Job wpseo-redirect-map-and-canonicals-after-restructure · revised 11 October 2026
Map every old address to its new one and clean up canonicals after a WordPress restructure
Build a tested map for up to 300 old addresses on one WordPress domain, each to one new address, remove chains and correct canonical addresses and the sitemap in the SEO plugin settings.
You might be seeing
- Old links and search results land on a not-found page
- A page redirects to another page that redirects again
- Two addresses show the same page and neither is marked as the main one
- The sitemap lists addresses that redirect or no longer exist
No passwords, keys, card details or admin invites needed to start.
What usually happened
When addresses change without a complete map, old links break, search engines keep the old addresses, and quick fixes pile up as chains, loops and redirects to the home page. Each page should have one preferred address that it names itself, and every old address should reach its best new equivalent in one step.
Who it’s for: Owner or marketer of a WordPress site whose page addresses changed after a restructure, a permalink change or a content merge.
Usually starts when: Old addresses now show a not-found page, visits from search or old links dropped after the restructure, or redirects were added over time and now chain or loop.
The result: Every old address on the agreed list reaches its mapped destination in one permanent redirect that ends on a working page, each destination names itself as its preferred address, and the sitemap lists only working preferred addresses.
Check whether this job fits
A few short questions. Your answers stay on this page unless you choose to email them.
Checks you can run yourself
Test five old addresses
Type five important old addresses into the browser, or use a link checker that reports the redirect steps.
Look for: Not-found pages, more than one change of address, or a landing on the home page.
Check what the page says its address is
On one new page, view the page source and search for the preferred-address tag (rel="canonical").
Look for: A full address that matches the page's own address, not another page and not a staging site.
What you get
- The redirect map as a spreadsheet with a result column for each row
- The rules ready to apply, in the format for your host or plugin
- The SEO plugin's canonical and sitemap settings that were changed, listed with their previous values
- A report of chains, loops and soft not-found cases found and fixed
- The sitemap and preferred-address check results
- The staging results from before, with the new rules and after removing them, and steps to undo the change
Included
- One WordPress domain and up to 300 old addresses collected from your sitemaps, a backup, an analytics export or a crawl
- A map from each old address to exactly one closest new equivalent (several old addresses may share one destination), with reasons, and a flagged list of addresses with no equivalent
- Redirect rules in the form your host or redirect plugin accepts, with chains collapsed
- A check of each destination page's preferred-address tag and of the sitemap, and correcting the preferred-address (canonical) and sitemap output in the SEO plugin's settings; page content is not rewritten
- Updating menu and template links that still point to redirecting addresses, for up to ten templates
- A staging rehearsal of applying the rules and of removing them again
Not included
- Moving to a new domain or switching to HTTPS: separate jobs
- Rewriting page content
- Changing theme or custom code to alter canonical or sitemap output: reported with the change needed, not made
- Guaranteeing any search ranking or traffic
- Contacting other sites to update their links
- Redirecting addresses with no sensible equivalent to the home page
- Applying the rules on the live site ourselves
How we know it’s done
Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.
Every mapped old address returns a permanent redirect to its mapped destination in a single step, and the destination returns HTTP 200
Evidence: The spreadsheet result column with old address, status, steps and final status
curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code} %{num_redirects} %{url_effective}\n' -L https://your-domain/old-path/No row ends in a loop and none redirects to the home page unless you approved that row
Evidence: The loop and home-page check output
Each destination page names its own full address as its preferred address, and the sitemap lists only addresses that return 200 and name themselves
Evidence: Extracted preferred-address tags, the sitemap check results and the list of SEO plugin settings changed with their previous values
The menus and the up to ten named templates contain no link to an address that redirects
Evidence: A crawl report of internal links for the named templates
On staging, after the new rules are removed and the previous ones restored, every row returns the same status, number of steps and final status that were recorded before the new rules
Evidence: The result column re-run after removal, compared row by row with the recorded before column
Sign-off. You sign off after the staging tests and the removal rehearsal pass, your site holder takes and test-restores a backup and applies the rules, and the same tests pass on the live site.
If it fails. If the checks do not pass, you do not pay, and you keep the map and findings.
When it fits, and when we stop
It fits when
- A list of old addresses exists from at least one source
- You can say which old page matches which new page, or give enough context for us to propose it for your approval
- Your site holder can add redirect rules through the host, the server configuration or a redirect plugin
- The new addresses are working on staging or live
- Your site holder supplies a copy of the current redirect rules, and takes a full files-and-database backup that has been restored once onto a non-public copy, before the live change
We stop and tell you if
- No source of old addresses exists at all
- The domain name itself is changing
- More than 300 old addresses: we quote the extra rows
- The new site cannot serve the destinations yet
- The site is a multisite network, which is quoted separately
- No full files-and-database backup can be taken and restored before the live change
What could go wrong
The restore point is the full backup your site holder takes and test-restores before applying, plus the copy of the previous rules. Removing the new rules (one file or one plugin export) and putting the previous ones back restores the earlier behaviour; we rehearse exactly that on staging and check that every row returns to its recorded result. The SEO plugin settings that were changed are listed with their previous values.
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| A mapped destination is not really equivalent and misleads visitors | Each row has a reason and you approve the flagged rows; uncertain rows are left as not found rather than sent to the home page. |
| A redirect loop or a wrong rule takes pages offline on the live site | Every row is tested for loops on staging before the rules reach the live site and tested again on live right after; if a loop or a failing row appears, your site holder removes the new rules and puts the previous ones back, with the backup behind that. |
| Search engines take time to update | We make no promise about timing or ranking and tell you what to watch in your search tool reports. |
A second reviewer checks a sample of mapped rows for relevance, runs the test over the whole file again and checks the undo steps.
How we deliver
We arrange the work and independent review, then show you the result against the agreed checks. You keep authority over your systems.
- Collect and de-duplicate the old addresses, and mark which still resolve
- Map each old address to one new address with a reason, and flag rows with no equivalent for your decision
- Write the rules and collapse every chain so each rule ends on the final page
- Record the result of every row under the current rules on staging, then test every row with the new rules for status code, number of steps and destination status
- Check the preferred-address tag on each destination and the sitemap contents, and correct them in the SEO plugin settings, noting the previous values
- Remove the new rules on staging and check that every row returns to its recorded result under the current rules
- Independent review of a sample of rows and of the undo steps, then hand over for your site holder to apply in one change with the previous rules kept
This is a one-off job, not emergency cover or a subscription. We confirm eligibility, the total price, a start window and a delivery date before you accept. Work starts only after agreed inputs, secure access, any licences and necessary permissions are in place. Hosting, plugin licence and supplier charges are excluded unless the written quote includes them. No charge or booking is created by an enquiry.
Need to keep it working?
Discuss a periodic check that redirects and the sitemap stay clean.
Ongoing work is separately scoped and quoted: no monitoring, response-time guarantee or automatic subscription is included in this job.
Explore an ongoing engineering lane, or mention the responsibility you need in your enquiry.
What you can check
This is a new service. We have not delivered this job for a client yet.
Other ways to get this done
- A redirect plugin lets you add rules one at a time. For a dozen addresses that is quicker than a mapped project.
- Google documents site moves and recommends mapping each old address to its closest equivalent; if your list is short you can follow that yourself.
Questions
Will this restore my traffic?
We cannot promise that. A complete map stops broken links and gives search engines clear signals; what they do with it is up to them.
What happens to addresses with no equivalent?
We list them for your decision. Sending them all to the home page is usually not helpful to visitors, so we do not do it without your approval.
Can two old addresses go to the same new page?
Yes. Each old address goes to exactly one destination, and several old addresses can share it, for example when two pages were merged.
Can I undo it?
Yes. Your site holder keeps the previous rules and a tested backup, and the removal is rehearsed on staging before anything goes live.
How long should the redirects stay?
Google's site move guidance says generally at least a year. We repeat that in the handover.
Send an enquiry
Send us
- What changed: slugs, the permalink pattern, merged pages, a new section structure
- Where old addresses can be found: an old sitemap, a backup, an analytics export or search console export
- Roughly how many old addresses exist and which matter most
- Which redirect method your host or site uses today
- Any existing redirect rules or plugin
Later, once you agree
- The old-address list as a file
- A staging copy with the new structure and the current redirect rules in place
- A copy of the current redirect rules
- Your site holder's written confirmation, before the live change, that a full files-and-database backup exists and has been restored once onto a non-public copy
- A company-controlled secure handoff agreed before access: no live passwords, keys, private code or customer records by ordinary email.
You keep the live site, hosting and any search tool accounts. We prepare the map, the rules and the plugin settings list; your site holder takes the backup and applies them.
Email fallback: open your mail app
If website submission is unavailable, review and send the fallback email yourself. An email fallback is not a website receipt. Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “wpseo-redirect-map-and-canonicals-after-restructure” as the subject.