Redirects Manager

Overview

The Redirects Manager provides a simple interface to create and manage URL redirects without touching server configuration files. Supports 301 permanent and 302 temporary redirects with wildcard pattern matching.

Proper redirects preserve SEO value when moving or restructuring content, preventing 404 errors and maintaining link equity.

Features

301 & 302 Redirects

Permanent (301) or temporary (302) redirect types

Wildcard Support

Pattern matching with * for flexible redirects

Simple Management

Add, edit, and remove redirects from WordPress admin

Fast Execution

Runs early in WordPress loading for minimal overhead

Redirect Types

301 Permanent Redirect

Use when: Content has permanently moved to a new URLSEO Impact:

Passes 90-99% of link equity to new URL
Tells search engines to update their index
Should be used for permanent changes

Examples:

Site restructure: /old-section/* → /new-section/
Page rename: /contact-us → /contact
Domain change: All pages to new domain

302 Temporary Redirect

Use when: Content is temporarily at a different URLSEO Impact:

Does NOT pass link equity
Tells search engines the change is temporary
Original URL stays in index

Examples:

A/B testing different landing pages
Seasonal promotions
Maintenance pages
Limited-time campaigns

Configuration

Access Redirect Settings

Navigate to Settings → GEO AI → Redirects & 404

Add New Redirect

Click “Add Redirect” button

Enter URLs

From URL: /old-page (relative path)
To URL: /new-page or https://external.com/page

Select Type

Choose 301 Permanent or 302 Temporary

Save Changes

Click “Save Changes” to activate redirects

Implementation Details

Redirects Class

includes/class-geoai-redirects.php

class GeoAI_Redirects {
    private static $instance = null;

    public static function get_instance() {
        if ( null === self::$instance ) {
            self::$instance = new self();
        }
        return self::$instance;
    }

    private function __construct() {
        add_action( 'template_redirect', array( $this, 'maybe_redirect' ), 1 );
    }

    public function maybe_redirect() {
        if ( is_admin() ) {
            return;
        }

        $redirects    = get_option( 'geoai_redirects', array() );
        $request_path = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];

        foreach ( $redirects as $redirect ) {
            if ( empty( $redirect['from'] ) || empty( $redirect['to'] ) ) {
                continue;
            }

            $from = $redirect['from'];
            $to   = $redirect['to'];
            $type = $redirect['type'] ?? 301;

            if ( $this->matches( $request_path, $from ) ) {
                wp_redirect( $to, $type );
                exit;
            }
        }
    }
}

Pattern Matching

includes/class-geoai-redirects.php

private function matches( $request, $pattern ) {
    $pattern = str_replace( '*', '(.*)', $pattern );
    $pattern = '#^' . $pattern . '$#';
    
    return (bool) preg_match( $pattern, $request );
}

Wildcard Patterns

Use * to match any characters:

From: /blog/*
To:   /articles/

Matches:
✓ /blog/post-1
✓ /blog/post-2  
✓ /blog/category/tech

Redirect Examples

Single Page Redirect

From URL	To URL	Type	Use Case
`/old-contact`	`/contact`	301	Page renamed
`/about-us`	`/about`	301	URL simplified
`/sale`	`/black-friday`	302	Temporary promo

Bulk Directory Redirects

From URL	To URL	Type	Use Case
`/blog/*`	`/articles/`	301	Section renamed
`/products/*`	`https://shop.example.com/`	301	Moved to subdomain
`/old-site/*`	`/`	301	Site restructure

Protocol Redirects

For HTTPS redirects, use server-level redirects (htaccess, nginx config) for better performance.

External Redirects

From URL	To URL	Type	Use Case
`/facebook`	`https://facebook.com/yourpage`	301	Social shortlink
`/youtube`	`https://youtube.com/c/yourchannel`	301	Channel shortlink
`/docs`	`https://docs.example.com`	301	External docs site

Admin Interface

The redirects table allows inline editing:

includes/class-geoai-admin.php

private function render_redirects_tab() {
    $redirects = get_option( 'geoai_redirects', array() );
    ?>
    <h2><?php esc_html_e( '301/302 Redirects', 'geo-ai' ); ?></h2>
    <table class="widefat geoai-redirects-table">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th><?php esc_html_e( 'From URL', 'geo-ai' ); ?></th>
                <th><?php esc_html_e( 'To URL', 'geo-ai' ); ?></th>
                <th><?php esc_html_e( 'Type', 'geo-ai' ); ?></th>
                <th><?php esc_html_e( 'Actions', 'geo-ai' ); ?></th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody id="geoai-redirects-tbody">
            <?php
            if ( ! empty( $redirects ) ) {
                foreach ( $redirects as $index => $redirect ) {
                    ?>
                    <tr>
                        <td>
                            <input type="text" 
                                   name="geoai_redirects[<?php echo esc_attr( $index ); ?>][from]" 
                                   value="<?php echo esc_attr( $redirect['from'] ?? '' ); ?>" 
                                   class="regular-text" 
                                   placeholder="/old-page" />
                        </td>
                        <td>
                            <input type="text" 
                                   name="geoai_redirects[<?php echo esc_attr( $index ); ?>][to]" 
                                   value="<?php echo esc_attr( $redirect['to'] ?? '' ); ?>" 
                                   class="regular-text" 
                                   placeholder="/new-page" />
                        </td>
                        <td>
                            <select name="geoai_redirects[<?php echo esc_attr( $index ); ?>][type]">
                                <option value="301" <?php selected( $redirect['type'] ?? 301, 301 ); ?>>
                                    301 Permanent
                                </option>
                                <option value="302" <?php selected( $redirect['type'] ?? 301, 302 ); ?>>
                                    302 Temporary
                                </option>
                            </select>
                        </td>
                        <td>
                            <button type="button" class="button geoai-remove-redirect">
                                <?php esc_html_e( 'Remove', 'geo-ai' ); ?>
                            </button>
                        </td>
                    </tr>
                    <?php
                }
            }
            ?>
        </tbody>
    </table>
    <p>
        <button type="button" id="geoai-add-redirect" class="button">
            <?php esc_html_e( 'Add Redirect', 'geo-ai' ); ?>
        </button>
    </p>
    <p class="description">
        <?php esc_html_e( 'Use * as wildcard. Example: /blog/* redirects all /blog/ pages.', 'geo-ai' ); ?>
    </p>
    <?php
}

Best Practices

Use 301 for Permanent Changes

Always use 301 redirects when content has permanently moved. This passes SEO value.

Avoid Redirect Chains

Don’t redirect A → B → C. Always redirect directly to the final destination.

Test After Creation

Visit the old URL to verify the redirect works and points to the correct destination.

Update Internal Links

Update links in your content rather than relying on redirects indefinitely.

Monitor 404 Errors

Use the 404 Monitor to identify pages that need redirects.

Document Major Redirects

Keep a record of important redirects, especially during site migrations.

Redirect Chains

Avoid redirect chains. Each additional redirect adds ~200-500ms latency and dilutes SEO value.

Bad:

/old-page → /renamed-page → /final-page

Good:

/old-page → /final-page
/renamed-page → /final-page

Performance Considerations

Early Execution

Redirects run at priority 1 on template_redirect, before most WordPress processing.

Minimal Overhead

Simple array lookup and regex matching. Typically less than 1ms per request.

No Database Queries

Redirects stored in options cache, no additional DB hits.

Exit Early

PHP execution stops immediately after redirect, saving resources.

Server-Level Alternatives

For very high-traffic sites, consider server-level redirects:

Apache (.htaccess)
Nginx

.htaccess

# Single redirect
Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page

# Directory redirect
RedirectMatch 301 ^/blog/(.*) /articles/$1

# External redirect  
Redirect 301 /docs https://docs.example.com

nginx.conf

# Single redirect
location /old-page {
    return 301 /new-page;
}

# Pattern redirect
location ~ ^/blog/(.*) {
    return 301 /articles/$1;
}

# External redirect
location /docs {
    return 301 https://docs.example.com;
}

Migration Workflow

When migrating or restructuring a site:

Audit Current URLs

Export a list of all current page URLs and their traffic

Plan New Structure

Map old URLs to new URLs in a spreadsheet

Create Redirects

Add all redirects in GEO AI before making changes

Test Redirects

Verify each redirect works correctly

Make Changes

Update your site structure/URLs

Monitor 404s

Check 404 Monitor for any missed redirects

Update Sitemaps

Submit updated sitemap to Google Search Console

Programmatic Management

Manage redirects via code:

// Get current redirects
$redirects = get_option( 'geoai_redirects', array() );

// Add new redirect
$redirects[] = array(
    'from' => '/old-page',
    'to'   => '/new-page',
    'type' => 301,
);

// Save
update_option( 'geoai_redirects', $redirects );

Bulk Import

// Import from CSV
$csv_data = array(
    array( '/old-1', '/new-1', 301 ),
    array( '/old-2', '/new-2', 301 ),
    array( '/promo', '/sale', 302 ),
);

$redirects = array();
foreach ( $csv_data as $row ) {
    $redirects[] = array(
        'from' => $row[0],
        'to'   => $row[1],
        'type' => $row[2],
    );
}

update_option( 'geoai_redirects', $redirects );

Troubleshooting

Redirect not working

Check:

From URL matches exactly (case-sensitive)
Include leading slash: /page not page
Redirect is saved (click Save Changes)
Clear browser cache
Test in incognito mode

Redirect loop

Cause: Circular redirect (A → B → A)Solution:

Check both GEO AI and other redirect sources
Verify destination URL is correct
Remove conflicting redirects

Wildcard not matching

Common issues:

Pattern must match full path: /blog/* not blog/*
Use * not % or other wildcards
Test pattern with specific examples

Too many redirects error

Cause: Redirect chain or loopSolution:

Remove intermediate redirects
Redirect directly to final destination
Check server-level redirects (htaccess, nginx)

SEO Impact

Link Equity Transfer

Redirect Type	Link Equity Passed	Indexing Behavior
301 Permanent	~90-99%	New URL indexed, old URL removed
302 Temporary	0% (minimal)	Old URL stays indexed
307 Temporary	0% (minimal)	Old URL stays indexed

Google treats 301, 302, and 307 similarly now, but 301 is still best practice for permanent moves.

Time to Re-index

After creating 301 redirects:

Google discovers redirect: 1-7 days
Link equity transfers: 2-4 weeks
Old URL drops from index: 4-8 weeks

404 Monitor

Track broken links needing redirects

Sitemaps

Update sitemaps after redirects

Meta Tags

Canonical URLs for duplicate content

Get Started

Core Features

Advanced

Developer Guide

​Overview

​Features

301 & 302 Redirects

Wildcard Support

Simple Management

Fast Execution

​Redirect Types

​Configuration

​Implementation Details

​Redirects Class

​Pattern Matching

​Wildcard Patterns

​Redirect Examples

​Single Page Redirect

​Bulk Directory Redirects

​Protocol Redirects

​External Redirects

​Admin Interface

​Best Practices

Use 301 for Permanent Changes

Avoid Redirect Chains

Test After Creation

Update Internal Links

Monitor 404 Errors

Document Major Redirects

​Redirect Chains

​Performance Considerations

Early Execution

Minimal Overhead

No Database Queries

Exit Early

​Server-Level Alternatives

​Migration Workflow

​Programmatic Management

​Bulk Import

​Troubleshooting

​SEO Impact

​Link Equity Transfer

​Time to Re-index

​Related Features

404 Monitor

Sitemaps

Meta Tags

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Features

Redirect Types

Configuration

Implementation Details

Redirects Class

Pattern Matching

Wildcard Patterns

Redirect Examples

Single Page Redirect

Bulk Directory Redirects

Protocol Redirects

External Redirects

Admin Interface

Best Practices

Redirect Chains

Performance Considerations

Server-Level Alternatives

Migration Workflow

Programmatic Management

Bulk Import

Troubleshooting

SEO Impact

Link Equity Transfer

Time to Re-index

Related Features