Redirects and 404 Monitoring

Step 1: Review the Missing Path
Open Redirects and review the exact missing path, request count, referrer, and most recent occurrence. A 404 is evidence, not an automatic instruction to send every missing URL to the home page. Decide whether the content moved, was replaced, should remain gone, or is simply a bad automated request.

Step 2: Create a Narrow Rule
Use an exact path redirect for a known moved page. Choose a permanent response only when the change is intended to last, and point to the closest useful replacement. Avoid broad regular expressions until they have been tested against a list of paths, because one loose rule can capture valid pages.

Step 3: Align Search Signals
Update internal links, canonical URLs, navigation, structured data, and sitemap entries so they use the final destination directly. A redirect can preserve a moved route, but repeated chains waste time and create confusing search signals. Remove the old URL from generated discovery surfaces after the replacement is verified.

Step 4: Test Both Outcomes
Request the old path and confirm one redirect reaches the correct final page. Then request the destination directly and confirm a normal successful response. Check query behavior, loops, cache state, mobile rendering, and fresh logs. Keep a true 404 response for unknown paths that have no appropriate replacement.
