Redirect Mapper — Plan & Audit URL Redirects for Site Migrations

Redirects are invisible to users but critical for SEO

When a URL changes — a page is moved, a domain migrates, a site restructures — the old URL doesn't just stop existing. Users have it bookmarked. External sites have linked to it. Search engines have indexed it. A redirect bridges the old URL to the new one, preserving user experience and, crucially, preserving the SEO value accumulated at the old address.

A redirect mapper helps you plan, document, and audit the redirect chains that connect old URLs to new ones — essential during migrations, redesigns, and URL structure changes.

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Redirect Types and When to Use Each

301 — Permanent Redirect

The old URL is permanently gone; the new URL is the permanent replacement. Search engines transfer most of the link equity and ranking signals from the old URL to the new one over time.

Use for: Domain migrations, permanent URL changes, HTTPS enforcement, www/non-www canonicalisation.

https://old-domain.com → 301 → https://new-domain.com
http://example.com/old-page → 301 → https://example.com/new-page

302 — Temporary Redirect

The redirect is temporary — the original URL is expected to return. Search engines keep the original URL indexed and don't transfer ranking signals.

Use for: A/B testing, maintenance pages, temporarily redirected seasonal content. Many developers use 302 when they mean 301 — the distinction matters for SEO.

307 — Temporary Redirect (HTTP/1.1)

Functionally similar to 302 but explicitly maintains the original HTTP method (a POST request stays a POST after redirect). Use in APIs and modern web applications where method preservation matters.

308 — Permanent Redirect (HTTP/1.1)

The HTTP/1.1 equivalent of 301 with method preservation. Less commonly used than 301 for standard web redirects.

Meta Refresh

An HTML-based redirect using <meta http-equiv="refresh">. Slower than server-side redirects, passes less equity, and is generally avoided for SEO purposes.

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How Redirects Affect SEO

301 redirects transfer ranking signals. Google has stated that 301 redirects pass most but not all PageRank. The commonly cited figure is ~85–99% equity transfer — modern Google guidance suggests it's close to full for 301s, with some loss over redirect chains.

Redirect chains reduce equity. Each hop in a chain loses some equity:

URL A → 301 → URL B → 301 → URL C

Better: URL A → 301 → URL C (direct to final destination)

Redirect loops destroy crawlability. A loop (A → B → A) causes infinite loops for crawlers and users alike.

302s don't transfer equity. A 302 signals the original URL should stay indexed. Using 302 where you mean 301 leaves the old URL ranking while the new URL doesn't benefit.

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How to Use the Redirect Mapper on sadiqbd.com

1. Enter source URLs — old URLs that need to redirect
2. Enter destination URLs — new URLs where they should point
3. Select redirect type — 301 for permanent, 302 for temporary
4. Generate the redirect map — the tool produces a structured mapping document
5. Export — ready to use as input for web server configuration (.htaccess, nginx, Cloudflare rules)

The redirect mapper can also check redirect chains — enter a URL and it follows the chain, showing every hop and the final destination.

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Real-World Examples

Domain migration

A company moves from old-company.com to new-company.com. The redirect map:

https://old-company.com → 301 → https://new-company.com
https://old-company.com/about → 301 → https://new-company.com/about
https://old-company.com/products → 301 → https://new-company.com/products
https://old-company.com/blog/post-1 → 301 → https://new-company.com/blog/post-1

Every old URL maps to its direct equivalent at the new domain. After the migration, all link equity pointing to the old domain is progressively transferred.

URL structure change

A site moves from numeric IDs to descriptive slugs:

/page?id=42 → 301 → /calculators/emi
/page?id=43 → 301 → /calculators/fd
/page?id=44 → 301 → /converters/area

All old bookmarks and external links continue to work, and the SEO value of any links pointing to the old URLs transfers to the new descriptive slugs.

HTTP to HTTPS migration

http://example.com/* → 301 → https://example.com/*

A wildcard redirect at the server level handles all URLs. The redirect mapper ensures this is implemented correctly.

Post-migration redirect audit

After a site redesign, some old URLs were redirected to the homepage instead of the equivalent new page:

/old-blog/how-emi-works → 301 → / (homepage)

This is a "redirect to homepage" problem — one of the most common redirect migration mistakes. All the link equity from the old blog post goes to the homepage instead of the relevant new content. The redirect mapper audit identifies these mismatches.

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Redirect Chain Problems and How to Fix Them

Redirect chains occur when a redirect destination itself redirects:

/old-url → /intermediate-url → /final-url

Problems:

• Each hop adds latency (20–100ms per hop)
• Each hop potentially loses some link equity
• Long chains (4+ hops) may be truncated by crawlers

Fix: Update all redirects to point directly to the final destination URL. The redirect mapper's chain-checking feature identifies these.

Common chain scenario: A site migrates from HTTP to HTTPS, and separately from www to non-www. An old HTTP www URL goes through two hops:

http://www.example.com/page → http://example.com/page → https://example.com/page

Better: directly map to https://example.com/page in one hop.

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Implementing Redirects

Apache (.htaccess)

Redirect 301 /old-page https://example.com/new-page
RedirectMatch 301 ^/blog/(.*)$ https://example.com/articles/$1

Nginx

rewrite ^/old-page$ /new-page permanent;
location /old-section/ {
    return 301 /new-section/;
}

Cloudflare Page Rules

Redirect Rule → URL matches old-domain.com/* → Forwarding URL (301) → https://new-domain.com/$1

CMS-based redirects

WordPress: Redirection plugin or Yoast SEO Premium Shopify: Built-in URL redirects in Online Store settings Webflow: Redirects in Project Settings → SEO

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Tips for Redirect Management

Map redirects before migration, not after. Identify every URL that needs redirecting before going live. Post-migration redirects are urgent and error-prone when done under pressure.

Prioritise pages with backlinks. External links pointing to old URLs carry SEO value. Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to identify your most-linked-to pages — these redirects are highest priority.

Test every redirect before go-live. Use the redirect mapper or curl -I [url] to verify each redirect chain reaches the correct final destination with a 200 status code.

Keep redirects permanently. Never delete redirect rules even years after a migration. Old URLs continue to be linked and bookmarked indefinitely.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for Google to process a 301 redirect? Google crawls and processes 301 redirects over weeks to months. The original URL's rankings gradually transfer to the new URL. A newly implemented 301 won't immediately change rankings — the process takes time, especially for large sites.

Does a 301 redirect completely transfer SEO value? Google has clarified that 301 redirects pass "full" PageRank, reversing older guidance that suggested some loss. In practice, some ranking signals take time to fully transfer. Direct links to the new URL are still preferable where possible.

Should I redirect to the homepage if there's no equivalent new page? Only as a last resort for high-authority URLs without a natural equivalent. Redirecting to the homepage sends mixed signals to search engines. A custom 404 page with helpful navigation is often better than an irrelevant redirect.

Is the redirect mapper free? Yes — completely free, no sign-up needed.

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Redirects are one of those infrastructure details that have outsized SEO consequences when done wrong. The redirect mapper makes planning and auditing them systematic — turning a manually error-prone process into a manageable, documented one.

Try the Redirect Mapper free at sadiqbd.com — plan, audit, and document your redirect chains for any site migration.