• majorAlexa

        See all notifications

        Skip to content
        Moz logo Menu open Menu close
        • Products
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Pro Home
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Home
          • STAT
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Home
          • Compare SEO Products
          • Moz Data
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis
          • Keyword Explorer
          • Link Explorer
          • Competitive Research
          • MozBar
          • More Free SEO Tools
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
          • SEO Learning Center
          • Moz Academy
          • MozCon
          • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers
          • Agency Solutions
          • Enterprise Solutions
          • Small Business Solutions
          • The Moz Story
          • New Releases
        • Log in
        • Log out
        • Products
          • Moz Pro

            Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

          • Moz Local

            Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

          • STAT

            SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

          • Moz API

            Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

          • Compare SEO Products

            See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

          • Moz Data

            Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

          Let your business shine with Listings AI
          Moz Local

          Let your business shine with Listings AI

          Learn more
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis

            Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

          • Keyword Explorer

            Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

          • Link Explorer

            Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

          • Competitive Research

            Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

          • MozBar

            See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

          • More Free SEO Tools

            Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

          NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
          Moz Pro

          NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

          Learn more
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO

            The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

          • SEO Learning Center

            Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

          • On-Demand Webinars

            Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

          • How-To Guides

            Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

          • Moz Academy

            Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

          • MozCon

            Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

          Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
          Moz API

          Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

          Find your plan
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers

            Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

          • Small Business Solutions

            Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

          • Agency Solutions

            Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

          • Enterprise Solutions

            Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

          • The Moz Story

            Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

          • New Releases

            Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

          Surface actionable competitive intel
          New Feature

          Surface actionable competitive intel

          Learn More
        • Log in
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Dashboard
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Dashboard
          • Moz Academy
        • Avatar
          • Moz Home
          • Notifications
          • Account & Billing
          • Manage Users
          • Community Profile
          • My Q&A
          • My Videos
          • Log Out

        The Moz Q&A Forum

        • Forum
        • Questions
        • My Q&A
        • Users
        • Ask the Community

        Welcome to the Q&A Forum

        Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

        1. Home
        2. SEO Tactics
        3. Technical SEO
        4. Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages

        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.

        Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages

        Technical SEO
        redirect redirect chain technical seo 301 redirects
        6
        8
        239
        Loading More Posts
        • Watching

          Notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread.

        • Not Watching

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread if category is not ignored.

        • Ignoring

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Do not show question in unread.

        • Oldest to Newest
        • Newest to Oldest
        • Most Votes
        Reply
        • Reply as question
        Locked
        This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
        • davidvogel
          davidvogel Subscriber last edited by

          Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.

          Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.

          Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.

          For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.

          However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).

          What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?

          yamanmajid34 CloutsySMM yomanej2455 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Almeerali
            Almeerali last edited by

            Redirecting 18k pages to the homepage is risky for SEO. While it might seem like an easy fix, it could dilute the homepage's authority and negatively impact user experience. Instead, a more targeted approach is ideal:

            Category-Based Redirects: Redirect related content sections to the most relevant category or subpage rather than the homepage. This helps preserve relevancy and SEO value.

            Custom 404 with Helpful Links: If category-based redirects aren’t possible, a custom 404 page with links to important sections is a good option. This minimizes user frustration and preserves SEO value without overwhelming your homepage.

            Overall, avoid overloading the homepage with unrelated redirects to prevent potential penalties or ranking issues. Aim for logical, content-driven redirects where possible.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Almeerali
              Almeerali last edited by

              @davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:

              Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.
              Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.
              Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.
              For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.
              However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).
              What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?

              Redirecting 18k pages to the homepage is risky for SEO. While it might seem like an easy fix, it could dilute the homepage's authority and negatively impact user experience. Instead, a more targeted approach is ideal:

              Category-Based Redirects: Redirect related content sections to the most relevant category or subpage rather than the homepage. This helps preserve relevancy and SEO value.

              Custom 404 with Helpful Links: If category-based redirects aren’t possible, a custom 404 page with links to important sections is a good option. This minimizes user frustration and preserves SEO value without overwhelming your homepage.

              Overall, avoid overloading the homepage with unrelated redirects to prevent potential penalties or ranking issues. Aim for logical, content-driven redirects where possible.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • yomanej2455
                yomanej2455 @davidvogel last edited by

                @davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:

                Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.

                Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.

                Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.

                For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.

                However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).

                What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?

                If you have 18k highly-linked pages, it’s best to 301 redirect them to the most relevant, high-quality destination on your site. Ideally, these pages should point to content that’s closely related to the original topics. If no specific match exists, redirecting them to a broader category page or a useful, high-authority page (like your homepage) is an option. Just avoid sending everything to the homepage if possible, as that can dilute relevance signals. Good luck

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Heatheranderson
                  Heatheranderson last edited by

                  Recommended Approach for Redirects:
                  Best Practice: Redirect each page to the most relevant remaining page. This preserves SEO value and improves user experience.

                  Why: Google favors relevance, and this avoids the "soft 404" issue or penalties for generic redirects.
                  If 1:1 Mapping Isn’t Feasible:

                  Option A: Redirect to category pages or sections related to the old content.
                  Option B: Split redirects between the homepage and a custom 404 page, depending on relevance.
                  Avoid These Mistakes:

                  Redirecting all pages to the homepage can confuse users and may not preserve link equity.
                  Redirecting to a custom 404 loses SEO value entirely.
                  Mitigate Concerns About SEO Penalties:

                  Ensure the homepage (if used) is relevant, with clear links to key sections.
                  Use Google Search Console to monitor performance and adjust as needed.
                  Redirect relevance is the key to preserving both SEO value and user satisfaction.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Heatheranderson
                    Heatheranderson last edited by

                    What should I do now to get the good rankings in Google search? It's been more than 3-4 months now, Not a single website of mine is getting good ranks. It's because google is not considering backlinking, Or what is the reason behind this?

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • CloutsySMM
                      CloutsySMM @davidvogel last edited by

                      @davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:

                      Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.

                      Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.

                      Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.

                      For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.

                      However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).

                      What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?

                      If redirecting each page contextually isn’t feasible, consider a blended approach. Redirect the most valuable or relevant pages to closely related section pages, and direct the remainder to a custom 404 page. This preserves link equity for high-value pages while reducing the likelihood of “soft 404” issues or other penalties.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • yamanmajid34
                        yamanmajid34 @davidvogel last edited by

                        @davidvogel said in Best redirect destination for 18k highly-linked pages:

                        Technical SEO question regarding redirects; I appreciate any insights on best way to handle.

                        Situation: We're decommissioning several major content sections on a website, comprising ~18k webpages. This is a well established site (10+ years) and many of the pages within these sections have high-quality inbound links from .orgs and .edus.

                        Challenge: We're trying to determine the best place to redirect these 18k pages.

                        For user experience, we believe best option is the homepage, which has a statement about the changes to the site and links to the most important remaining sections of the site. It's also the most important page on site, so the bolster of 301 redirected links doesn't seem bad.

                        However, someone on our team is concerned that that many new redirected pages and links going to our homepage will trigger a negative SEO flag for the homepage, and recommends instead that they all go to our custom 404 page (which also includes links to important remaining sections).

                        What's the right approach here to preserve remaining SEO value of these soon-to-be-redirected pages without triggering Google penalties?
                        When dealing with redirects for a site decommission, it’s important to keep SEO value intact. Redirecting all pages to a single destination like the homepage can be tempting, but search engines, including Google, may treat mass redirects to one page as a soft 404, which could diminish SEO strength. A more effective approach would be to redirect each section to the most relevant remaining pages. For instance, if you’re managing content related to video editing software like PowerDirector or Filmora, redirecting each page to an active section on similar video editing tips or resources would make sense. This way, you’re distributing link equity across relevant content and providing users with pages that align with their intent. A custom 404 page with helpful links is a good fallback option for pages without a suitable match.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • 1 / 1
                        • First post
                          Last post

                        Browse Questions

                        Explore more categories

                        • Moz Tools

                          Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                        • SEO Tactics

                          Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                        • Community

                          Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                        • Digital Marketing

                          Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                        • Research & Trends

                          Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                        • Support

                          Connect on product support and feature requests.

                        • See all categories

                        Related Questions

                        • mohammadrehanseo

                          How to Boost Your WordPress Website Speed to 95+ (Without Premium Plugins)

                          speed wordpress website speed technical seo

                          I'm reaching out for some advice on improving my WordPress website's speed. I'm currently using a free theme for this fusion magazine and aiming for a score of 95+ on Google PageSpeed Insights. I'm aware that premium plugins can significantly enhance performance, but I'm hoping to achieve similar results using primarily free solutions and manual optimizations.

                          Technical SEO | | mohammadrehanseo
                          0
                        • Ravi_Rana

                          Why Product pages are throwing Missing field "image" and Missing field "price" in Wordpress Woocommerce

                          technical seo structured data woocommerce wordpress seo

                          I have a wordpress wocommerce website where I have uploaded 100s of products but it's giving me error in GSC under merchant listing tab. When I tested it show missing field image and missing field price. I have done everything according to https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/product#merchant-listing-experiences and applied fixed i.e. images are 800x800 and price range is also there. What else can be done here?!merchant listing.jpg

                          Technical SEO | | Ravi_Rana
                          0
                        • GoogleAlgoServant

                          Unsolved Duplicate LocalBusiness Schema Markup

                          schema markup schema local seo technical seo

                          Hello! I've been having a hard time finding an answer to this specific question so I figured I'd drop it here. I always add custom LocalBusiness markup to clients' homepages, but sometimes the client's website provider will include their own automated LocalBusiness markup. The codes I create often include more information. Assuming the website provider is unwilling to remove their markup, is it a bad idea to include my code as well? It seems like it could potentially be read as spammy by Google. Do the pros of having more detailed markup outweigh that potential negative impact?

                          Local Website Optimization | | GoogleAlgoServant
                          0
                        • Billywig

                          Solve Redirect Chains

                          redirect help http

                          I've gotten a few Redirect Issues that involve Redirect Chains, with the https:// version redirecting to the www. version and then redirecting to the right URL. Here is an example:
                          Schermafbeelding 2021-12-07 om 11.04.32.png I've tried setting a direct redirect between the first and the last URL, but WordPress doesn't seem to allow that (it's overwritten). I've also tried checking the internal links to make sure that none of the links are the first one. They don't seem to be there. Does anyone have any tips on solving these Redirect Chains?

                          On-Page Optimization | | Billywig
                          0
                        • benseb

                          Remove page with PA of 69 and 300 root domain links?

                          Hi We have a few pages within our website which were at one time a focus for us, but due to developing the other areas of the website, they are now defunct (better content elsewhere) and in some ways slightly duplicate so we're merging two areas into one. We have removed the links to the main hub page from our navigation, and were going to 301 this main page to the main hub page of the section which replaces it. However I've just noticed the page due to be removed has a PA of 69 and 15,000 incoming links from 300 root domains. So not bad! It's actually stronger than the page we are 301'ing it to (but not really an option to swap as the URL structure will look messy) With this in mind, is the strategy to redirect still the best or should we keep the page and turn it into a landing page, with links off to the other section? It just feels as though we would be doing this just for the sake of google, im not sure how much decent content we could put on it as we've already done that on the destination page. The incoming links to that page will still be relevant to the new section (they are both v similar hence the merging) Any suggestions welcome, thanks

                          Technical SEO | | benseb
                          0
                        • jez000

                          Http to https - is a '302 object moved' redirect losing me link juice?

                          Hi guys, I'm looking at a new site that's completely under https - when I look at the http variant it redirects to the https site with "302 object moved" within the code. I got this by loading the http and https variants into webmaster tools as separate sites, and then doing a 'fetch as google' across both. There is some traffic coming through the http option, and as people start linking to the new site I'm worried they'll link to the http variant, and the 302 redirect to the https site losing me ranking juice from that link. Is this a correct scenario, and if so, should I prioritise moving the 302 to a 301? Cheers, Jez

                          Technical SEO | | jez000
                          0
                        • annalytical

                          Redirecting root domain to a page based on user login

                          We have our main URL redirecting non-logged in users to a specific page and logged in users are directed to their dashboard when going to the main URL. We find this to be the most user-friendly, however, this is all being picked up as a 302 redirect. I am trying to advise on the ideal way to accomplish this, but I am not having much luck in my search for information. I believe we are going to put a true homepage at the root domain and simply redirect logged in users as usual when they hit the URL, but I'm still concerned this will cause issues with Google and other search engines. Anyone have experience with domains that need to work in this manner? Thank you! Anna

                          Technical SEO | | annalytical
                          0
                        • Santaur

                          Best practices for controlling link juice with site structure

                          I'm trying to do my best to control the link juice from my home page to the most important category landing pages on my client's e-commerce site. I have a couple questions regarding how to NOT pass link juice to insignificant pages and how best to pass juice to my most important pages. INSIGNIFICANT PAGES: How do you tag links to not pass juice to unimportant pages. For example, my client has a "Contact" page off of there home page. Now we aren't trying to drive traffic to the contact page, so I'm worried about the link juice from the home page being passed to it. Would you tag the Contact link with a "no follow" tag, so it doesn't pass the juice, but then include it in a sitemap so it gets indexed? Are there best practices for this sort of stuff?

                          Technical SEO | | Santaur
                          0

                        Get started with Moz Pro!

                        Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                        Start my free trial
                        Products
                        • Moz Pro
                        • Moz Local
                        • Moz API
                        • Moz Data
                        • STAT
                        • Product Updates
                        Moz Solutions
                        • SMB Solutions
                        • Agency Solutions
                        • Enterprise Solutions
                        • Digital Marketers
                        Free SEO Tools
                        • Domain Authority Checker
                        • Link Explorer
                        • Keyword Explorer
                        • Competitive Research
                        • Brand Authority Checker
                        • Local Citation Checker
                        • MozBar Extension
                        • MozCast
                        Resources
                        • Blog
                        • SEO Learning Center
                        • Help Hub
                        • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                        • How-to Guides
                        • Moz Academy
                        • API Docs
                        About Moz
                        • About
                        • Team
                        • Careers
                        • Contact
                        Why Moz
                        • Case Studies
                        • Testimonials
                        Get Involved
                        • Become an Affiliate
                        • MozCon
                        • Webinars
                        • Practical Marketer Series
                        • MozPod
                        Connect with us

                        Contact the Help team

                        Join our newsletter

                        Access all your tools in one place. Whether you're tracking progress or analyzing data, everything you need is at your fingertips.

                        Moz logo
                        © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                        • Accessibility
                        • Terms of Use
                        • Privacy

                        Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.