Internal redirects from trailing slash mismatch

Handling internal redirection due to discrepancies in the trailing slash leads to an unnecessary journey for both the visitors and search engines.

Why is this important?

Utilizing redirections like 301 (permanent) or 302 (temporary) indicates that a page's location has been modified, prompting users and search engines to a new destination. While it's common for pages to move, such redirections can hinder the experience.

Each redirection introduces a delay in accessing the content, adversely affecting the users' experience and increasing the workload for search engines.

Redirects, especially internal ones which can be managed, are best minimized or eliminated.

What does the Optimization check?

Loud Interactive's Optimization activates when an internal URL results in a 3XX HTTP status code, causing the URL to either gain or lose a trailing slash.

Examples that trigger this Optimization:

Take into account the URL: https://example.com/page

If this URL responds with a 3XX status which appends a trailing slash, such as:

HTTP/... 301 Moved Permanently...Location: https://example.com/page/

Conversely, using the URL: https://example.com/page/

Should it respond with a 3XX status that removes the trailing slash:

HTTP/... 301 Moved Permanently...Location: https://example.com/page

The above applies to other types of 3XX responses as well.

How do you resolve this issue?

Resolving this involves identifying the cause, often a server configuration responding to trailing slash variations by redirecting. While this aims to prevent duplicate content, it leads to inefficient redirections due to inconsistent internal linking.

The remedy includes updating all links that lead to the redirected URL so they directly point to the intended destination.

Analyze which URLs demand updates for trailing slash issues within the content.

Also, ascertain which ones are part of a template, such as a navigation header. Pointing these out to your web developer is advantageous, as adjusting a single file could address multiple misdirected links uniformly.