peterko

I have a question:
Originally I created sub directory of my domain, which contains some webpages having pretty good SERP position in Google.
For example those pages have URLs like "http://www.mydomain/mydirectory/file1.htm, file2.htm, file3.htm, etc."
What's gonna happen if I move those files to a diferent directory consolidating them with the other files, then create an Alias pointing to a new location of those files, something like "http://myalias.mydomain/file1.htm, etc". The content of those pages remain the same.

I assume, current Google cached URL like "http://www.mydomain/mydirectory/file1.htm" will no longer be valid and will show a brocken link.
What will happen next? Will my Alias "http://myalias.mydomain/file1.htm" be cached soon, and will it have the same SERP position like it was in original sub directory?

I was trying to put my question as clear as possible, if it's not, then I'll try to put it a different way. Thanks in advance for your reply

Have a great day

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Peter

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webcosmo

If you move those files make sure you do a 301 Permanent Redirect to the new files. That way your serps position gonna be ok, but you may experience a little drop for a while.

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jdegerstrom

HOW TO ADD A 301 REDIRECT USING HTACCESS

Great advice from webcosmo, and just to add to it, search for htacess redirect methods to learn details about how it's done, or follow my advice below. There are other methods used by deceptive websites to redirect visitors for search engine advantage, and like any attempts to trick SE's, they were caught. My advice is avoiding any methods that redirect in the META code.

The htaccess file is a text file that you upload to your server so browser attempts to reach an old page are instantly taken to the new one. The format is simple and may be created in NotePad. You actually name the file .htaccess (note the dot at the front of the file name) before uploading. There are no special characters in the plain text htaccess file like code in html or php, so it should be fairly easy to implement.

CAUTION: You may already have an htaccess file on your server, so BE CAREFUL that you don't overwrite an existing file. If you do have one, save a "safe copy" (no changes), and simply edit a copy of the current htaccess file and add your list of redirects and upload referencing the sample that follows.

Here's a single line example of the text to write in NotePad, and then instructions showing how to create the htacess file format for a 301 permanent redirect. This is based on the original poster's situation of having files in a subfolder to move to their root directory:

Redirect 301 /subfolder/oldfilename.html http:// www .yourdomain.com/newfilename.html

Just replace the (subfolder name) with a real one, plus oldfilename and newfilename (and yourdomain) in the example above, and if you have more than one page that was moved just continue the list with one redirect per line. NOTE: The single spaces are important, but to avoid making a real link in this post reply I added two extra spaces. Remove the space before and the one after the www in the above example for it to work.

Some owners may have a problem saving a file with the dot prefix, and others may have trouble uploading. Always keep "safe copies" of original files you intend to edit in case your attempt fails. Once the htacess is online, test your pages to ensure the redirect happens. If not, your "safe copy" will allow you the option to get back to square one while you review any edit problems.

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