Product Redirects
Product redirects for replacement, renaming, or removal of products. 301 redirects to preserve rankings and link equity.
In brief
Product redirects are 301 (permanent) redirects from old product URLs to new ones (when replacing a model, renaming categories, merging products, or discontinuing with a replacement). Proper redirects preserve rankings, link equity, and avoid 404 errors.
When redirects are needed
- New model — iPhone 14 → iPhone 15
- Renaming — product URL changes
- Restructuring — category changes
- Merging — 2 products into 1
- Discontinued — with a replacement
Redirect types
- 1‑to‑1: old URL → specific new product (direct replacement).
- Many‑to‑1: multiple old products → one new product (variant merge).
- 1‑to‑category: removed product → category (no direct replacement).
Implementation
TXT
# .htaccess (Apache)
Redirect 301 /old-product /new-product
# Nginx
location = /old-product { return 301 /new-product; }
# Cloudflare Page Rules
/old-product → 301 → /new-productMass redirects (from CSV)
TXT
# CSV file old_url,new_url
/product-1,/new-product-1
/product-2,/category/
/product-3,/new-product-3
# Script to generate .htaccess
foreach ($redirects as $old => $new) {
echo "Redirect 301 $old $new\n";
}Verification
- Redirect Checker — online tool.
- Screaming Frog — crawl and check redirect chains.
- GSC — monitor 404 errors after moves.
Avoid redirect chains (old → temp → new). A direct redirect to the final URL is faster and retains more link equity.
FAQ
Common questions
301 redirect to the category where the product used to be, or to a similar product. 410 (Gone) — only if the product is completely removed with no alternative.
Yes, remove old URLs from the sitemap; over time they will stop being indexed. You can also submit a new sitemap.
Permanently. A 301 is forever; the search engine will eventually transfer all weight and start showing the new URL in results.
Direct contacts
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