If you encounter issues with indexing a page or receive an error about a failed fetch due to a recent redirect issue in Google Search Console, someone might suggest changing the URL as a solution. However, you should think twice before taking this step.
Why Think Twice?
Changing a URL is a delicate operation that can have negative consequences if not done correctly or for the right reasons.
The Reason for Writing This
I decided to write this because I came across some tutorials recommending changing article URLs to fix a false redirect error. Many new webmasters who followed this advice ended up with unindexed pages or an increase in 404 errors. So, I felt compelled to write about the potential severe consequences of changing URLs unnecessarily for individuals, websites, and search engines.
About URLs
URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) are unique web addresses for pages on the internet. They usually consist of a protocol, domain name, top-level domain, and path. Google discovers URLs by crawling links that are already indexed, adding them to a crawl list, and exploring new pages through these links.
What We Mean by Changing URLs
Here, changing a URL means replacing some words or characters in the URL path, effectively ignoring the old link and relying solely on the new one without setting up a redirect. This often happens due to tutorials suggesting URL changes to improve indexing rather than making URLs more understandable and setting up proper redirects.
Consequences of Changing a URL
Changing a URL without setting up a redirect is like deleting the page. The server won't find it, resulting in a "404 page not found" error. If the site redirects to the homepage or another unrelated page, it can cause further problems. Even if you set up redirects correctly, doing it for an unimportant reason wastes time. Here are some negative outcomes:
Impact on Your Website
Changing URLs without proper redirects creates broken internal links, leading to 404 errors. Broken links are unhealthy for a website and increase the number of such links.
Additionally, the historical value of the page is lost with a new URL, treating it as a new page, which is not always beneficial.
Impact on Users
Without proper redirects, users won't be able to access content they bookmarked or shared with friends.
Impact on Search Engines
Search engines treat pages with changed URLs (without redirects) as deleted. They will find a 404 error when trying to crawl the old URL and will see the new URL as a completely new page. This process consumes crawl budget, potentially leading to wasted resources as search engines attempt to crawl non-existent pages.
When to Change a URL (Advice)
This doesn’t mean URLs should never be changed. If it was strictly prohibited, there wouldn't be an option to edit URLs. Changes should be reasonable, such as correcting typos, inaccurate information, or for consistency across a group of pages.
However, changing a URL without a valid reason is bad practice and can have negative impacts unless a permanent (301) redirect from the old URL to the new one is set up.
Conclusion
Changing URLs isn't inherently bad and can be beneficial when necessary. However, doing so to resolve a false redirect error is something to be cautious about.
