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Google Rep Explains Effect of Redirects on SEO

Employing page redirects on web searches can have negative effects on search engine optimization (SEO) rankings, according to Matt Cutts, software engineer for leading search engine provider Google Inc.

Cutts said in an interview that 301 redirects—a popular method of routing old web pages to when they are updated—can slightly lower a page’s PageRank points. PageRank is Google’s method of measuring site popularity in ranking its search results.

Although specialists have long believed it to be the case, this is the first time Google itself addressed the issue and confirmed the negative effects, said specialist Barry Schwartz of SEO information portal Search Engine Land.

According to Cutts, a 301 redirect may not always completely transfer PageRank data from one page to another. He added that as Google performs page matching, it may use one URL for two different pages so that the PageRank information is passed on.

PageRank also affects how many pages are crawled by Google on a given website. However, Cutts says site owners should avoid “PageRank sculpting”—the practice of influencing the exact ranking of their pages—and focus instead on improving content.

Cutts also asserted that site architecture is more important than SEO-optimized pages. If a site’s pages are well arranged, he says, PageRank will naturally flow throughout the site and there would be no need to manipulate the rankings.

Google has always been the target of the bulk of SEO efforts, as it currently holds roughly two-thirds of the search engine market. In recent months, Google has introduced several SEO-friendly features such as auto-translation and social search.