Redirects are available a number of varieties. When misused, they will trigger some main issues, as even occurred to me not too long ago. Listed here are some warnings to look at for everytime you use redirects.
Try my previous episode and article, “Redirects and Learn how to Use Them in Podcasting” to study extra about how redirects work and the totally different choices there are.
(As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases by means of some—however not all—of the next hyperlinks. However I like to recommend issues I really consider in, no matter earnings.)
Warning #1: 301 redirects are “everlasting” and cached
In podcasting, we throw across the time period “301 redirect” or “everlasting redirect” usually with out realizing what that really means: it’s (or at the least it is assumed to be) everlasting!
I usually use the bodily mail or US Publish Workplace metaphor when explaining redirects. Consider a everlasting redirect as a “change of handle” discover despatched again to everybody who mails you one thing.
A 301 redirect is everlasting and is actually telling apps, “This factor has moved to over there. Please cease wanting right here and at all times look there as an alternative. So do not take a look at me once more.”
That is nice while you really made a everlasting transfer—or at the least intend for it to be everlasting. Like while you completely transfer houses and alter your handle!
However if you happen to ever change your thoughts or—even worse—make a mistake within the redirect, that redirect will likely be adopted and the previous URL will cease being checked. So if you happen to make a “/suggestions” web page that 301-permanently redirects elsewhere, then even if you happen to change the place “/suggestions” goes, any app that beforehand loaded “/suggestions” will bypass it altogether and go straight to the vacation spot it has saved in its cache.
That cache is generally cleared, however you need to assume it by no means will likely be! (Nonetheless, this does not apply for anybody visiting your redirect for the primary time.)
So if you happen to get your 301 everlasting redirect mistaken and you do not repair it instantly—like inside a couple of minutes—the very best factor to do is to additionally redirect that incorrect vacation spot to the right one. And, sadly, that is not at all times doable. Thus, I like to recommend that, if doable, you make your redirect a 307 or 302 short-term redirect first, check it over just a few days, and then change it to a 301 everlasting redirect.
Warning #2: Your redirect locations would possibly change or disappear
Opposite to the Stanley cup craze of spring 2024, my favourite water thermos has been a Contigo Ashland Chill Autospout Water Bottle with Flip Straw, Stainless Metal Thermal Ingesting Bottle,Leakproof,Gray, BLue, 590 ml (I earn from qualifying purchases by means of that hyperlink) that I’ve had since 2019. However I not too long ago misplaced it—I believe at a mall whereas my son and I have been ready for my broken-down automotive to be towed.
I believed I might merely re-order it for near the unique $10 value I paid, however no! That particular bottle has a brand new model I do not like as a lot, and the unique bottle was listed for $45 after I wanted it!
This is what makes this related to redirects. The primary place I went to re-order that water bottle was my Amazon order historical past. After I clicked on the product hyperlink, my coronary heart was initially crushed as a result of Contigo Autospout Straw Ashland Chill Vacuum-Insulated Stainless Metal Water Bottle, 20 oz., Monaco says, “Presently unavailable”!
Think about if I had redirected to that product web page with a 301 everlasting redirect! Anybody clicking by means of my hyperlink might need their hopes dashed similar to I did!
Because of this I extremely advocate that any redirect to any URL you do not management must be a 307 short-term redirect (a 302 redirect can also be short-term and works tremendous, however use a 307 you probably have the selection). If I had been neatly selling that water bottle with one thing like a “/waterbottle” redirect, I might simply change its vacation spot when the product URL modifications, or level again to a web page by myself web site with a be aware in regards to the product.
That is straightforward to do with short-term redirects as a result of they do not get cached. So even if you happen to used my redirect yesterday, then I modified it final evening, and you utilize the identical redirect URL immediately, you’ll be taken to the right vacation spot.
I like that Fairly Hyperlinks Professional has not too long ago added a brand new characteristic to observe all of the redirects you create and warn you when any of them level to a damaged URL! And that may very well be actually necessary for each your viewers and any form of affiliate revenue you hoped to make.
Warning #3: Most redirects bypass content material
That is each a warning and a blessing. Nonetheless your redirect is positioned (and I am not referring to the <itunes:new-feed-url> RSS tag), the redirect will likely be adopted earlier than any of that URL’s content material is loaded.
So if you happen to redirect an previous podcast RSS feed URL to a brand new one, something you set in that previous feed will likely be fully ignored.
That is a warning as a result of it means your viewers will not get something you set in that feed, particularly not any announcement of the feed change (if that is even crucial). Because of this you need to put the <itunes:new-feed-url> tag in your new feed if you happen to ever change podcast feed URLs. And sure, the tag ought to really level to itself as a type of affirmation that this feed is the brand new feed URL.
Nevertheless it’s additionally a blessing as a result of it means you do not really want an RSS feed to exist at that handle when you’re redirecting it. In truth, you possibly can have nothing at that handle besides the redirect! (That is how practically all redirection instruments do it. You do not have to create pages or posts to redirect, you merely create the redirect.)
So in order for you or want to present some data earlier than the redirect, then create a web page at that URL you share, after which have the redirect linked from the web page.
For instance, that is what I have been constructing for lots of podcasting instruments I regularly advocate. Contemplate Captivate, for instance. For those who go to theaudacitytopodcast.com/captivate, you are not instantly redirected to Captivate, however you as an alternative land on my web page that briefly explains why I like to recommend Captivate. After which you possibly can click on on the button to make use of my affiliate hyperlink to go to Captivate. Enjoyable reality: that button is nonetheless a redirect: theaudacitytopodcast.com/go/captivate
Warning #4: You would possibly sometime rename your redirect
I’ve beforehand shared why you need to cease saying model names in your podcast, until completely crucial. Perhaps you heard or learn that and determined to vary your “/patreon” redirecting URL to a generic “/assist” URL (otherwise you had an analogous scenario).
Whereas that is nice that you just did that, it nonetheless breaks all of your previous calls to motion that used the “/patreon” URL!
Because of this, if you happen to ever wish to sometime rename your redirect—no matter whether or not you have solely typed it in your notes otherwise you’ve additionally spoken it in your podcast—I like to recommend that you just make a new redirect and level each the brand new and previous redirects to the right location (and take this opportunity to make sure they’re each 307 or 302 short-term redirects!).
Alternatively, you might really level one redirect to the opposite. So as an alternative of at all times having to vary the vacation spot for a number of redirects, you solely change the final one. However simply do not get loopy with this! I like to recommend making not more than 2 layers of a redirect. So that might appear to be this:
“/patreon” (authentic URL) ➜ “/assist” new URL ➜ “closing” vacation spot
I put “closing” in citation marks, as a result of it is doable even that URL will get redirected, as occurs with many affiliate URLs that bounce by means of a number of trackers earlier than touchdown on the precise closing vacation spot.
Warning #5: Correcting URLs you stated in previous episodes is virtually inconceivable
For those who do rename a redirect, like switching from “/patreon” to “/assist,” do not even take into consideration enhancing the audio or video with all of your previous calls to motion!
Because of this it is necessary to get it proper within the first place and make a future-friendly generic URL you possibly can change everytime you need with out breaking previous calls to motion.
However if you happen to did not plan forward like that (and I’ve made that mistake numerous occasions, too!), ensure that all of your previous calls to motion nonetheless work. That may very well be both with a redirect, or a be aware and the right hyperlink on the ensuing vacation spot. So even if you happen to stated a “patreon.com” URL in your podcast, you would possibly be capable to go away that web page up however with a outstanding be aware that your assist choices have moved and with a hyperlink to that new location. (However ensure that that hyperlink can also be a redirect, in case you ever change issues once more!)
Warning #6: Reusing belongings you redirected from is a nasty concept (my 2024 redirect mistake)
I have to illustrate this level with a narrative from my very own current mistake.
A number of years in the past, Blubrry launched Podcast Mirror, a free and a lot better podcast-focused different to FeedBurner.
However with all of the options coming from Podcasting 2.0, and the dragging toes of many outdated podcasting instruments and internet hosting suppliers, Blubrry determined so as to add extra options to Podcast Mirror, which might allow you to add Podcasting 2.0 options to a feed that did not have already got them. Identical to how Feedburner may very well be used to show a standard weblog feed into a legitimate podcast feed. (Humorous aspect be aware: I used to be really considering of launching my very own service like this as quickly as I realized about Podcasting 2.0, and I even registered a fantastic area for it, however I by no means received round to constructing that product.)
These upgrades have been nice, however it additionally meant that Blubrry would cease providing a primary Podcast Mirror service at no cost—not even their plain feed mirror service. This improve to Podcast Mirror went into impact throughout my few-month podcast hiatus whereas I doubled down on launching Podgagement within the second half of 2023. So after I printed a brand new episode in January 2024—NEWSFLASH—my feed would not replace anymore as a result of I hadn’t upgraded to a paid Podcast Mirror subscription! (To be blunt, I believe this was a horrible betrayal of belief from Blubrry. However at the least all podcasters might simply redirect away from Podcast Mirror.)
Having a decent cashflow, I made a decision to redirect my Podcast Mirror feed to a FeedBurner feed—doing nothing however merely mirroring or “proxying” my feed for efficiency causes. However I in a short time found that FeedBurner not presents a ping service or a guide refresh button, leaving me with no option to set off an replace of my RSS feed. Consequently, my episodes weren’t going out to podcast apps for a number of hours!
Loopy me—I made a decision to attempt constructing my very own feed proxy service. However after greater than 4 hours into it, I spotted I would wasted extra time (and “time is cash”) attempting to “DIY” it and thus misplaced extra potential revenue than if I’d simply paid the cheap yearly price Blubrry now costs for Podcast Mirror!
So I emailed Blubrry on my digital palms and knees, begging them to take me again. We labored out a deal and I am again on Podcast Mirror now. Hooray!
However right here was my massive mistake: I insisted on having my authentic feed URL once more.
Why was that unhealthy? As a result of here is what the 301 everlasting redirects seemed like:
Podcast Mirror ➜ FeedBurner ➜ Podcast Mirror (similar URL).
Do you see the issue? If something had cached Podcast Mirror’s 301 redirect on my feed, it will enter what’s referred to as a “redirect loop.” I think that’s the reason I noticed a giant drop in downloads per episode after I modified the redirect. (And this was in February 2024, so it had nothing to do with the over-hyped iOS 17 replace!)
I really made it even somewhat worse by momentarily redirecting to my PowerPress feed—however a URL that bypasses any redirects from PowerPress. And this made it tough to really re-redirect after I wished to!
In all of this, my feed URL did not really matter. Do you even know what my podcast feed URL is? I might have simply added a “2” or “-audio” or anything to the URL after I rejoined Podcast Mirror and it will have been tremendous.
So the ethical of this lengthy story is that if you happen to ever assume you need to redirect again to one thing that was already 301-completely redirecting, DON’T! As a substitute, make a brand new URL as your closing vacation spot.
Fast assets for making redirects
I wish to finish this with a few ideas for making redirects that will not trigger issues sooner or later.
301 everlasting versus 307/302 short-term
With these cautions in thoughts, my basic recommendation is to decide on 307 (or 302) short-term redirects for any vacation spot you do not management. Begin with affiliate hyperlinks, your donation or membership web page, your on-line group, and such.
And for any vacation spot you do management, or you’re completely sure won’t change within the foreseeable future, you should use a 301 everlasting redirect.
WordPress plugins for making redirects
For those who’re trying to make redirects on WordPress, my favourite plugins are Fairly Hyperlinks Professional and Redirection. I really use each of them!
Fairly Hyperlinks Professional (paid) is a lot simpler to make use of and has loads of useful characteristic, like automated keyword-linking, shorter link-creation workflows for pages and posts, sensible redirects, and extra.
The Redirection plugin (free) is extra superior, even permitting common expressions. And, possibly the most convenient characteristic right here, is that you may allow it to observe your pages and posts to redirect any of these URLs you alter. For instance, a lot of my previous episode webpages nonetheless embody the “faucet###” code I used to make use of in my titles. I’ve already eliminated these from the titles, but when I modify these URLs, the Redirection plugin would routinely redirect that webpage’s previous URL to the brand new one.
Different methods to make redirects
For those who’re not utilizing WordPress, otherwise you wish to handle your redirects away from WordPress, take a look at what your area or web site instruments provide, or think about Cloudflare’s choices.
Some podcast-hosting suppliers or simpler website-builders (similar to Podpage) provide their very own redirects you possibly can create and handle inside your dashboard. This may work from solely the area you set to work with that web site.
The choices out of your area registrar, your internet hosting supplier, or Cloudflare typically all work earlier than loading something out of your web site. So the redirects would possibly proceed to perform even when your web site is down. And these can work with none web site in any respect.
Lastly, there are many third-party URL-shorteners and redirect instruments you should use, however some would possibly cost if you wish to customise the URL or use your individual area. And even when you should use your individual area, it normally needs to be a subdomain or a very totally different area out of your regular web site.
Please click on right here to study extra about redirects and methods to use them!
Neighborhood nook
- 7,777§ boostagram from Steve Webb on “11 Ideas for Sharing URLs in Your Podcast,” saying, “One other nice episode with helpful, actionable content material. Thanks Daniel!”
- 1,000§ boostagram from Andy Lehman on “11 Ideas for Sharing URLs in Your Podcast,” saying, “I attempted clicking in your hyperlinks for this episode within the chapters and it crashed Castamatic. I ponder if it has to do with the anchors.”
- Streaming sats from Dave Jackson, Man Martin (Dwev), and Bryan Entzminger
Interact your viewers and develop your podcast!
Do you ever really feel like your podcast is caught? Such as you’re pouring your coronary heart into your podcast however it looks like nobody is listening?
Attempt Podgagement that will help you interact your viewers and develop your podcast!
Get speakable pages to simplify participating together with your viewers, settle for voicemail suggestions (with automated transcripts), monitor your scores and critiques from practically 200 locations, and extra!
Ask your questions or share your suggestions
- Touch upon the present notes
- Go away a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
- Electronic mail suggestions@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio recordsdata welcome)
Observe The Audacity to Podcast
Disclosure
This publish could comprise hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I could obtain compensation out of your actions by means of such hyperlinks. Nonetheless, I do not let that corrupt my perspective and I do not advocate solely associates.
