We recently changed URL handles on ~120 products to improve SEO/crawlability. I was unaware that Shopify automatically created redirects for those pages, which was not our intention. We wanted to change the url name for the existing page, we did not want to redirect to a ‘new’ page.
Here’s an example:
old url: https://ministryofscent.com/products/cherry-punk
new url:https://ministryofscent.com/products/room-1015-cherry-punk
After changing the handles, impressions and page views plummeted on these pages:
Issues:
pages that were top pages and in the top 10 on SERP have tanked to the 60’s and worse
some pages no longer show in search results
some pages are now giving 404
Solutions???-here’s what I’m thinking may solve issue, but looking for guidance :):
- delete the redirect from /cherry-punk to /room-1015-cherry-punk
- edit the url handle for /cherry-punk to /room-1015-cherry-punk, and select ‘do not create redirect’ (idk where this selection lives)
- now that the url/page has been ‘reset’ to /room-1015-cherry-punk, does it make sense to create a new redirect for from /cherry-punk to /room-1015-cherry-punk to cover any overlap that occurred with indexing both pages?
Ideal Outcome: page is ‘back’ to original, with a new url (/room-1015-cherry-punk) but still the same page
Questions:
- Will deleting the redirect ‘restore’ the page and it’s value? In other words, will google recognize and remember the page it liked, and resume serving high up in SERP like it did prior to redirects?
- Will deleting the redirect cause new problems or issues to address?
- Will deleting the redirect confuse google all over again?
- If we do the above edits, is it recommended we add updated sitemap to GSC, or not necessary?
- Should we leave it alone and ride it out?
- Does link equity carry when creating a redirect? (It doesn’t appear to have carried in this case…)
@KevinW I saw your help over on https://community.shopify.com/c/ecommerce-marketing/seo-tanked-after-changing-theme/m-p/816323, hoped you might be able to offer similar help here!
Thanks all in advance for any help!