What to do with random pages after a 301 redirect?

Question

I did a standard 301 redirect for a domain, but the original domain has about 300 pages that have some strength.

It doesn't make sense to make them all point back to the new home page because the individual pages are about some topics.

Also, there aren't the same pages in the new domain, so where should the original random pages redirect to? I would like to have them rank for the same topics they used to, but without having the original domain giving them strength, they will just stop ranking and die off.

What should I do?

Thanks, Alex

Answer 1

First, start by thinking about your users. Those missing pages will affect them, too.

If there is a page that is very close in content to those missing pages then redirect to those pages. That way if a user finds the old URL they will be taken to a page that makes sense to them and may help them find what they are looking for.

Otherwise, have those pages point to a page that says you've changed domains and moved things around in your site. On that page link to popular pages and also to a sitemap. This will allow users to determine where to go next. It also will help to channel the link love to those popular pages thus not wasting it.

Answer 2

For a large scale 301 redirect project, take a look at this tool:

http://www.portentinteractive.com/blog/fixing-broken-links-levenshtein.htm

You give it 2 lists of URLs and it uses a string distance algorithm to match up the old URL with a prospective new URL. My experience is that it's OK but far from perfect, so you need to add a layer of human oversight on the mappings it suggests.