Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
What happens when you replace a page with a new version that has the same URL?
- 
					
					
					
					
 a new page template was created the plan is to publish the new page (which has the same URL as before) to web and delete the old page that has the URL , will that have an SEO implications ? 
- 
					
					
					
					
 Hi The seo implications can be significant. The first step is to audit - search console probably easiest the organic traffic hitting that exact page. The value of the page determines the content changes you may consider. Thus if a page is ranking very well for a high-value target then the changes we recommend would be minimal, primarily CX focussed - enhance value. Enjoy no duplication, and not over optimised. If the page is a poor performer with limited or no organic traffic, then there is little to no risk in a full content change. If that is the case, do whatever you like... to improve the value of the page. The only element to monitor is internal links from that page, again measure impact and audit. Hope that helps. 
- 
					
					
					
					
 I'm assuming that since you're keeping the URL, the content subject matter will be on the same? If not, I feel you would suffer a drop in PA. Regardless, as Gaston has pointed out, Google will at some point releases that page & may alter its rankings in the SERPs. 
- 
					
					
					
					
 Hi there, Replacing a page without changing its URL is entirely normal. It's just updating its content :). 
 That said, I wouldn't remove the old page from google before updating it. Just update its content, template or whatever you are going to change, and that's it.What could change in an SEO perspective? Google will recognize that it's a different page and will re-assess whether it's worth to be ranking on the same place and keywords as before. 
 A simple example would be when the updated page doesn't have anymore one of the primary keyword stated in its content, Title, and headings. Google will understand that you don't consider that page to be relevant for that keyword.Hope it helps. 
 Best luck,
 Gaston
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
- 
		
		Moz ToolsChat with the community about the Moz tools. 
- 
		
		SEO TacticsDiscuss the SEO process with fellow marketers 
- 
		
		CommunityDiscuss industry events, jobs, and news! 
- 
		
		Digital MarketingChat about tactics outside of SEO 
- 
		
		Research & TrendsDive into research and trends in the search industry. 
- 
		
		SupportConnect on product support and feature requests. 
Related Questions
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Delete old blog posts after 301 redirects to new pages?
 Hi Moz Community, I've recently created several new pages on my site using much of the same copy from blog posts on the same topics (we did this for design flexibility and a few other reasons). The blogs and pages aren't exactly identical, as the new pages have much more content, but I don't think there's a point to having both and I don't want to have duplicate content, so we've used 301 redirects from the old blog posts to the new pages of the same topic. My question is: can I go ahead and delete the old blog posts? (Or would there be any reasons I shouldn't delete them?) I'm guessing with the 301 redirects, all will be well in the world and I can just delete the old posts, but I wanted to triple check to make sure. Thanks so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it! Technical SEO | | TaraLP1
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		My old URL's are still indexing when I have redirected all of them, why is this happening?
 I have built a new website and have redirected all my old URL's to their new ones but for some reason Google is still indexing the old URL's. Also, the page authority for all of my pages has dropped to 1 (apart from the homepage) but before they were between 12 to 15. Can anyone help me with this? Technical SEO | | One2OneDigital0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Can you noindex a page, but still index an image on that page?
 If a blog is centered around visual images, and we have specific pages with high quality content that we plan to index and drive our traffic, but we have many pages with our images...what is the best way to go about getting these images indexed? We want to noindex all the pages with just images because they are thin content... Can you noindex,follow a page, but still index the images on that page? Please explain how to go about this concept..... Technical SEO | | WebServiceConsulting.com0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		How Does Google's "index" find the location of pages in the "page directory" to return?
 This is my understanding of how Google's search works, and I am unsure about one thing in specific: Google continuously crawls websites and stores each page it finds (let's call it "page directory") Google's "page directory" is a cache so it isn't the "live" version of the page Google has separate storage called "the index" which contains all the keywords searched. These keywords in "the index" point to the pages in the "page directory" that contain the same keywords. When someone searches a keyword, that keyword is accessed in the "index" and returns all relevant pages in the "page directory" These returned pages are given ranks based on the algorithm The one part I'm unsure of is how Google's "index" knows the location of relevant pages in the "page directory". The keyword entries in the "index" point to the "page directory" somehow. I'm thinking each page has a url in the "page directory", and the entries in the "index" contain these urls. Since Google's "page directory" is a cache, would the urls be the same as the live website (and would the keywords in the "index" point to these urls)? For example if webpage is found at wwww.website.com/page1, would the "page directory" store this page under that url in Google's cache? The reason I want to discuss this is to know the effects of changing a pages url by understanding how the search process works better. Technical SEO | | reidsteven750
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		What is the best way to find missing alt tags on my site (site wide - not page by page)?
 I am looking to find all the missing alt tags on my site at once. I have a FF extension that use to do it page by page, but my site is huge and that will take forever. Thanks!! Technical SEO | | franchisesolutions1
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Can you 301 redirect a page to an already existing/old page ?
 If you delete a page (say a sub department/category page on an ecommerce store) should you 301 redirect its url to the nearest equivalent page still on the site or just delete and forget about it ? Generally should you try and 301 redirect any old pages your deleting if you can find suitable page with similar content to redirect to. Wont G consider it weird if you say a page has moved permenantly to such and such an address if that page/address existed before ? I presume its fine since say in the scenario of consolidating departments on your store you want to redirect the department page your going to delete to the existing pages/department you are consolidating old departments products into ? Technical SEO | | Dan-Lawrence0
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Handling 301s: Multiple pages to a single page (consolidation)
 Been scouring the interwebs and haven't found much information on redirecting two serparate pages to a single new page. Here is what it boils down to: Let's say a website has two pages, both with good page authority of products that are becoming fazed out. The products, Widget A and Widget B, are still popular search terms, but they are being combined into ONE product, Widget C. While Widget A and Widget B STILL have plenty to do with Widget C, Widget C is now the new page, the main focus page, and the page you want everyone to see and Google to recognize. Now, do I 301 Widget A and Widget B pages to Widget C, ALTHOUGH Widgets A and B previously had nothing to do with one another? (Remember, we want to try and keep some of that authority the two page have had.) OR do we keep Widget A and Widget B pages "alive", take them off the main navigation, and then put a "disclaimer" on the pages announcing they are now part of Widget C and link to Widget C? OR Should Widgets A and B page be canonicalized to Widget C? Again, keep in mind, widgets A and B previously were not similar, but NOW they are and result in Widget C. (If you are confused, we can provide a REAL work example of what we are talkinga about, but decided to not be specific to our industry for this.) Appreciate any and all thoughts on this. Technical SEO | | JU19850
- 
		
		
		
		
		
		Trailing Slashes In Url use Canonical Url or 301 Redirect?
 I was thinking of using 301 redirects for trailing slahes to no trailing slashes for my urls. EG: www.url.com/page1/ 301 redirect to www.url.com/page1 Already got a redirect for non-www to www already. Just wondering in my case would it be best to continue using htacces for the trailing slash redirect or just go with Canonical URLs? Technical SEO | | upick-1623910
 
			
		 
			
		 
			
		 
			
		 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				 
					
				