Yahoo now handles 301 redirects differently

[Brian Turner]

Just found something interesting - Yahoo! Search now handles 301 redirects differently to how it did a month ago.

I have a client who has old established Site A redirecting to Site B via 301.

Because Site A has potentially more "authority", the link building is done for this domain to pass the benefits to Site B.

Now, Google and MSN would normally rank Site B for the targeting keywords.

However, historically Yahoo! always listed Site A - it would list the source of the redirect, rather than the target of the redirect.

That means when manually checking rankings on Yahoo! Search I would have to search for Site A, not Site B.

I just ran a check and today, for the first time ever, Site A is nowhere to be found - but now Site B has taken its positions.

Conclusion?

Yahoo! Search must now process 301 redirects differently, with the target site now being listed - as per the general norm - as opposed to Yahoo!'s method of listing the source of the redirect.

[tamecrow]

Interesting stuff. I find this bit interesting - "Because Site A has potentially more "authority", the link building is done for this domain to pass the benefits to Site B." 301 redirects are designed to pass everything to the target domain - even authority. It just says 'this site is now permanently here instead - it's the same site'. Seems an odd way to do things and I'd wager that's the reason for Yahoo listing the old domain for so long. I've never noticed Yahoo doing this and have never had a drop in the SERPs after processing a full 301 redirect.

[Brian Turner]

If Site A has good authority, and Site B has little authority, then for link building purposes it makes absolute sense to link build for Site A so that Site B inherits these benefits directly.

Of course, in the long term, it helps to develop authority for Site B by itself. That presumes your client isn't being cheap with their budget, though.

Oh - and if you ever go this method, do ensure you keep the domain for Site A renewed.