Member Avatar for WendySH

We have finally landed the url we wanted all along and want to be certain that we don't start from scratch in SEO. Our webmaster says she has created a "permanent server redirect" to the new one from our old store site (which was an https "cart" address); I have understood that a 303 redirect is the best approach to take to help you preserve the old rankings as much as possible. Any thoughts on the differences, if any, and the best path to take?

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Brief summary and practical next steps that build on what asked and the suggestions from and : the redirect code matters, but there are several additional, concrete items to verify and complete so the site move transfers ranking signals with minimum disruption.

  • Verify a clean 1:1 mapping from each old URL to the most relevant new URL. Avoid chains (old → intermediate → new) and loops; search engines and crawlers drop signals across long chains.
  • Ensure the server returns a permanent redirect status for the move and that the final target serves a 200 OK for normal crawls and users. Keep redirect rules active long enough for reindexing.
  • Update on-site signals: change internal links to the new URLs, set self-referential canonical tags to the new pages, and publish an XML sitemap listing only the new URLs. Make sure robots.txt on the new host does not block search bots.
  • Use webmaster tools: submit the new sitemap and, if moving domains, use Google Search Console’s site-move guidance to speed transfer of signals. Reach out to major referring sites when feasible to ask for link updates (this removes the need to rely solely on redirects).
  • Monitor and troubleshoot: watch crawl errors, indexing status, and traffic in Search Console and analytics. Check server logs to confirm Googlebot hits the new URLs (and not lots of 404s or redirect loops).

Quick checks you can run from a terminal:

curl -I -L https://old.example.com/page

That follows redirects and shows each response header.

For background on status-code semantics, see MDN’s pages for 301 and 303 and Google’s site-move documentation:
301
303
Move a site with URL changes (Google)

Caution: 303 is intended for "See Other" (typically after POST) and is not the tool for permanent URL moves; avoid client-side or meta-refresh redirects for SEO.

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Member Avatar for canadafred

... we don't start from scratch in SEO... Any thoughts on the differences, if any, and the best path to take?

The best path to take probably would have been to create a brand new site. Trying to salvage "SEO" (I'm assuming that means link buiding because an optimized site that was transported to a new domain would return to its previous performance levels in due time) might work, might not. Why not perform actual SEO on your new web site's webpages, redirect things to your hearts content, but make the new site stand on its own two feet with or without its link manipulation history. Here's your opportunity to optimize something new, no short-cuts, no feeding from your past; brand new optimized stuff. Keep the old one rolling until you get the new one rolling. Can even do some fancy crosslinking between your combined stuff. It's your stuff, you can link it the way you want, some items here, other items there.

Member Avatar for dailyearner

The best path to take probably would have been to create a brand new site. Trying to salvage "SEO" (I'm assuming that means link buiding because an optimized site that was transported to a new domain would return to its previous performance levels in due time) might work, might not. Why not perform actual SEO on your new web site's webpages, redirect things to your hearts content, but make the new site stand on its own two feet with or without its link manipulation history. Here's your opportunity to optimize something new, no short-cuts, no feeding from your past; brand new optimized stuff. Keep the old one rolling until you get the new one rolling. Can even do some fancy crosslinking between your combined stuff. It's your stuff, you can link it the way you want, some items here, other items there.

thx for your information

Member Avatar for WendySH

Tx for your thoughts on this. I'm sure we will return to our former position, or likely better. We were just seeking clarity on the best route to minimizing the "due time" part. Have a good day!

Member Avatar for ArmandoA

actually the server redirect is a 301 redirect - not 303- and is fine. Check the headers to see if it shows 301 for the old page

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