Fluxx TechWhen pages move, disappear or exist in several copies, Google and visitors can get lost. Handled well, these situations do little harm. Handled badly, they waste rankings you’ve built. Here is what business owners need to know.
301 redirects
A 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one.
Use a 301 when:
• You change a page’s URL
• You merge two pages into one
• You redesign or migrate your website
• You move from http to https, or between www and non-www
• You delete a page that has a relevant replacement
Best practices:
• Redirect to the most relevant new page, not just the homepage
• Avoid chains (A → B → C); point A directly to C
• Keep redirects in place long term
• Update internal links to point to the new URL directly
A 302 redirect is temporary; use it only for genuinely temporary moves.
404 errors
A 404 means “page not found”. Some 404s are normal, such as mistyped URLs or genuinely removed pages with no replacement.
When 404s are a problem:
• Important pages return 404 after a redesign
• Internal links point to missing pages
• Pages with backlinks or traffic now show 404
What to do:
• Redirect valuable old URLs to relevant pages
• Fix broken internal links
• Create a helpful custom 404 page with search, popular links and contact options
Check the Pages report in Google Search Console for 404s.
Duplicate content
Duplicate content means the same or very similar content at more than one URL. Common causes on business sites:
• http and https, or www and non-www versions both live
• Test or alternative homepages left live and indexed
• URL parameters from filters, tracking or sorting
• Product variants with separate, near-identical pages
• Location pages with only the city name changed
Why it matters: Google picks one version to show, which may not be the one you want, and splits signals between copies.
Canonical tags
A canonical tag tells Google which URL is the main version of a page. Use it when similar pages must exist, for example product variants or filtered category pages.
Situation | Best fix |
Page moved permanently | 301 redirect |
Duplicate test pages | Remove or 301 redirect, and remove from the sitemap |
Filter or tracking parameters | Canonical tag to the main URL |
Thin pages you need to keep for visitors | Noindex |
Near-identical location pages | Rewrite with unique content, or merge |
Frequently asked questions
Do 404 errors hurt my whole site’s rankings? A few normal 404s don’t. Lost rankings come from important pages disappearing without redirects.
Is duplicate content a penalty? Usually not a penalty, but it can prevent the right page from ranking.
How long should I keep redirects? Ideally permanently, especially for pages with backlinks.
