Maintain Google SEO Rankings


Let's say you've just redesigned some pages of your website. The pages have high search engine rankings that you don't want to lose. How can you safely redirect website traffic from your old pages to the new pages without losing your rankings? You can do this by using a 301 redirect.


What is a (301) URL redirect?


A (301) URL Redirect is the best method to preserve your current search engine rankings (SEO/SER) when redirecting web pages or a website. The code "301" is interpreted as "moved permanently." Think of this as a tool to help search engines contain your high search engine rankings with your old website, in the event your product or category URLs change (typically when updating products, deleting old ones, or adding new ones). It tells the search engine that the old page (i.e. content) still exists but has a new URL.


Setting Up A URL Redirect


  • On the left-hand menu go to Content Content→ URL Redirects
  • Click Add URL Redirect
  • You will need to enter an Old URL and a New URL.
    • Old URL - This is the link you are coming FROM.
    • New URL - This is the link you are go TO.
  • The URL for both links has to be a complete URL
  • Input the Old URL in the first text box and the New URL in the second text box.  
  • When done, click Save.


You can create as many 301 redirect rules as you would like, but having several of them can slow down the loading time for your store. You should try to limit how many rules you have set up.

Testing URL Redirects


To ensure the URL Redirect is working correctly, paste the old URL into your browser and ensure that it redirects to the new URL.


note: Changes to your 301 redirects may take up to 24 hours to take effect. In order to speed this up, you can go to Account > Domains, add in a fake domain, then delete it.