Regex Redirects (Pro+)

Pro+

Advanced pattern matching for powerful redirect rules

Pro+ Feature: Regex redirects require a Pro+ license. They allow you to create powerful pattern-based redirects that can handle thousands of URLs with a single rule.

What are Regex Redirects?

Regular Expression (Regex) redirects use pattern matching to redirect multiple URLs that follow a similar structure. Instead of creating individual redirects for each URL, you can create one regex rule that handles all matching patterns.

Benefits of Regex Redirects

Handle thousands of URLs with one rule
Dynamic URL parameter handling
Complex pattern matching

Reduce database size
Easier maintenance
Better performance at scale

Regex Syntax Basics

Common Pattern Elements

Pattern	Meaning	Example
.	Any single character	a.c matches abc, a1c, a@c
*	Zero or more of previous	ab* matches a, ab, abbb
+	One or more of previous	ab+ matches ab, abbb
?	Zero or one of previous	colou?r matches color, colour
^	Start of string	^/blog matches /blog/post
$	End of string	.html$ matches page.html
()	Capture group	/(.*) captures everything
[]	Character class	[0-9] matches any digit
\|	OR operator	cat\|dog matches cat or dog
\d	Any digit	\d4 matches 2024
\w	Word character	\w+ matches hello_world

Creating Regex Redirects

Step-by-Step Guide

Enable Regex ModeCheck "Use Regular Expression" when creating a redirect

Write Pattern for Source URL

^/old-category/(.*)$
# Matches: /old-category/anything
# Captures: &quot;anything&quot; as $1

Use Captured Groups in Target

/new-category/$1
# If source matched /old-category/post-title
# Target becomes /new-category/post-title

Test Your PatternUse the built-in regex tester to verify matches
Set PriorityHigher priority for more specific patterns

Common Regex Redirect Patterns

Remove File Extensions

Source: ^(.*).html$
Target: $1
Example: /page.html → /page

Date-Based URLs to Flat Structure

Source: ^/d{4}/d{2}/d{2}/(.*)$
Target: /blog/$1
Example: /2024/03/15/my-post → /blog/my-post

Category Migration

Source: ^/blog/category/([^/]+)/(.*)$
Target: /topics/$1/$2
Example: /blog/category/seo/guide → /topics/seo/guide

Lowercase URLs

Source: ^/Products/(.*)$
Target: /products/$1
Example: /Products/Widget → /products/Widget

Remove Query Parameters

Source: ^([^?]+)?.*$
Target: $1
Example: /page?utm_source=email → /page

WWW to Non-WWW

Source: ^https://www.(.*)$
Target: https://$1
Example: https://www.site.com/page → https://site.com/page

Advanced Patterns

Complex Examples

Multiple Capture Groups

Source: ^/shop/([^/]+)/([^/]+)/item-(d+)$
Target: /products/$1-$2/id/$3
Example: /shop/electronics/phones/item-123 → /products/electronics-phones/id/123

Explanation:
([^/]+) = Captures any characters except /
(d+) = Captures one or more digits
$1, $2, $3 = References to captured groups

Optional Parameters

Source: ^/article/([^/]+)(?:/page/(d+))?/?$
Target: /blog/$1?page=$2
Examples:
/article/seo-guide → /blog/seo-guide?page=
/article/seo-guide/page/2 → /blog/seo-guide?page=2

(?: ) = Non-capturing group
? after group = Makes it optional

Conditional Redirects

Source: ^/(en|es|fr)/(.*)$
Target: /$2?lang=$1
Examples:
/en/about → /about?lang=en
/es/about → /about?lang=es
/fr/about → /about?lang=fr

(en|es|fr) = Matches any of these options

Testing Regex Patterns

Built-in Testing Tool

ProRank SEO includes a regex testing tool to verify your patterns before saving:

Enter Pattern:Type your regex pattern in the Source URL field
Test URLs:
Enter test URLs to verify matches:
/old-category/post-1 ✓ Matches
/old-category/sub/post-2 ✓ Matches
/new-category/post-3 ✗ No match
Preview Results:See what the target URL will be for each match
Check Capture Groups:Verify that groups capture the expected values

Performance Considerations

Optimization Tips

Pattern Efficiency

• Use anchors (^ and $) to avoid unnecessary matching
• Be specific rather than using .* everywhere
• Use character classes [a-z] instead of wildcards when possible
• Avoid excessive backtracking with nested quantifiers

Priority Management

• More specific patterns should have higher priority
• General catch-all patterns should have lowest priority
• Test order of execution with overlapping patterns

Regex redirects are processed after exact match redirects. Keep the number of active regex patterns reasonable (< 100) for optimal performance.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting Anchors

Wrong: /old/(.*)
This matches: /old/page, /folder/old/page

Correct: ^/old/(.*)$
This matches: /old/page only

Greedy Matching

Wrong: ^/blog/(.*)/(.*)$
For /blog/2024/03/post, captures: $1="2024/03" $2="post"

Better: ^/blog/([^/]+)/(.*)$
Captures: $1="2024" $2="03/post"

Escaping Special Characters

Wrong: ^/page.html$
The . matches any character!

Correct: ^/page.html$
The . matches literal period

Regex Redirect Limits

Pro+ License Features

Unlimited regex patterns
Complex pattern support
Multiple capture groups
Backreference support ($1, $2, etc.)
Pattern testing tool
Import/export regex rules

Without Pro+ license, regex redirect options will be disabled in the interface. Upgrade to Pro+ to unlock this powerful feature.

Managing Redirects

Basic redirect creation and management

Troubleshooting

Debug regex patterns and redirect issues