Mergers have become a popular choice for many businesses as they increase the brand’s audience and improve SEO, while also increasing profit margins. Let’s say you have lots of old articles that you would like to refresh or update their content and keep the permalinks working, then by using the 301 Redirects – Easy Redirect Manager you will save yourself some valuable time and hassle. This WordPress plugin will use 301 redirects to move traffic from the old article (URL) to the new article (URL). 301 redirect is permanent, it transfers the original page’s SEO stats to the new article. It is the best tool to change the address of any web content while also taking care of your search engine rank, permalinks and traffic.
What is 301 direct and what does it do?
It is an important tool for managing articles or any other content, including search rankings when the site’s URL changes once the articles are merged. What it does is, it sends visitors and search engines to a new URL rather than the original URL as requested, while skipping the step of you having to actually type in the new URL.
To put it in layman’s terms, a 301 redirect instructs your web browser: “This page has permanently moved to another location.” Then the web browser replies: “No problem, I’ll redirect the user to the new URL!” Isn’t it so simple and useful? Don’t worry, you can thank me later.
Easy Redirect Manager
301 Redirects is a WordPress plugin and it is open-source software, meaning that it is available to all users as it is free to use. The features keep getting updated with newer versions, so the long-term support is definitely there. This plugin is rated 4.5 stars, which means that people are really content with the plugin. With Easy Redirect Manager plugin, you can manage your 301 redirects and improve rankings and SEO along the way. It is a must have tool for 301 redirects as it will make your life so much easier.
The plugin’s interface is very easy on the eyes and well organized. The installation process is simple and the plugin is quick to redirect you to a desired location (URL). If your old links are about to expire, it is recommended to redirect them to a new URL to keep the content available for users. The 301 redirect is not just used for merging articles, but can also be used for merging pages, posts or even the whole website if you wish so.
So how do you merge two articles with Easy Redirect Manager?
The plugin is easy to use and it is designed to be as friendly as possible. You don’t need programming skills or know HTML to manage redirects. The first step is to upload the eps-301-redirects to the WordPress content plugins directory and then you just need to activate it through the Plugins menu. Now, you can add and manage redirects in the Settings of 301 Redirect section. Here, you add the requested URL and select the destination URL to configure the redirect. Paste the destination URL for the redirect, or use the menu to select. You can also see all of the redirects as they will be listed down below.
How to merge 2 articles in one via wordpress
There is also an option to export the list and to track the number of redirected visitors per redirect. Having this option can come in handy if you know your way around the CSV file.
Merging two articles in one
Since these redirects are often needed and permanent, be aware that permalinks will need to be redirected again as they can break. In order to maximize your ranking and keep the traffic flowing, you will need to redirect as soon as possible. If you leave broken links, your SEO & SER will suffer. Furthermore, you will lose organic traffic so don’t make the rookie mistake of not updating your links (URLs). The last step is to remove the individual articles, so you don’t have duplicated content on your website. And that is it, you’ve done it. Congratulations!
It is worth mentioning that you can redirect manually by changing the HTML code, but this is way easier and doesn’t require much knowledge.
When and Why you should merge articles?
As mentioned before, merging one or more articles into one is not uncommon and is actually very useful for SEO and SER. To the human eye, longer articles seem to have more detail and overall depth, so users are more prone to reading them as they think they are getting more value per read. Two smaller separate articles will bring in less revenue and will split your target audience. Therefore, merging two articles will increase your search engine ranking and increase organic traffic. Merged articles have increased the number of keywords and rank better, so you can use this opportunity to revive your old articles and present them in a new light. If you have some older articles that are currently a trending topic, or you think they are worth investing your time into to improve your site, merging them could create the greatest article by combining different views and thoughts related to the same topic.
The key when merging two articles into one is to make sure that the reader doesn’t recognize that the new article was once two separate entities. Therefore, a skilled writer can rearrange the missing pieces easily and create new and improved content by using the old one.
Conclusion
Merging articles is useful and easy, especially with the 301 Redirect WordPress plugin. Two articles sharing the same topic merged into one will result in an article that will rank much better, have improved SEO, and will attract a larger reader audience. The article becomes more relevant and up to date which increases SER and makes it trend better. If you’ve done everything correctly, almost in no time, you’ll notice the value of the plugin and how much it benefits you.