SEO is a fluid framework, and staying up to date with the latest developments is vital. Advice surrounding the handling of URL redirection has been fairly stable for a long period of time.

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PageRank Suffering an Average 15% Decline Following a 301 Redirect

Migration using HTTPS results in PageRank decline. The transient nature of 302s means that search engines handle them differently, therefore making them risky to implement

New Guidelines

Seeing a decline in traffic is clearly a concern, and as such many website owners and SEOs have avoided changing URLs or making the move to HTTPs. The latter has prompted Google to attempt to mitigate some of these risks, as they have made no secret about HTTPs being their preferred format.

John Mueller from Google declared that PageRank would not be affected as a direct result of a move from HTTP to HTTPs using a 301/302 redirect. Gary Illyes, also from Google, went further and stated that the search engine has no preference as to which method of redirection is used, and they will ensure that PageRank is not affected.

If this seems too good to be true, all quality SEO companies such as seo services in london through elevate uk will certainly be experienced enough to fully consider all other risks before diving head-first into a number of redirects.

Redirects Are Still Risky

PageRank is just one aspect that Google takes into consideration when ranking pages. It is reasonable to expect that a redirection from one identical page to another – just with a different URL – shouldn’t result in a decrease in traffic. A close working relationship between a SEO services in London and client is advised to ensure the process is completed smoothly.

HTTPS Still Complicated

There are many opportunities for something to go awry, and so, even with assurances with regards to PageRank, proceeding with caution is advised. Search Engine Land has reported that many websites haven’t completed the process correctly to see the promised benefits.

Best Practices

Established best practices have now undoubtedly altered, although it is arguably far too early to come to any solid conclusions moving forward. Remembering that every redirect carries with it a certain element of risk is essential, and all permanent redirects are best undertaken using 301s because of potential variations between different search engines.