Website Maintenance | "301 Redirect or URL Cannibalization – Which One Should You Use?"

Source      : blog.gmrwebsitemaintenance.com
By            : Ajay Prasad
Category  : Website Maintenance
Posted By: Website Maintenace in Florida

URL Cannibalization refers to the process of choosing the best URL among a number of available options with reference to home pages. You can come up with several URL addresses all expressing the same thing. Google then selects that which best represent the whole set, this is what is simply known as canonization of the URL. Redirection which can be sometimes called URL forwarding refers to the www technique of availing one single web address under many different URL addresses. 301 redirection is thus referred to the permanent movements from previously requested website address.

It is important that you ensure it is able to choose the URL address that you want through maintaining consistency by using the same URL across the entire site. Avoid splitting links to different addresses. To further ensure that the address you prefer is picked, you need to ensure that you have a web server which acts to make 301 redirects in case different addresses are requested from that which you intend to make canonical. This is also a very positive move if your site experiences frequent changes from time to time.

URL canonization can either be www or non-www that a designer should pick and stick with to the end. With differential trials in the market, most web designers agree that it is best to canonize your URL rather than conduct a 301 redirect. This is because of the dangers involved with redirection. One could lose all their hard work and attained rankings over the years because of a mistake that occurred by lack of identification and recognition while forwarding. You will have to spend a lot of time asking users who search you using the already abolished site to re-link with you on your main domain, a process that is cumbersome.