How to change a URL without losing traffic

Changing an address is one of the easiest ways to lose traffic by accident. The page is still there, but every link, bookmark and search result points at the old address, and they all hit an error page. A redirect fixes that, if it is set up right. This lesson is a checklist for any change of address, from one renamed post to a full redesign.

If you are new to redirects, the glossary entry on what a redirect is explains the status codes. Here we focus on doing it well.

Before you change anything: list the old addresses

Most lost traffic after a redesign comes from addresses nobody remembered. Before you change a single URL, make a list of every address that matters:

• every page in your XML sitemap,
• the pages that get search traffic, from the Performance report in Search Console,
• the pages other sites link to, the ones carrying backlinks,
• addresses printed on menus, flyers or packaging.

Put them in a spreadsheet with two columns: old address and new address. Every row needs a match.

Map each old address to its closest new page

The rule is simple: send each old address to the page that best answers the same need.

The first sends a reader looking for SEO tips to the homepage, where they have to start again. The second sends them to the updated version of the same article. Google treats a mass redirect to the homepage much like a page that no longer exists, so the signals the old page earned are lost too.

If a page has no replacement at all, such as a product you no longer sell, redirect it to the closest category. If nothing is close, let it return a 404 or a 410. An honest "not found" is better than a redirect that confuses the reader.

Use one 301, straight to the final page

For a permanent change, use a 301 redirect, or a 308 if your system offers it. Both tell search engines that the new address takes over from the old one. Avoid 302 for permanent moves: it says the change is temporary, so Google keeps the old address in its results for longer.

Watch for chains. They build up over the years: a page moves in 2022, moves again in 2024, and the site switches to HTTPS in between. The oldest address now takes three hops to reach the page.

http://example.com/seo-tips-2022   301
https://example.com/seo-tips-2022  301
https://example.com/seo-tips-2024  301
https://example.com/seo-tips       200

Each hop slows the page down, and search engines may stop following after several. Point every old address straight at the final one, with a single redirect.

Check every redirect before Google does

Do not wait for Search Console to show errors. Check the list yourself:

1. Paste your old addresses into the redirect checker, up to 20 at a time.
2. Every row should show one hop, a 301 or 308, ending on a page that answers 200.
3. Fix anything marked as a chain, a loop, a temporary redirect or a broken end.
4. Spot-check a few in your browser, including on your phone.

After the change: clean up your own site

Redirects are a safety net for links you do not control. For links you do control, go straight to the new address:

• Update your internal links, menus and footer, so your own pages never rely on a redirect. The lesson an internal linking plan you can reuse shows how to find them.
• Update your XML sitemap, so it lists only the new addresses. The lesson XML sitemaps: what to include and what to leave out explains why.
• Update the canonical tags on the moved pages, so each one points at its own new address.
• Keep the redirects for at least a year, longer if other sites still link to the old addresses.

Then watch Search Console for a few weeks. The old addresses should fade from the results as the new ones take their place.

This is lesson 4 of the Technical SEO series. When the redirects are clean, run the free audit on a moved page to check everything else.