ProRank SEO

Managing Redirects

Complete guide to creating, editing, and organizing your URL redirects

Creating a New Redirect

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Click "Add New Redirect"Located in the top toolbar of the Redirect Manager
  2. Enter Source URL

    The URL that users/bots will be redirected FROM:

    # Relative path (recommended)
    /old-page
    /products/old-product-name
    
    # With query parameters
    /page?utm_source=email
    
    # Trailing slash matters
    /about/  (different from /about)
  3. Enter Target URL

    The URL users will be redirected TO:

    # Relative path (same domain)
    /new-page
    /products/new-product-name
    
    # Absolute URL (external or specific)
    https://example.com/page
    https://subdomain.yoursite.com/page
  4. Select Redirect Type
    301 - Permanent

    Content has permanently moved. Use for most redirects.

    302 - Temporary

    Content temporarily moved. Use for seasonal/testing.

  5. Set Priority (Optional)Higher priority redirects are checked first (0-999)
  6. Add Notes (Optional)Document why this redirect exists for future reference
  7. Save and TestClick "Save Redirect" then test the source URL in a new tab

Editing Existing Redirects

To modify an existing redirect, locate it in the redirect list and click the edit icon.

Editable Fields

  • • Target URL - Change where the redirect points
  • • Redirect Type - Switch between 301/302/307/308
  • • Status - Activate or deactivate without deleting
  • • Priority - Adjust processing order
  • • Notes - Update documentation

Source URL Changes: You cannot edit the source URL of an existing redirect. To change the source, delete the redirect and create a new one.

Bulk Operations

Managing Multiple Redirects

Select Redirects

  • • Check individual boxes to select specific redirects
  • • Use "Select All" checkbox to select all visible redirects
  • • Hold Shift to select a range of redirects

Available Bulk Actions

Activate

Enable selected redirects

Deactivate

Disable without deleting

Delete

Permanently remove

Search and Filtering

Finding Specific Redirects

Search Options

  • By URL: Search for source or target URLs
    Examples:
    "old-page" - finds all redirects with "old-page" in URL
    "/blog/" - finds all blog redirects
    ".html" - finds all HTML page redirects
  • By Notes: Search redirect descriptions
  • By ID: Enter redirect ID number directly

Filter Options

Type
301, 302, 307, 308
Status
Active, Inactive
Hits
Most/Least Used
Date
Newest/Oldest

Redirect Organization

Best Practices for Organization

Use Descriptive Notes

Add notes to document why each redirect exists:

Good notes examples:
"Old product URL - discontinued Jan 2024"
"Seasonal campaign - reactivate Dec 2024"
"Typo in original URL - keep permanent"
"Migration from old site structure"
"SEO consolidation - merged with main guide"

Priority System

Use priorities to control redirect processing order:

900-999:Critical/Emergency redirects
500-899:High-traffic pages
100-499:Normal redirects
0-99:Low priority/catch-all

Redirect Statistics

Analytics & Tracking (Core+/Pro+)

Hit Tracking

  • • Total hits per redirect
  • • Last accessed timestamp
  • • Daily/weekly/monthly trends
  • • Most/least used redirects

Performance Metrics

  • • Redirect processing time
  • • Cache hit rate
  • • Chain detection results
  • • 404 reduction rate

Use statistics to identify redirects that can be removed (no hits) or need optimization (high traffic).

Common Redirect Patterns

WWW to Non-WWW

Source: https://www.example.com/(.*)
Target: https://example.com/$1
Type: 301 (Permanent)

Remove Trailing Slashes

Source: /page/
Target: /page
Type: 301 (Permanent)

Category Migration

Source: /blog/category/old-name/(.*)
Target: /topics/new-name/$1
Type: 301 (Permanent)

Temporary Maintenance

Source: /checkout
Target: /maintenance
Type: 302 (Temporary)

Troubleshooting Redirects

Redirect Not Working

  1. Check if redirect is set to "Active" status
  2. Clear browser cache and cookies
  3. Test in incognito/private browsing mode
  4. Verify source URL matches exactly (including trailing slash)
  5. Check for conflicting redirects with higher priority
  6. Ensure no server-level redirects override it

Too Many Redirects Error

This indicates a redirect loop. Common causes:

  • • A → B and B → A (direct loop)
  • • A → B → C → A (chain loop)
  • • Conflicting server and plugin redirects

Use the "Check for Chains" tool to detect and fix loops.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Quick Actions

NNew redirect
/Focus search
EEdit selected
DelDelete selected
Ctrl+ASelect all
EscClose modal