How Do You Handle Image Redirects After A URL Change?

Story Based Question

You’re managing the SEO for a blog that’s undergoing a website redesign. During the redesign, the URLs for several images are changing due to updated folder structures and naming conventions. You want to ensure that users don’t encounter broken image links and that search engines don’t lose the SEO value associated with those images. How do you handle image redirects after a URL change?

Exact Answer

To handle image redirects after a URL change, you should set up 301 redirects from the old image URLs to the new ones. This ensures that users and search engines are automatically directed to the new image locations, preserving both user experience and SEO value.

Explanation

When URLs for images change—whether due to a redesign or restructuring of your website—it’s essential to manage these changes to avoid broken links and ensure that your SEO efforts are preserved. Broken image links can lead to a poor user experience and negatively affect your rankings. Here’s how to handle image redirects effectively:

1. Set Up 301 Redirects: A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines and browsers that the image has moved permanently to a new URL. By setting up 301 redirects from the old image URLs to the new ones, you ensure that visitors and search engines are seamlessly redirected to the new image locations.
2. Update Internal Links: Along with setting up redirects, update any internal links that reference the old image URLs. This ensures that your content is up to date and reduces reliance on redirects, which can slightly slow down page load times.
3. Update Image Sitemaps: If you use an image sitemap to help search engines discover your images, make sure to update the URLs in the sitemap to reflect the new image locations. This helps search engines crawl and index the new images more efficiently.
4. Monitor for 404 Errors: After setting up redirects, monitor your site for any 404 errors (not found) that may still occur. Tools like Google Search Console or Screaming Frog can help you identify broken links that you may have missed. Fixing these errors quickly ensures that your users always find what they’re looking for.
5. Test Redirects: Once the redirects are in place, test them to make sure they are working correctly. You can use a redirect checker tool to confirm that the old URLs are properly redirecting to the new image locations.

Example

Imagine you’re managing an e-commerce website, and as part of a redesign, you’re reorganizing your product image folder structure. The old URL for an image might have been:

https://www.example.com/images/products/old-product-image.jpg

You decide to update the folder structure to make it more SEO-friendly, so the new URL becomes:

https://www.example.com/images/products/2025/old-product-image.jpg

Here’s what you do:

1. Set Up 301 Redirects: On your server, you create a 301 redirect that points from the old image URL to the new one. This ensures that anyone who visits the old URL is redirected to the new image location without encountering a 404 error.Example (in .htaccess file for Apache server):
   Redirect 301 /images/products/old-product-image.jpg /images/products/2025/old-product-image.jpg
2. Update Internal Links: On the product pages, you replace the old image URLs with the new ones. This ensures that your pages load quickly and don’t rely on redirects.
3. Update Image Sitemap: In your image sitemap, you replace the old URLs with the new ones to help search engines index the updated images. This also ensures that image search rankings are maintained.
4. Monitor for Errors: After launching the redesign, you regularly check Google Search Console for any 404 errors and make sure that the redirects are working smoothly.
5. Test Redirects: You test the old image URLs to confirm they redirect correctly to the new image locations, ensuring that both users and search engines are properly directed.

By setting up 301 redirects, updating internal links, and ensuring your image sitemap is current, you’re maintaining a smooth user experience while preserving your SEO value.

Managing image redirects effectively after a URL change ensures that both users and search engines can access your updated content without encountering issues. Setting up 301 redirects is the key to preserving SEO rankings, and it also ensures that your site remains functional and user-friendly.