Multiple links to dead pages
-
I have just taken over a client and have been shocked to see a lot of wasted 'link juice' from hundreds of websites linking to old/dead pages within my client's domain.
My question is - what is the best method to re-capture that juice given that it is impractical to change the links at source.
Thanks.
-
Having looked into this further, does the following code deliver?
ErrorDocument 404 http://www.mydomain.com/
I am unsure, given your comment - "You must explicitly code 301 in your redirect or it is 302 by default and 302 redirects won't pass link juice like 301's will."
Regards
-
Many thanks guys.
-
correct, you 301 redirect the dead 404 pages to the most relevant related page, if there is no similar type page then redirect it to the home page. You can do that in your .htaccess file. You must explicitly code 301 in your redirect or it is 302 by default and 302 redirects won't pass link juice like 301's will.
Here's how to do it:
-
Malachi's answer is perfect. Those are the only two options if the source link cannot be changed.
-
either 301 redirect the link to new relevant content or update the dead links with proper URL's and quality content. 301 May be the must efficient if you're going to create new fresh content.
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.
Related Questions
-
Inbound Links not showing. Links are not no follow
Over the past several months I have definitely received inbound links to my website ( none of which are no follow). I have HubSpot as well s Moz and none of the links are showing. My competitors with the same link sources are showing though. I am completely dumbfounded. Why are my inbound links not showing and how much time does it take for them to show if they show at all? Thank you!
Link Building | | NPatt0 -
Link to page in SERP or page with good on-page optimisation
Hi, Some friends are happy to link to my site. As I am focusing on a particular search term is it best to have them link to the page that already appears in the SERP for that term or the one with better on page optimisation? Thanks Billy
Link Building | | Brighton-Soundsystem0 -
I have well over 110 identical backlinks of widely varying quality - is it worth taking the page they're linking to down?
The site on which I'm working has been experiencing a month-to-month decline since the Panda and Penguin updates - I didn't get an unnatural links notification, but have clearly fallen off the face of Google with many of the more important rankings. After running a scan on my backlinks, I found over 110 identical backlinks (it looks like the same medical definition and my website is listed in the endnotes as a source - just the URL, not anchor text), some from reputable websites with high pageranks and others that look very 'spammy.' We've redesigned the architecture of the site, so the actual link itself has a 301 redirect on it, but I'm just wondering exactly how much of a liability is it to have these links out there? I'm guessing it's an all or nothing kind of thing given the identical content on each page - on one hand, I'm pretty frantic to get to the root of the Google penalties and get back in their good graces. On the other hand, I don't want to kill the site completely by going after a set of valuable links. Has anyone dealt with this before?
Link Building | | travis-taylor0 -
Does the twitter link shortening service reduce link value (strength).
We have many SEO team members that use Twitters link shortening service, will this reduce the strength or value of the page to be indexed? I ask this cause the displayed URL isn't the actual page it is going to and would like to make appropriate changes to improve our company's SEO For example: http://t.co/zHu8vIcjPx is going to page http://4wheelonline.com/atv/QuadBoss.107503 Thank you for your assistance.
Link Building | | WebRiverGroup0 -
What would you do about dead inbound links?
Hey guys, I recently asked a question similar to this, but wanted to spark up a bit of a discussion around it to see what everyone's feelings were on it. The web is always changing - as we're all too aware - so links you may have obtained (by however means) let's say 2 years ago may not be 'active' now. By that I mean you may have had a link from "example_-website.com" in 2010 and now "example-_website.com" is no longer an active website - but still shows a parked domain. The thing is... this parked domain is still cropping up in OSE, suggesting that Google may still believe there's a link there - and may not have re-crawled that site to prove otherwise. The issue I've had with this is an SEO company built links to the sites I'm working on now (one of the sites has been penalised as a result of their link building). These links aren't 'active' anymore and when viewed on OSE, they just head straight to a parked domain with no visible (or in-source) link to my site. What are everyone's feelings on this? What would you all do? I'm in two minds whether to re-write a section of the website.... but I'm swaying towards creating better content and NOT re-directing the old URLs to it (just contact the decent links and ask for a change of link). Looking forward to seeing your responses and speaking to you all! Nick
Link Building | | Danapollo0 -
What is the best company to use when building links to feature on multiple directories online?
I am looking to build links for my clients who are in a very competitive industry 'airport parking', can you advise where I can submit their URL to generate good quality links without being penalised?
Link Building | | shami0 -
Are 36 links from one site to nested pages better than one link to the root domain?
I have a Driving School website www.1stclassdriving.co.uk. The site is structured geographically with 36 area pages, one
Link Building | | Brian_Worger
page per area post code and one page per Driving Instructor. I am trying to develop links and have found a site (da91 pa
63) where I can create area links to each of my area pages if I
wish. Is it best to just create one link to the root page or
should I create 36 individual links to each area page? - which is most valuable?0 -
A good link builder / link building agency for Spanish content
Hi, I am looking for a good link building agency or freelance to execute a link building strategy for the next months. The content is in Spanish. Could anyone recommend me a good agency or a good link builder for Spanish content? Thank you very much! Jorge
Link Building | | jorgediaz0