. The expected result is double the traffic!
Set up redirects with a WordPress plugin
Despite everything, how do you configure them? Well, you should edit the code in your .htaccess file. But not everyone is willing to code. Instead, you can use a plugin to handle the redirects for you. So you don't have to alter any code, anywhere, to handle your redirects.
Fortunately for you, there are quite a few plugins available on the official WordPress repository. To save you time and effort, we have chosen the top seven redirect plugins as recommendations. Look at them! You will be able to find the perfect one for you. Of that we are sure.
301 Redirects - Easy Redirect Manager
If your first priority is to make the plugin as simple as possible then you should go with 301 Redirects: Easy Redirect Manager from WebFactory Ltd. Being very simple to set up and use, it is perfect for both seasoned WordPress veterans and those creating a redirect for the first time in their life.
Why is this so? Because you can basically add (or paste) the requested URL (the one your visitors requested) and choose the destination URL (where you want them to end up) from the dropdown menu. Within the menu, you can select between pages, posts, files, and much more, or you can also add a custom URL. If you're looking for speed, take advantage of the import / export feature and handle them in bulk, and don't worry, the redirection will happen in no time!
At the same time, you can take advantage of the "hits" column in your redirect list, so you can effortlessly check how many times the plugin has redirected your visitors. With a 404 error log coming up, this is the plugin that will help you manage your redirects in the simplest way possible. And there is a WP 301 redirects pro version that you can update later if required
Fast page / post redirect
This is another plugin that can help you configure all redirects so that you can get all the benefits mentioned above. The anadnet Quick Page / Article Redirect plugin comes with two functionalities: "Quick Redirect" and "Individual redirect", and you must use both to configure redirects for your web portal.
The "Quick redirect" option is perfect for those quick 404 fixes and the site you've moved to WordPress. All you have to do is configure the Request URL and Destination URL, and the plugin will take care of the rest. If you want to use the Cocktail method, the "individual redirects" feature can help you with that. The plugin will add an options metabox to the edit screen, so that you can, in no time, configure your redirects while editing existing pages or posts.
Simple 301 redirects
Another simple plugin that can help you set up your redirects in no time is Simple 301 Redirects by Scott Nelle. This plugin can help you redirect your visitors in no time; all you have to do is copy and paste the original link and the new destination, you are ready to go!
What sets this plugin apart from the others is that it supports wildcards. If you want your visitors to be able to reach your site, even if users have requested a subdomain, this is the plugin to use.
Redirection
The redirect plugin offers a bit more of the alternatives you would need in such a plugin, at the same time as the old request and destination redirect settings.
The most notable feature is the fact that it allows conditional redirects. Those redirects could be based on the behavior of your visitors or WordPress settings. For example, you can ensure that users who are not logged in or users who visit through a specific browser can see different content, unlike their logged in counterparts.
If you decide to use this plugin, you will get a lot of other cool features like full logging or 404 error tracking. The former is quite useful as it will present you with all the visitor related data you might need. From your location and browser to the IP address (which, of course, you can disable if necessary). 404 error tracking is another useful feature, as it will allow you to create new redirects as soon as a 404 error appears on your site. You can also use the import / export function.
Page links to
Another plugin that can help guide your visitors to where you want them to be is the Page Links To plugin created by Mark Jaquith. This plugin can help you configure links to sections of your site other than WordPress, but keeping them present as if they were part of your web portal. The most common use for this plugin is to add content from, for example, Medium, as part of your site feed, or to create pretty URLs.
Doing so is another piece of cake with an effortless section below your new page. All you have to do is configure, from the drop-down menu, if you want it to link to your page or not, and then add the desired URL (if it is an external one!)
Secure redirect manager
In case you need to manage only a couple of redirects for your site, you will be safe and sound with Safe Redirect Manager before 10up. This plugin can help you create and configure redirects on your site just by copy and paste.
All you need to do with this plugin is copy and paste the requested and destination URL into the fields provided, and voila! No fluff, no other unnecessary features that you would have to discover for small redirect efforts.
SEO redirection
Regardless, if you are looking for something feature rich, you can go ahead and install Fakhri Alsadi's SEO redirect plugin. This plugin won't leave you hanging when it comes to your WordPress redirect efforts, regardless of the scale you need it to happen on. While being able to add the redirects for your posts manually, you can also take advantage of conditional redirects that are based on the behavior of your visitors.
Some of the other more notable features is the ability to help you fix crawl errors in the Google Search Console, which is quite useful when it comes to 404 errors. It also has WPML support, which is perfect for multi-language sites, Plus you can see how many times a redirect is used, who used it, and how they found the requested URL in the first place.
You can also rely on this plugin to help you with wildcards. The biggest help you could get is probably the fact that it reflects changes to all links if you move your site so you don't have to do anything manually, again. Redirecting folders and their content is also quite simple with this plugin!
With SEO becoming more complicated every day, it is very important to know all the techniques that you could use to improve it. From mastering keywords to learning how to create flawless content, anything else is an advantage in that area.
In general, it is not difficult to see that redirects, if used correctly, can be of great help with your SEO. Not only can they help you keep all the visitors and traffic in case of moving your site, but they can also help you duplicate it. Improving the user experience by clearing 404 errors or outdated content is the icing on the cake.
As with everything else related to WordPress, setting up redirects doesn't mean spending days coding or figuring out any learning curve. All you need is, after all, a good complement. With these seven listed above, you can get all the benefits of using redirects on your site without breaking a sweat. Which one will you go with? Let us know in the comment section!
