Manage redirects on your site

How to add, edit, bulk-import, and verify 301, 302, and temporary redirects in SGEN.

Redirects are how you keep an old URL working after the page behind it has moved or retired.
A clean redirect map is what turns a site reshape into a quiet transition instead of a wave of broken links.
This page walks the full redirect workflow for a single SGEN site — adding a single rule, importing a large list at once, matching by pattern, running rules through the simulator before publishing them, and trimming the rule set when the routes settle down.

The page is written for two operating modes.
The first is a planned reshape — a site renaming, a section move, a product taxonomy update, a migration in from another platform.
The second is reactive cleanup — a page was retired, a link came back broken in a report, a partner pointed at a URL that no longer exists.
Both modes share the same surface, and once the rhythm is familiar the work itself takes a few minutes.

What is this for?

Use this page when you need to point one URL at another inside the same site.
The Redirects module covers exact-match rules, pattern rules with wildcards, regex rules for power users, and bulk import from a CSV.

The module is meant for site-level routing.
It is not the right tool for cross-site routing, for domain-level routing, or for protocol upgrades — those live in their own surfaces.
The page is a how-to.
It does not cover the underlying routing layer or the platform-level edge that serves the redirects.
Those topics live in the Routing Reference.

Good use cases

• A page was renamed and the old URL needs to keep working for the next twelve months.
• A section of the site was removed and every URL under that section should land on a sensible parent page.
• A migration in from another platform brought a set of legacy URLs that need to map onto the new structure.
• A campaign URL needs to point at a seasonal landing page for the run of the campaign and revert at the end.
• A typo in a public link is producing broken-link reports and the typo needs to resolve to the correct page until the link is corrected at the source.

What NOT to use this for

• Switching protocols across a whole domain. HTTPS upgrades and protocol enforcement live in the domain settings, not the per-rule Redirects module.
• Moving traffic between two separate SGEN sites in the same account. Cross-site routing uses the portfolio-level routing rules, not site-level redirects.
• A/B testing two versions of a page. Use the Split Test module — redirects do not carry the assignment logic that a split test needs.
• Hiding content from the public. A redirect points at a destination; it does not remove the original. Use page visibility settings to take a page off the public surface.
• Vanity URLs that need to keep the visitor on the source URL. A redirect changes the URL in the visitor's address bar. For a vanity URL that preserves the source, use a masked link in a navigation menu.

How this connects to other features

• Optimize for SEO — redirect hygiene shows up in the SEO health report; rules that loop or that point at retired destinations are flagged here first.
• Publishing Lifecycle — retiring a page is the trigger that most often creates a need for a fresh redirect rule; the publishing flow links to the redirect surface at the right step.
• Audit Log — every redirect rule add, edit, and removal is recorded; use the log to confirm who changed what.
• Set up a custom domain — adding a new domain often comes with a fresh batch of redirects from the old domain to the new one; the custom-domain page covers the domain-level pieces.

Before you start

• You are signed in as a user with site-admin or content-manager permission for the site. Editors can view the redirect list but cannot add or change rules.
• You know the source URL — the URL the visitor is arriving at — and the destination URL — the URL the visitor should land on.
• The destination URL exists and serves a 200 response. A redirect that lands on a retired page produces a chain that the SEO health report will flag.
• For a bulk import, the CSV is prepared with the column order documented in the Bulk Import step below.
• For a regex rule, the pattern is tested against a sample of real URLs before publishing.

Where to find it

The per-site surface is the admin → Redirects inside the site you are editing.
This surface lists every redirect rule for the site, shows hit counts per rule over the last thirty days, and carries the simulator and the bulk-import surface.

The portfolio surface is SG-Dashboard → Site Manager → Redirects at the account level.
This surface aggregates redirect counts across sites and surfaces the top failing rules across the portfolio.
Use it to scan many sites at once and to find sites that are accumulating redirect chains.

Steps

The workflow has five parts — add a single rule, import a batch, build a pattern rule, run the simulator, and review hits over time.
The steps below cover the per-site surface.

1. Add a single redirect rule

Open the site in the admin.
Click Redirects in the left navigation.

The page opens to the redirect list for the site, sorted by most-recent-hit by default.

Click New Rule in the top right.
The new-rule panel opens with four fields.

Enter the Source URL — the URL the visitor is arriving at.
The Source field accepts a path (/old-product) or a full URL (https://example.com/old-product).
For most rules a path is enough; the rule applies to the current site's domain.

Enter the Destination URL — where the visitor should land.
Same shape: a path on the same site, or a full URL for a cross-domain redirect.

Pick the Type — 301 for a permanent move, 302 for a temporary one, or Temporary for a rule that automatically expires at a chosen date.
Use 301 when the move is final and you want search results to update.
Use 302 when the move is short-term and you want search results to keep pointing at the source.
Use Temporary when a campaign or maintenance window has a known end date.

Pick the Match mode — Exact for a literal URL match, Pattern for wildcard matching, or Regex for a regular expression.
Exact is the right default for most rules.
Pattern is the right pick when one rule should cover many similar URLs.
Regex is for the cases where Pattern is not flexible enough.

Click Save Rule.
The rule appears at the top of the list with status Active.
A new rule takes effect within a minute of saving — the platform refreshes the routing cache on a short interval.

2. Bulk-import a redirect list

Click Bulk Import in the top right of the Redirects page.
The import panel opens with a file picker, a paste box, and a download link for the CSV template.

Download the template to confirm the column order — source, destination, type, match_mode, notes, expires_at.
The first row is the header; one rule per row after that.
The notes column is optional but helpful for future-you.
The expires_at column applies only to Temporary rules.

Open the prepared file and confirm the rules look right.
Two common mistakes — trailing slashes that do not match the live URL shape, and absolute URLs where a path was intended.

Click Upload File and pick the CSV.
The panel switches to a preview pane showing every row with a per-row status — Ready, Conflicts existing rule, Invalid source, or Invalid destination.

Review the conflicts.
Each row marked Conflicts existing rule lines up with a current rule that shares the same source.
Pick the resolution — Replace existing, Skip on conflict, or Add as additional rule.
Most reshapes use Replace existing.

Click Import.
The import runs in the background; rows are committed in batches. A bar at the top of the page tracks progress.
The import is transactional per row — a bad row is skipped and reported, but the rest of the import continues.
The summary at the end of the run shows imported / skipped / failed counts with reasons.

For an import larger than a few hundred rows, time the run for an off-peak window.
The import does not interrupt site serving, but the routing cache refreshes more frequently during a large import, which can produce short blips for visitors who hit a freshly-imported source URL during the cache flip.

3. Build a pattern or regex rule

Open New Rule and pick Pattern in the Match mode dropdown.

Pattern rules use * as a wildcard.
The most common shape is a section move — /old-section/* maps onto /new-section/$1.
The $1 token references the part of the source URL that matched the first wildcard.
Pattern rules support multiple wildcards; each one is referenced by $1, $2, and so on.

Test the pattern against a representative source URL before saving.
The new-rule panel carries a small Test field — enter a sample URL and the panel previews the destination the rule will produce.
If the preview is empty or shows the wrong destination, the pattern is wrong; adjust and test again.

For cases where Pattern is too coarse, switch the Match mode to Regex.
Regex rules use standard regular-expression syntax.
Capture groups are referenced by $1, $2, and so on in the destination.
Anchors (^ and $) are encouraged — an unanchored regex is a common source of false matches that catch URLs you did not intend.

When the pattern produces the destinations you expect across the sample, click Save Rule.
The rule appears in the list with a small badge marking it as Pattern or Regex.

A pattern or regex rule is more capable than an exact rule and carries a small extra load on each request.
Use them when the surface they cover justifies the cost — usually a section with many URLs that share a structure.
For a handful of one-off renames, stack exact rules instead.

4. Run rules through the simulator

Click Simulator in the top right of the Redirects page.
The simulator opens with one input field and a result panel.

Paste a URL into the input — a path or a full URL — and press Enter.
The simulator runs the URL through the rule list in priority order and reports the result.
A matched rule shows the rule ID, the match mode, the destination, the status code, and the rule note.
An unmatched URL shows No redirect — request passes through.

The simulator is the right tool to use before publishing a new pattern or regex rule.
Paste five or six representative URLs from the section the rule covers and confirm each lands where you expect.
Then paste a URL from a neighboring section that should NOT match and confirm the result is No redirect.

For an import, run the simulator against a sample of the imported URLs after the import completes.
A spot check across five sources gives high confidence that the bulk did the right thing.

The simulator also surfaces rule chains.
A chain is a redirect that lands on another redirect — A → B → C.
Chains are not broken, but they cost extra hops and they confuse search engines.
The simulator marks chains with a Chain detected badge and shows the full hop list.
Flatten chains where you can — point the chain head straight at the chain tail in a single rule.

5. Review rule health and retire old rules

The redirect list carries a Hits (30d) column showing how many times each rule fired in the last thirty days.
Sort by Hits ascending to surface rules that no traffic has hit recently.
A rule with zero hits over thirty days is a candidate for retirement, but the right retirement window depends on the rule's intent.

For a permanent 301 set in place after a content move, keep the rule live for at least twelve months from the move.
Search results take time to update, and a rule that has gone quiet may still be the only thing keeping older inbound links working.

For a campaign 302 set with a defined end date, retire the rule when the campaign closes and any inbound campaign links have been refreshed or expired.

For a Temporary rule, the rule retires itself on the expires_at date — the list shows the date in the rule row, and the row moves to the Expired tab automatically when the date passes.

To retire a rule manually, click the row, click Disable in the action menu, and confirm.
Disabling a rule is reversible — the rule stays in the Disabled tab and can be re-enabled with one click.
Use Delete only after a Disabled rule has been quiet for a full review cycle.

The Audit Log records every disable, re-enable, and delete action with the actor and the timestamp.

6. Resolve conflicts between overlapping rules

Two rules can target the same source URL.
The Redirects module flags the overlap in the list with a Conflict badge and orders the rules by priority — exact match wins over pattern; older rules win over newer ones at the same match mode.

Open a conflict by clicking the badge.
The conflict panel shows every rule that touches the source, in the order they will be evaluated.
Pick the rule you want to keep and click Keep this rule; the panel offers to disable or delete the others.

For pattern conflicts, the panel previews which destination a sample source URL will produce under each rule.
Use the preview to confirm the kept rule produces the result you expect before resolving.

A clean rule list has no Conflict badges.
A monthly walk-through of the conflict surface is a small investment that prevents a new rule silently overriding an older one nobody remembered.

7. Set redirect priority for overlapping pattern rules

For sites where multiple pattern rules legitimately overlap — a broad section rule plus a narrower override rule for a few URLs inside the section — set the priority explicitly so the narrower rule wins.

Open the broader pattern rule and click Priority in the action menu.
The priority panel shows the rule's current evaluation order and the other rules that overlap with it.
Pick the order that produces the right destination for each overlapping URL in the simulator preview.

A common pattern — a section rule that maps /old-products/* to /shop/$1, plus three narrow rules that point three specific old product URLs at their replacements outside the new shop section.
The three narrow rules get higher priority than the section rule so they evaluate first; the section rule covers everything else.

Confirm the priority order in the simulator.
Paste the three narrow source URLs and confirm each lands at its narrow destination, not at the section rule's destination.
Paste a fourth source URL that is covered only by the section rule and confirm it lands at the section destination.

What success looks like

A new rule is in place when the rule shows in the list with status Active, the simulator returns the expected destination for the source URL, and a quick browser test on the live site lands on the destination with the correct status code in the response headers.

A bulk import is successful when the import summary shows zero failed rows, a sample of the imported sources resolves to the expected destinations in the simulator, and the site's 404 report drops over the next few hours as inbound links start landing correctly.

A clean rule set is one where the list shows zero Conflict badges, no chain hops longer than one, and a healthy match between rules in Active state and the routes the site is currently serving.

What to do if it does not work

Examples

Example A — section move with one pattern rule.
A product site moves every page under /products/ to /shop/.
Operator opens Redirects, clicks New Rule, picks Pattern mode, enters source /products/* and destination /shop/$1, picks type 301, runs the simulator against five representative product URLs, confirms each lands on the new path.
Saves the rule.
The next morning the SEO health report shows the broken-link count for the old paths dropping to zero.

Example B — migration in from another platform.
A team migrating from a previous platform inherits eight hundred legacy URLs that should map onto the new structure.
Operator prepares a CSV with two columns — source path and destination path — fills in type=301 and match_mode=exact across the file, uploads through Bulk Import.
The import previews ten conflicts where existing rules already cover the same sources; operator picks Replace existing for all ten.
The import finishes in under a minute.
Operator runs the simulator on a dozen sample URLs and the destinations line up.

Example C — campaign URL with a defined end date.
A marketing team launches a six-week campaign with the URL /summer-sale that should land on the campaign landing page during the run and bounce to the seasonal collection after the run ends.
Operator creates a Temporary rule with source /summer-sale, destination /landing/summer-2026, expires_at set to the campaign end date.
On the day after the campaign ends, the rule moves to the Expired tab automatically.
Operator adds a fresh 301 rule pointing /summer-sale to /collections/summer-seasonal for the longer-term destination.

Example D — retiring a rule that has gone quiet.
A 301 rule put in place eighteen months ago has shown zero hits over the last sixty days.
Operator opens the row, reads the note that explains the rule's original purpose, confirms the original inbound link source is no longer in use, clicks Disable.
Sets a calendar reminder for thirty days.
After the thirty days with the rule disabled and no support reports of broken links, opens the row again and clicks Delete.

Example E — typo correction.
A partner sent out a campaign email pointing at /feeatures/automations instead of /features/automations.
The bounce report surfaces the typo within the hour.
Operator adds an exact 301 rule pointing the misspelled source at the correct destination.
The misspelled URL keeps working through the life of the email campaign; operator schedules the rule for retirement six months from creation.

Common questions about redirects

What is the difference between 301 and 302?
A 301 tells search engines and browsers that the move is permanent.
Search results update over time; browsers may cache the redirect locally for a long window.
A 302 tells them the move is temporary.
Search results keep pointing at the source; browsers re-check on each visit.
Pick 301 for moves you do not plan to reverse; pick 302 for short-term moves where the source URL will return to its original target.

How many rules can a single site hold?
The active rule ceiling varies by plan tier.
Most plans allow several thousand active rules per site without any noticeable load.
Sites that approach the ceiling should consider whether some rules can be folded into a single pattern rule, which is more compact and easier to maintain.

Do redirects work for query-string parameters?
Exact-match rules ignore query strings by default.
A request to /old-page?ref=email matches the rule for /old-page and the query string is dropped at the destination.
Pattern and regex rules can capture and replay query strings explicitly using the standard $1 / $2 references.
For full query-string handling, use a regex rule.

Does the redirect carry visitors through with their session intact?
Yes.
The visitor's session, cookies, and authentication state pass through the redirect unchanged.
A logged-in visitor remains logged in after the hop.

What happens to a redirect when I rename the destination page?
The redirect keeps pointing at the original destination URL until the rule is edited.
If the destination page is renamed and the old URL retired, the redirect now lands on a dead destination.
The SEO health report flags these mismatches; the routine review cycle is the right time to update affected rules.

Can I redirect across domains?
Yes — enter a full URL with the destination domain in the Destination field.
The redirect fires from the source domain and lands the visitor on the destination domain.
Cross-domain redirects respect the same status code rules.

Plan for large-site and multi-site redirect scenarios

A portfolio of sites raises the operational stakes of redirect management.
The mechanics stay the same; the discipline changes.

Large single-site planning

A large site — a content catalog of several thousand pages, many years of edits, frequent restructures — accumulates redirects faster than a smaller site.
Take a quarterly walk through the redirect list and apply a light pruning discipline.
Disable rules that have shown zero hits across the quarter.
Hold them in Disabled state for a full review cycle before deleting.
Pin a small set of high-traffic 301s with a clear note so future-operators understand why those rules matter.

For a site with a heavy SEO surface, fold related exact rules into pattern rules where the structure supports it.
A pattern rule that replaces twenty exact rules is easier to read in the list and easier to audit for unintended matches in the simulator.

For migrations, build the redirect map as a CSV before the cut-over.
The Bulk Import step takes a few minutes; the planning that produces the CSV is the work that determines whether the migration is quiet or noisy on launch day.

Multi-site portfolio planning

For an agency or in-house team running many sites, the portfolio surface in SG-Dashboard is the primary lens.
Open SG-Dashboard → Site Manager → Redirects to see redirect counts across every site in one view.
The roll-up shows the top sites by rule count, the top rules by hit count across the portfolio, and a per-site flag for sites with active Conflict badges or long chains.

Pick a portfolio cadence and write it down.
A typical agency cadence — monthly walk of the conflict surface per site, quarterly hit-count review per site, an annual deep retirement pass per site.
Document the cadence in the team's internal runbook and audit against it.

Use a shared CSV template across the portfolio.
Every team member who imports redirects starts from the same template and the same column conventions.
A shared template removes a class of subtle mistakes — column order, trailing slashes, type column values — that otherwise show up at scale.

For an enterprise account, redirects often carry compliance weight.
A redirect that lands an old marketing URL on a legal page may be a regulator-mandated requirement.
Mark these rules with a clear note and pin them on the priority surface so they survive routine retirement passes.

Redirect drills on a quarterly cadence

A redirect map that has never been exercised against a real audience is a hypothesis.
Schedule a small drill once per quarter for any site that carries serious inbound traffic on redirected URLs.
Pick five of the highest-hit redirect rules in the site, open each in an incognito browser window from a fresh device, confirm the source lands at the destination with the right status code in the response headers.
The drill takes ten minutes and surfaces the cases where a destination has quietly retired since the rule was set.

For a portfolio that includes commerce or regulatory surfaces, the drill is a formal review with a written record.
Pair the drill with the SEO health report; the two surfaces read the same redirect data from two angles, and the combination produces a complete picture of redirect health for the site.

The Audit Log captures every drill in passive form — each simulator run, each rule edit triggered by a drill finding, each disable or re-enable.
Export the log once a quarter and store it with the team's operational records; the artifact answers the compliance question of how redirect health is verified on a regular cadence.

A documented drill cadence is a small investment that turns redirect management from a reactive cleanup activity into a maintained surface.
The first drill is the longest because the team is building the muscle; the second drill is faster; by the fourth drill the procedure is routine.

Related reading

• Optimize for SEO
• Publishing Lifecycle
• Audit Log
• Set up a custom domain