This week I’ve been working on analysing backlinks for a client and one of the things I noticed whilst using SE Ranking’s Backlink Checker tool was this:
At some stage in the past my client had changed their website’s URL from the old https://www.domainname.com to https://domainname.com
Across the web in their near 20 years in business there were dozens of links to the old www URL. There were even a few to even older http:// URLs.
This doesn’t seem like much of a problem because, when you click any of these old style links, the surfer still lands on their website. This is because, presumably and without me looking, they’ve highly likely got an instruction in their .htaccess file which looks for incoming http and www URLs and rewrites (redirects) to the fresh new https:// non-www URL.
No problem, right?
Well, there are a few things that are on my project management tool’s task list now, and tracking down and modifying all these links is a job for next week. Let’s take a look at the reasons why webmasters, SEOs, and digital marketers should set aside valuable time to correct what may seem like simple pedantry.
I cannot stress enough, in my 25 years of doing SEO, that being accurate and comprehensive is a really vital skill as it gives you the slight edge…
Even with a redirect in place, there are several compelling reasons why it matters to trace down and replace old www links with the new non-www URLs:
1. Redirect Chains and Latency
When an old www link is clicked, the first thing a user’s browser visits (and search engine crawlers, spiders, and bots too) is that “incorrect” URL. The host server then applies a 301 (or 302) redirect to the non-www version. This action adds an extra step in the process of reaching the destination page, or another “hop” along the route.
While a single redirect might seem insignificant, if a website has numerous old www links, these are effectively redirect chains where one URL redirects to another, which then redirects to the final destination.
In my client’s case, they have a WordPress website using Apache server, so technically speaking, the .htaccess file will have a mod_rewrite command that sequentially processes the http to https and then www to non-www into a final URL. A well-written and efficient .htaccess file will process this action quickly, in a matter of milliseconds. However, even these tiny fractions of time are important in website performance.
Each redirect in a chain introduces latency, increasing the time it takes for the final page to load. This can negatively impact the user experience, even if it is in milliseconds. Users expect fast loading times, and delays, especially aggregated multiple stacked delays can lead to frustration and a higher bounce rate (leaving the site quickly). You just have to run Google Lighthouse to see bottlenecks where processes are holding up your performance.
For search engine crawlers, redirect chains can also be problematic. Crawlers have a limited “crawl budget,” which is the number of pages they will crawl on your site within a given timeframe. Long redirect chains consume crawl budget unnecessarily, potentially preventing crawlers from discovering and indexing new or updated content efficiently. Some search engines may even stop following redirects after a certain number of hops (e.g., GoogleBot might stop after 5 redirects).
2. Dilution of Link Equity (PageRank)
When other websites link to your site, this “link equity” or what is historically often referred to as “PageRank” in the context of Google, or even “link juice”, is a factor in how search engines perceive the authority and ranking potential of your pages.
While a 301 redirect is designed to pass on the majority of this link equity to the new URL, it’s generally accepted that some small amount of authority can be lost with each redirect.
By directly linking to the final, canonical non-www URL, you ensure the full link equity is passed directly, without any potential dilution through an unnecessary redirect.
3. Canonicalisation Signals and Consistency
Choosing between www and non-www is a fundamental aspect of canonicalisation or telling the search engines which version of a URL they should consider the primary one.
While a 301 redirect from www to non-www signals the preferred version in the project I’m currently working on, having consistent internal and external links pointing directly to the non-www version reinforces this signal.
Inconsistent linking (some to www, some to non-www) can sometimes create confusion for search engines, even with redirects in place. It might make it slightly less clear which version should be indexed and have authority attributed to it.
4. Improved Crawl Efficiency
By updating all links to the final non-www URLs, you are streamlining the crawling process for search engines. Crawlers can directly access the content without having to follow redirects.
As mentioned previously, when they have a limited “crawl budget” then you’re helping them to crawl more, and crawl faster, an efficiency that then leads on to faster and more efficient and accurate indexing of your content – that can be really beneficial to your website’s performance in the search results.
5. Better Analytics and Tracking
Inconsistent linking can sometimes complicate website analytics.
While most modern analytics platforms can handle redirects, having all links point to the canonical URL ensures cleaner and more accurate data collection regarding traffic sources and user behaviour.
6. Future-Proofing and Best Practices
Maintaining clean and direct links is a general best practice in web development and SEO. It reduces complexity, potential points of failure, and ensures a more robust website structure.
While redirects might work for now, changes in browser or search engine behaviour in the long-run could potentially impact how redirects are handled. Directly linking to the canonical URL provides a more stable and future-proof approach.
Summary
To sum this all up, while a 301 redirect from www to non-www does mitigate the most severe issues of broken links, actively tracing and replacing old www links offers many significant benefits related to user experience, SEO performance (link equity, crawl efficiency, canonicalisation), and overall website health. It’s about creating the most direct and efficient path for both users and search engines to access your content. Think of it as tidying up and ensuring everything points to the right place for optimal performance.
Hopefully you now have the information you need about why you really should go about comprehensively fixing external inbound links. However, if you still need help, I’m here as your friendly local technical SEO specialist. Call me on 01252 692 765 or leave a message on the contact form.
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