Find the right domain redirect strategy to optimize your site. Learn how to drive traffic with efficiency and accuracy. The development of the digital world has made websites an important part of various businesses. However, sometimes changes to the website domain are unavoidable.
Therefore, it is important to know the right domain redirect strategy. The right domain redirect strategy can maintain a good user experience, maintain SEO Quality, and avoid negative impacts.
So, in this article, we will discuss the importance of a domain redirect strategy and the steps for how to redirect a domain. For those of you who want to redirect the domain permanently or temporarily, please read the article until it's finished.
What are Redirects?
Before discussing the proper domain redirect steps, it is important to understand what a redirect is, a redirect is the process of redirecting traffic from one URL or domain to another.
In this context, redirects can be used to redirect visitors from the old URL or domain to the new URL or domain. This is needed when there are changes to the website, such as changing domain names, restructuring URLs, or moving content.
A simple example of a redirect is when a visitor accesses the old URL “www.example.com/product” and is automatically redirected to the new URL “www.example.com/new-product”. Redirect ensures visitors are immediately taken to the right page without experiencing 404 errors or page not found.
Why do you need to Redirect a Domain?
When you want to change your domain, redirecting the old domain to the new domain is an important step. This domain redirect ensures that visitors and search engines stay connected to relevant content on your new domain.
However, this redirect process requires special steps and several preparations so that the redirect process runs well and does not have a negative impact on SEO and user experience.
Along with changes to URLs or domains, it is important to run proper domain redirects. Here are some reasons why proper redirects are so important:
- Avoiding Error 404: When a URL or domain changes, a 404 error will appear. By using the right redirect, visitors will be immediately redirected to the relevant page and will not experience a 404 error.
- Maintaining the strength of backlinks: Backlinks are an important factor in SEO. If there is a change to the URL or domain, the backlinks that were previously built will lead to pages not found if proper redirects are not performed.
- Minimizing the bounce rate: If a visitor experiences an inappropriate redirect, they may leave the website because they found no relevant content. The right redirect ensures that visitors are directly directed to relevant pages, thereby minimizing the bounce rate.
- Maintaining SEO quality and search ranking: Inappropriate redirects can have a negative impact on SEO quality and search ranking. Search engines like Google notice changes to URLs or domains and can reduce a website's search ranking if the redirect isn't done correctly.
What are Types of Redirects?
There are several types of redirects that are commonly used. The two most common types of redirects are permanent (301) redirects and temporary (302) redirects.
1. Permanent redirects (301)
Permanent redirects are used when a permanent change occurs, such as a domain name change or URL restructuring. When a permanent redirect is applied, search engines and visitors will be redirected to the new URL and the old URL is deemed irrelevant.
A permanent redirect (301) signals to search engines that the changes are permanent, so search engines will redirect search rankings to the new URL.
2. Temporary redirects (302)
Temporary redirects are used when temporary changes occur, for example when updating or repairing a website. Temporary redirects tell search engines that the change is only temporary and that the old URL is still relevant.
Visitors will be directed to the new URL, but the old URL is still considered relevant by search engines. Choosing the right type of redirect is very important in carrying out the right domain redirect strategy. Make sure to choose the type of redirect that matches the changes made to the website.
What is the Best Practice for Domain Redirect?
After understanding the importance of domain redirects, here are the steps you can follow:
- Analysis of the need for redirect domains: Analyze the changes to be made to the URL or domain. Identify the URL or domain that needs to be changed and determine whether it should be a permanent redirect or a temporary redirect.
- Redirect settings via cPanel web hosting: If using cPanel web hosting, access the cPanel dashboard and look for the redirect option. Follow the instructions provided to set up the redirect as needed. In cPanel, there are options to set permanent redirects or temporary redirects.
- Redirect settings via CMS: If using a Content Management System (CMS), find the redirect option in the CMS. Once you find it, follow the steps provided to set up a proper redirect. Each CMS has different procedures, but the basic principles remain the same.
- Test the setup redirect: After setting up the redirect, run a test to make sure the redirect works. Make sure visitors are directed to the right page and have no problems.
How to Redirect Domain via cPanel and CMS
Redirect domain is the process of diverting traffic from one domain to another. This is useful when you want to change the domain name or redirect visitors to a new page.
Domain redirects can be done through the cPanel and Content Management System (CMS) that you use. The following are the steps for redirecting a domain via cPanel and CMS.
1. Redirect Domain via cPanel
cPanel is one of the popular control panels used by many hosting providers. Here are the steps for redirecting a domain via cPanel:
Step 1: Login to your cPanel account via browser. Please login using the username and password provided by the hosting provider.
Step 2: After successfully logging in, look for the Domains or Domain Management option. The name of this option may differ depending on the cPanel interface you are using.
Step 3: Select the Redirects or Redirect Manager option. On this page, you will see a list of domains connected to your hosting account.
Step 4: Select the domain you want to redirect. Then, select the Add Redirect or Create Redirect option.
Step 5: In the Type section, select the type of redirect you want, such as permanent (301) redirect or temporary (302) redirect. Permanent redirects are suitable for permanent changes, while temporary redirects are used for temporary changes.
Step 6: In the Redirects to field, enter the full URL of the destination domain that you want to redirect visitors to.
Step 7: Click the Add or Create button to save the redirect settings. Now, visitors who access the domain you choose will be redirected to the destination domain you specified.
2. Redirect Domain via CMS
The Content Management System (CMS) provides a domain redirect feature that can be accessed through the admin dashboard. Here are the steps to do a domain redirect via CMS:
Step 1: Login to your CMS admin dashboard using the login information you have set during installation.
Step 2: Look for the Settings > Permalinks option. Here, you will find settings regarding URLs and redirects.
Step 3: Select the Redirects or URL Redirects option. Sometimes, you need to use a special plugin to use this feature. So, please install and activate the appropriate plugin.
Step 4: Enter the full URL of the domain you want to redirect to in the Source URL or Old URL field.
Step 5: In the Destination URL or New URL field, enter the full URL of the destination domain that you want to redirect visitors to.
Step 6: Choose the appropriate type of redirect, such as a permanent redirect (301) or a temporary redirect (302).
Step 7: Click the Save or Apply button to save the redirect settings.
Conclusion
Domain redirect is the process of redirecting traffic from one URL or domain to another, and this is important when changes occur to the website such as changing domain names or URL restructuring. And implementing the right domain redirect strategy is very important in maintaining a good user experience, maintaining quality SEO, and avoiding negative impacts.
You can easily redirect a domain yourself through the features in cPanel. Domain redirection is important, especially for those of you who want to direct your old domain to another web page or a new domain. With redirects you can forward visitors to a new page or domain while they are still accessing the old domain URL.
At this point, you already understand how to redirect a domain, this method can also be done easily by anyone via cPanel hosting. With domain redirect you can redirect when you are changing from an old domain to a new domain.