How to set up redirects when a client moves to a new site

When a client's new site goes live, their old page addresses must point to the new pages, or they lose the Google rankings and links those pages earned. SEO → Redirects builds that list for you.

Steps

1. Open the client and go to SEO → Redirects. Click Start New Migration.
2. Enter the Old Site URL and the Old Site Sitemap URL (usually the domain plus /sitemap.xml).
3. Under New Site, pick the client's Mount Olympus site. Its pages are pulled automatically: nested pages, collection pages and blog posts. You can also choose later.
4. Click Create & Parse. ContentForge reads every URL in the old sitemap.
5. Click Run Matching. Each old URL is matched to a new page where it can be. A big site is matched in parts and the button shows how many are left. Matches are saved as they're made, so if it stops or you close the tab, click Run Matching again to carry on. Matches you already have, including ones you typed, are kept.
6. Work through the sub-tabs:
   • Overview: progress and a breakdown of matches.
   • All URLs: every old URL and its new URL. Type a different new path and click Save to change one.
   • Review: suggested matches with a confidence score. Click Approve to accept, or type a better path.
   • Unmatched: old URLs with no match. Type the new path and click Map.
7. Open Export. Under Add redirects to the Mount Olympus site, click Add to site, then Add redirects to confirm.

The redirects are live on the site straight away, as 301s. An old path that already has a redirect gets the new target. Chains are shortened, so every old address points straight at its final page. You'll see how many were added, updated or skipped, with a link to the site's redirects.

Status and match labels

• Project Status: Collecting URLs, Ready to Match, Needs Review or Complete.
• Each match shows how it was found: Exact (same address), Normalized (same address once capitals, a trailing slash, a .html ending and underscores instead of dashes are ignored), Zeus (Zeus matched it by meaning, with a confidence score) or Manual (you typed it).
• After Add to site, skipped URLs are listed under Skipped URLs with a reason, like "Same address on the new site — no redirect needed" or "Old path already mapped".

Good to know

• Added pages to the new site since you started? Click Re-pull Pages, then Run Matching again.
• For a site hosted somewhere else, use Download CSV on the Export sub-tab to get the redirect map.
• Matching and adding redirects is free.
• You can also add or edit single redirects in the site's own settings. See URL redirects.
• To start over, delete the project and confirm "Delete this migration project and all its data?". Redirects already added to the site stay.

Examples

• A plumber moving from an old builder: the old site had /services/drain-cleaning.html. Matching points it to /drain-cleaning on the new site, and the old link from the local newspaper still works.
• Pages merged in the redesign: three old blog category pages all point to the new /blog page. Type /blog for each in Unmatched and click Map.
• New site hosted elsewhere: skip Add to site and use Download CSV to hand the redirect map to whoever hosts it.

Limits and what it can't do

• The old site needs a sitemap that can be read. Without one, there are no old URLs to match.
• Add to site only works for the client's Mount Olympus sites.
• Matching is limited per agency; a very big site may pause for a moment ("Pausing 30s (rate limit)…") and then carry on.
• All redirects are permanent (301). For a temporary redirect, add it in the site's own settings.

Who can use it

• Building the map needs the Clients tool.
• Add to site also needs the Mount Olympus tool.
• Clients can't see or change redirects.

Troubleshooting

• "Old site URL and sitemap URL are required": fill in both before Create & Parse.
• "Failed to fetch sitemap: …": the sitemap address is wrong or the old site blocks it. Open the sitemap in your browser to check it loads, or try /sitemap_index.xml.
• "No URLs found in sitemap": the file loaded but lists no pages. Check you used the main sitemap, not an empty one.
• "No new URLs found to match against. Parse the new sitemap first.": pick the new site under New Site and click Pull Pages (or Re-pull Pages).
• Matching stopped partway ("… matches made so far are saved; Run Matching carries on."): click Run Matching again.
• "No URLs are ready yet — match and approve them first": approve matches in Review or map them in Unmatched.
• "None of the ready URLs need a redirect": every old address already exists on the new site, so nothing needs redirecting.
• "Mount Olympus access required": your role doesn't include Mount Olympus. Ask an Owner or Admin, or use Download CSV.