It is important to take control of redirect pages for both old and alternative versions of URLs because it could affect page rankings in search queries, according to Darren Franks. He refers to page
ranking as "PageRank," the importance that Google assigns to a Web page based on mathematical calculations, link structure, and other variables.
Some have argued there is little
correlation between PageRank and Google rankings, but Frank calls it an effective way to gauge the success of the content on your Web site. One way to take control, he writes, is to post a 301
redirect on the old URLs to identify those that have permanently moved. This should assist search engines in transfering "link popularity" from old URLs to new ones, so search engine rankings for
pages are not affected.
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