301 Redirects From a URL without Keyphrases to one With Keyphrases

[ericav]

I have a client that sells services. Each service offered currently has a URL structure like this:

www.companyname.com/product/asp$view-id-page3022-item-24

These pages are pretty old, and I would love to have a more user-friendly URL like this:

www.companyname.com/product/purple-swatch-watch

If I rename the URL and do a 301 redirect, what impact will that have on search? Ideally, this page will be optimized for "purple swatch watch", but the current URL structure is so... well, you know.

My apologies if this has been answered before. I tried looking through archived of 301 issues, but lost hope after my first 10 or so attempts at answered didn't help this specific issue.

[TomRayner]

Hi Erica

In my eyes, this should be a positive move.

Implementing a 301 redirect will pass all of the link equity, which should bring the new URL up to par very quickly.  Combine that with the fact that there is evidence to suggest correlation between having keywords in the URL and ranking higher for the term, albeit a slight benefit, means that for SEO purposes it could be a positive move.

In addition, I think this is a much more friendly URL structure for the user and enhancing the user experience can also result in conversions.

I'd definitely make that change, just be sure you implement the 301 correctly.  This Moz guide can help.

Hope this helps!

[ericav]

Thanks, Tom. I appreciate the comment. Our tech guru is ready with the proper 301 redirect, so I feel confident there. Even if it is a small benefit, I feel like it's best practice anyway, so I'm glad you agree!

[MickEdwards]

Agree with everything although I understood a 301 gives a very slight shave off the optimum link value, but the benefits in terms of user experience and keyworded URLs outweigh that.

I'm a fan of Fiddler for watching header responses.