EDITS.WS

Tag: 404 Errors

  • 6 questions about redirects for SEO

    A redirect happens when someone asks for a specific page but gets sent to a different page. Often, the site owner deleted the page and set up a redirect to send visitors and search engine crawlers to a relevant page — a much better approach than serving them annoying, user-experience-breaking 404 messages. Redirects play a big part in the lives of site owners, developers, and SEOs. So, let’s answer a couple of recurring questions about redirects for SEO.

    1. Are redirects bad for SEO?

    Are redirects bad for SEO? The answer is no; redirects are not inherently bad for SEO. However, it is crucial to implement them correctly to avoid potential issues. An improper implementation can lead to problems such as losing PageRank and traffic. Redirecting pages is necessary when making URL changes, as you want to preserve the hard work invested in building an audience and acquiring backlinks.

    To ensure that redirects are implemented correctly and effectively, consider the following best practices:

    • Use the appropriate redirect type: The most commonly used redirect for permanent URL changes is the 301 redirect. This informs search engines that the original URL has permanently moved to a new location. By using a 301 redirect, you can maintain the ranking and relevance of the old URL and seamlessly redirect users and search engine crawlers to the new URL.
    • Update internal links: When you implement redirects, updating any internal links on your website that refer to the old URLs is important. This ensures visitors can navigate to the correct pages and search engines can properly index the new URLs.
    • Preserve user experience: Redirects should aim to provide a smooth user experience. Avoid excessive redirect chains, which can slow page load times and frustrate users. It’s also important to redirect users to relevant content that aligns with their intent. For example, if a page has been permanently removed, redirect users to a relevant alternative rather than a generic homepage.
    • Monitor and test redirects: Regularly monitor your redirects. Check for errors or issues, such as broken redirects or redirect loops. It’s also helpful to periodically test the redirects to ensure they function as expected.

    2. Why should I redirect a URL?

    By redirecting a changed URL, you send users and crawlers to a new URL, minimizing annoyance. Whenever you perform any maintenance on your site, you are taking stuff out. You could delete a post, change your URL structure, or move your site to a new domain. You must replace it, or visitors will land on those 404 pages.

    If you make small changes, like deleting an outdated article, you can redirect that old URL with a 301 to a relevant new article or give it a 410 to say that you deleted it. Don’t delete stuff without a plan. And don’t redirect your URLs to random articles that don’t have anything to do with the article you’re deleting. Lastly, don’t 301 redirect all your 404s to your homepage!

    Bigger projects need a URL migration strategy. For instance, moving to a new domain or changing the URL paths. In these cases, you should look at all your site’s URLs and map them to their future locations on the new domain. After determining what goes where you can start redirecting the URLs. Use the change of address tool in Google Search Console to notify Google of the changes.

    3. What is a 301 redirect? And a 302 redirect?

    A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect informing visitors and search engine crawlers that the requested URL has moved to a new destination permanently. It is the most commonly used redirect for permanent URL changes. When implementing a 301 redirect, you signal that the old URL is no longer in use and that the new URL should be accessed instead. It is important to note that with a 301 redirect, the old URL should not be used again in the future, as it signifies a permanent change.

    On the other hand, a 302 redirect is a temporary redirect. This type of redirect is used to indicate that the requested content is temporarily unavailable at a specific address but will return at a later time. Unlike a 301 redirect, a 302 redirect suggests that the change is temporary and that the original URL may be used again.

    You must consider the URL change’s nature when deciding which redirect to use. If the change is permanent and you have no intention of using the original URL again, a 301 redirect is appropriate. However, if the change is temporary and you plan on returning to the original URL, a 302 redirect should be used.

    It is recommended to carefully consider the purpose and longevity of the URL change when selecting the appropriate redirect. If you are uncertain about which redirect you need, please read our article on which redirect to pick?

    4. What’s an easy way to manage redirects in WordPress?

    We might be biased, but we think the redirect manager in our Yoast SEO Premium WordPress plugin is incredibly helpful. We know that many people struggle to understand the concept of redirects and the work that goes into adding and managing them. That’s why one of the first things we wanted our WordPress SEO plugin to have was an easy-to-use redirect tool. I think we succeeded, but don’t take my word for it.

    The redirect manager can help set up and manage redirects on your WordPress site. It’s an indispensable tool to keep your site fresh and healthy. We made it as easy as possible. Here’s what happens when you delete a post:

    • Move a post to the trash
    • A message pops up saying that you moved a post to the trash
    • Choose one of two options given by the redirects manager:
      • Redirect to another URL
      • Serve a 410 Content deleted header
    • If you pick redirect, a modal opens where you can enter the new URL for this particular post
    • Save, and you’re done!

    So convenient, right? Here’s an insightful article called What does the redirect manager in Yoast SEO do, that answers that question. Or watch the video below!

    5. What is a redirect checker?

    A redirect checker is a tool to determine if a certain URL is redirected and to analyze the path it follows. You can use this information to find bottlenecks, like a redirect chain in which a URL is redirected many times, making it much harder for Google to crawl that URL — and giving users a less-than-stellar user experience. These chains often happen without you knowing it: if you delete a redirected page, you add another piece. So, you need to keep an eye on your redirects; a redirect checker is one of the tools to do that.

    You can use one of the SEO suites, such as Sitebulb, Ahrefs or Screaming Frog to test your redirects and links. If you only need a quick check, you can also use a simpler tool like httpstatus.io to give you an insight into the life of a URL on your site. Another must-have tool is the Redirect Path extension for Chrome, made by Ayima.

    6. Do I need to redirect HTTP to HTTPS?

    Every site should use the HTTPS protocol, but be sure to redirect your HTTP traffic to HTTPS. You could get into trouble with Google if you make your site available on HTTP and HTTPS, so watch out for that. Google prefers HTTPS sites because these tend to be faster and more secure. Your visitors expect the extra security as well.

    So, you need to set up a 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS. There are a couple of ways of doing this, and you must plan this to ensure everything goes as it should. First, the preferred way of doing this is at the server level. Find out what kind of server your site is running (NGINX, Apache, or something else) and the code needed to add to your server config file or .htaccess file. Your host will often have a guide to help you set up a redirect for HTTP to HTTPS on the server level. Some hosts have a simple setting to manage this in one go.

    There are also WordPress plugins that can handle the HTTPS/SSL stuff for your site, but for this specific issue, we wouldn’t rely on a plugin, but manage your redirect at a server level. Don’t forget to let Google know of the changes in Search Console.

    Redirects for SEO

    There are loads of questions about redirects to answer. The redirect concept isn’t too hard to grasp if you think about it. Getting started with redirects isn’t that hard, either. The hard part of working with redirects is managing them. Where are all these redirects leading? What if something breaks? Can you find redirect chains or redirect loops? Can you shorten the paths? You can gain a lot from optimizing your redirects, so dive in and fix them. Do you have burning questions about redirects? Let us know in the comments!

    Read more: How to properly delete a page from your site »

    The post 6 questions about redirects for SEO appeared first on Yoast.

  • 404 Not Found error pages: the do’s and don’ts

    A “404 error” page is an essential part of any website. It informs your users the page they requested had been moved or changed. Do you need to pay attention to your 404 page and give it some love? Absolutely yes! In this post, we’ll go through the dos and don’ts of a 404 page and help you get more value out of it.

    What is a 404 page, and why do we need it?

     A 404 page, also known as an “error page”, or “page not found” page, is the content your visitors see when they land on a page that doesn’t exist.

    The number 404 is the status response code for that page. The 404 response indicates that your visitor’s browser could communicate with your web server, but the server could not find what was requested.

    There are many reasons why a requested page can’t be found. It may be that:

    • The page was deleted.
    • There are typos in the URL.
    • The permalink structure has changed.
    • The domain name was changed.

    Whatever the reasons, remember that it’s probably your fault and not your users’ fault. So keep that in mind and create content based on that assumption.

    It’s worth noting that, sometimes certain pages need to go down temporarily. In that case, it’s much better to serve a 503 Service Unavailable message than serve a 404 error not found.

    What to include on your 404 page (the Dos)

    When users click on a link, they expect to land on a page that answers their questions or gives them the necessary information. For whatever reason, the page they land on returns a 404 message. In that case, what should they do next? 

    If you don’t help your users take the next step after they land on a 404 page, they might still browse your site for information. But nothing is stopping them from leaving and browsing other websites. In that case, you’re not providing users with what they need while losing traffic to your competition.

    A better way to utilize your 404 page is to help users navigate to other useful pages on your site. There are many ways to go about that. For instance, you could:

    • Include a search bar so users can quickly search for other information.
    • Include a button that takes users to the homepage.
    • Include links to other important/popular sections on your website.
    • Include links to popular product or category pages.
    • Guide them to read your popular or most recent blog posts.

    As for the error message, make it perfectly clear that you can’t find the requested page. A simple “We may have deleted or moved this page” should be fine.

    Examples of nice 404 pages

    Below are examples of good 404 pages. These pages provide extra value — or enjoyment! — to visitors by including options to help them navigate the website, whether via the search bar, shop page links, or popular blog posts.

    Ebay.com’s 404 page
    Lego’s 404 page is still awesome
    Our own 404 page

    The value of your 404 page

    Many marketers and website owners don’t see the value in the 404 page, which shouldn’t be the case. If you have a website, you want to keep your visitors on your site. You want them to engage with your content, browse other pages or check out your offers. But if they land on an error page with nothing to point them in the right direction, they’ll most likely turn back and leave.

    That’s why you need to help visitors navigate your site when they land on a 404 page. By doing so, your 404 page may help to:

    • Reduce bounce rate and keep people on your site longer;
    • Engage your visitors with other content or offers on your site;
    • Make it easier for visitors to navigate your site;
    • Maintain a consistent branding experience while building up your brand image.

    Content management systems like WordPress or your web server include a default 404 error message page. But these default pages are ugly and very bare bone. There’s nothing there besides the error message, not even traces of your branding. That’s why you need to customize your 404 page, which can be easily done via plugins if you’re a beginner. A quick search on WordPress.org gives you many options.

    The default 404 page that WordPress creates

    What not to do on a 404 page (the Don’ts)

    Many websites do a 301 redirect from a 404 page to the homepage, which is not a good practice. What you’re doing is putting people on a train they did not choose themselves. Why send them to London if they want to go to Paris? If a visitor wants to find a particular page on your website, please give them that page or an explanation of why you can’t.

    Being funny is a good thing. But when it comes to a 404 page, we would instead create an actual page that’s helpful to users instead of a funny one that provides no value. Fun is great, and it could fit well with your brand image. But you need to make it work. Please don’t put a picture of a giraffe licking the screen and think your visitor will like your website regardless of not finding what they want. Help them get back on track. Or point them to your homepage to start over again (but don’t redirect them!).

    Another thing we strongly suggest against is not customizing your 404 page at all. As mentioned above, the default 404 page that WordPress or your web server includes is lackluster. It doesn’t provide any extra value to your visitors. That’s not what you want! So make sure your website has a custom 404 page, and make sure it helps visitors navigate your site somehow.

    Examples of 404 pages that can be better

    Below are examples of 404 pages we think can do better, whether by including a search bar, links to popular pages or categories, or just a better copy for the “error not found” message itself.

    IMDB’s 404 page
    South Park’s 404 page

    404 pages and impact on SEO

    It’s worth noting that having some 404 errors on a website is not necessarily a cause for concern. It’s common for websites to have broken links or pages that are removed or renamed over time. Google also said that having some 404 pages doesn’t hurt your overall website ranking. However, if a significant portion of your web pages returns 404 errors, this could indicate more significant structural issues that may affect SEO.

    You can closely monitor your 404 pages by using tools such as Google Search Console or Screaming Frog. Make sure to monitor and fix 404 errors regularly. That helps ensure your website is properly crawled and indexed by Google and may help improve your overall SEO performance.

    It’s also essential to ensure that any internal links to a missing page are updated to point to relevant content on your site. Doing so ensures that your users and search engines are directed to the most relevant pages. It also prevents them from encountering additional 404 errors.

    Why do you think your 404 Not Found page is great?

    Or perhaps you have some great examples, good or bad. We’d love to see these, so please drop a link in the comments!

    Read more: Website maintenance: 404 error pages »

    The post 404 Not Found error pages: the do’s and don’ts appeared first on Yoast.

  • HTTP status codes and what they mean for SEO

    HTTP status codes, like 404, 301, and 500, might not mean much to a regular visitor, but they are incredibly important for SEO. Not only that, search engine spiders, like Googlebot, use these to determine the health of a site. These status codes offer a way of seeing what happens between the browser and the server. Several of these codes indicate an error, for instance, that the requested content can’t be found, while others simply suggest a successful delivery of the requested material. In this article, we’re taking a closer look at the most important HTTP header codes and what they mean for SEO.

    What are HTTP status codes, and why do you see them?

    An HTTP status code is a three-digit message the server sends when a request made by a browser can or cannot be fulfilled. According to the official W3C specs, there are dozens of status codes, many of which you’re unlikely to come across. If you need a handy overview of status codes, including their code references, you can find one on HTTPstatuses.com.

    To fully understand these codes, you must know how a browser gets a web page. Every website visit starts by typing in the URL of a site or entering a search term in a search engine. The browser requests the site’s IP address for the associated web page. The server responds with a status code embedded in the HTTP header, telling the browser the result of the request. When everything is fine, an HTTP 200 header code is sent back to the browser in conjunction with the website’s content.

    However, it is also possible that there’s something wrong with the requested content or server. It could be that the page is not found, which gives back a 404 error page, or there might be a temporary, technical issue with the server, resulting in a 500 Internal Server Error. These HTTP status codes are an important tool for evaluating the health of the site and its server. If a site regularly sends improper HTTP header codes to a search engine indexing its contents, it might cause problems that will hurt its rankings.

    Here’s part of the HTTP header for a web page, with a 200 OK message:

    HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2023 06:44:24 GMT
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: public, max-age=604800, s-maxage=604800, stale-while-revalidate=120, stale-if-error=14400

    Different ranges

    There are five ranges of HTTP status codes, defining different aspects of the transaction process between the client and the server. Below you’ll find the five ranges and their main goal:

    • 1xx – Informational
    • 2xx – Success
    • 3xx – Redirection
    • 4xx – Client error
    • 5xx – Server error

    If you ever try to brew coffee in a teapot, your teapot will probably send you the status message 418: I’m a teapot.

    Most important HTTP status codes for SEO

    As we’ve said, the list of codes is long, but a few are especially important for SEOs and anyone working on their own site. We’ll do a quick rundown of these below:

    200: OK / Success

    This is how it probably should be; a client asks the server for content and the server replies with a 200 success message and the content the client needs. The server and the client are happy — and the visitor, of course. All messages in 2xx mean some sort of success.

    301: Moved Permanently

    A 301 HTTP header is used when the requested URL is permanently moved to a new location. As you are working on your site, you will often use this, because you regularly need to make a 301 redirect to direct an old URL to a new one. If you don’t, users will see a 404 error page if they try to open the old URL and that’s not something you want. Using a 301 will make sure that the link value of the old URL transfers to the new URL.

    Read more: How to create a 301 redirect in WordPress »

    302: Found

    A 302 means that the target destination has been found, but it lives in a different location. However, it is a rather ambiguous status code because it doesn’t tell if this is a temporary situation. Use a 302 redirect only if you want to temporarily redirect a URL to a different source and are sure you will use the same URL again.

    Since you tell search engines that the URL will be used again, none of the link value is transferred to the new URL, so you shouldn’t use a 302 when moving your domain or making big changes to your site structure, for instance. Also, when you leave 302 redirects in place for a long time, search engines can treat these 302 redirects as 301 redirects.

    304: Not Modified

    A 304 redirect is a type of HTTP response code that indicates that the requested resource has not been modified since the last time it was accessed by the client. It means that the server does not need to send the resource again but instead tells the client to use a cached version. The 304 response code is a way to save crawl budget for large websites. This is because Google’s crawler won’t recrawl unchanged pages and can instead focus on crawling new and updated pages.

    307: Temporary Redirect

    The 307 code replaces the 302 in HTTP1.1 and could be seen as the only ‘true’ redirect. You can use a 307 redirect if you need to temporarily redirect a URL to a new one while keeping the original request method intact. A 307 looks a lot like a 302, except that it tells specifically that the URL has a temporary new location. The request can change over time, so the client has to keep using the original URL when making new requests.

    403: Forbidden

    A 403 tells the browser that the requested content is forbidden for the user. If they don’t have the correct login credentials, this content stays forbidden for that user.

    404: Not Found

    As one of the most visible status codes, the 404 HTTP header code is also one of the most important. When a server returns a 404 error, you know the content has not been found and is probably deleted. Try not to bother visitors with these messages, so fix these errors when you can. Use a redirect to send visitors from the old URL to a new article or page with related content.

    Monitor these 404 messages in Google Search Console and keep them to the lowest amount possible. A lot of 404 errors might be seen by Google as a sign of bad maintenance. Which in return might influence your overall rankings. If your page is broken and should be gone from your site, a 410 sends a clearer signal to Google.

    Keep reading: 404 error pages: check and fix »

    410: Gone

    The result from a 410 status code is the same as a 404 since the content has not been found. However, with a 410, you tell search engines that you deleted the requested content. Thus, it’s much more specific than a 404. In a way, you order search engines to remove the URL from the index. Before permanently deleting something from your site, ask yourself if there is an equivalent of the page somewhere. If so, make a redirect. If not, maybe you shouldn’t delete it and just improve it.

    Read on: How to properly delete a page from your site (404 or 410?) »

    The 451 HTTP status code shows that the requested content was deleted for legal reasons. If you received a takedown request or a judge ordered you to take specific content offline, you should use this code to tell search engines what happened to the page.

    Keep on reading: HTTP 451: Content unavailable for legal reasons »

    500: Internal Server Error

    A 500 error is a generic message saying the server encountered an unexpected condition. This prevented it from fulfilling the request without determining what caused it. These errors could come from anywhere. Maybe your web host is doing something funny, or a script on your site is malfunctioning. Check your server’s logs to see where things go wrong.

    503: Service Unavailable

    A 503 HTTP status code is a server-side error that indicates that the server is temporarily unable to handle the request. This could be due to overloading, maintenance, or other issues on the server. A 503 status code can affect SEO if it lasts long, as it may signal to search engines that the site is unreliable or unavailable. To avoid negative SEO impacts, a 503 status code should be used only for short-term situations and provide crawlers with a clear message about when the site will return online. You can use the Retry-After value to ask crawlers to try again after a certain amount of time.

    Read more: 503: Handling site maintenance correctly for SEO »

    Working with HTTP status codes

    HTTP status codes are a big part of the lives of SEOs and that of search engine spiders. You’ll encounter them daily, and it’s key to understanding what the different status codes mean. For instance, if you delete a page from your site, you must know the difference between serving a 301 and a 410. They serve different goals and, therefore, have different results.

    To understand the kinds of status codes your site generates, you should log into your Google Search Console. In the Indexing section, you’ll find the crawl errors Googlebot found over a certain time. These crawl errors must be fixed before your site can be indexed correctly.

    Google Search Console lists errors it found on

    Manage redirects with Yoast SEO Premium

    We get it; working with these things is time-consuming and boring. However, creating redirects has never been easier if you use Yoast SEO Premium. Whenever you delete or move a post or page, the Redirect Manager in Yoast SEO asks you whether you want to redirect it. Just pick the correct option, and you’re good to go.

    That’s all, folks

    Make yourself familiar with these codes because you’ll see them pop up often. Knowing which redirects to use is an important skill that you’ll have to count on often when optimizing your site. One look at the crawl errors in Google Search Console should be enough to show you how much is going on under the hood.

    Keep reading: Which redirect should I use? »

    The post HTTP status codes and what they mean for SEO appeared first on Yoast.