Does it update URLs on existing forums?

[southfloridafusion]

I have an existing forum. If i install vBSEO, will the existing thread URLS be updated? And if so, how will this affect my current search engine ranking with those php urls?

[Joe Ward]

Yes, vBSEO will automatically (in real time) update all of your existing URLs (in .php format) to our Content Relevant URL (static .html format).

Any of your existing .php URLs that are indexed will have a 301 redirect applied, which is basically a directive to the search engines, telling them the new location of each of your pages so that they can update the information they have in the search results about your forum.

[SnitchSeeker]

Is there a penalty for a 301 redirect? (Probably not, but I'm just curious.)

I want to move my forums from root/forums/index.php to _root/forums.php

Is there a way to do that at the same time as (or directly prior to) the vbseo install and get search engines to find my old indexed pages using the 301? Or will I lose all my Google traffic?

Most of my traffic currently comes from Google, so I am nervous about losing them when I move my forums.

The reason I want to move the forums to root instead of a directory s complicated but trust me it is what I want.

[Keith Cohen]

Yes, you can use a 301 redirect to change the location of your forums, and all the old links will still work.


When search engines see a large influx of 301 redirects at once (which happens when you first switch over to vBSEO), it can hurt your rankings for a short period of time. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it can happen.

[SnitchSeeker]

Thanks, can you also answer the second part of my question please?

I want to move my forums from a directory (/forum/index.php) to root (/forum.php)

Is there a way to do that at the same time as (or directly prior to) the vbseo install and get search engines to find my old indexed pages using the 301? Or will I lose all my Google traffic?

[Keith Cohen]

Sorry, I had edited my above post to include that part also.

[SnitchSeeker]

That's great to hear!

Thanks for the news Keith!