Automatic Redirect Mapping

Yes, URL mapping is absolutely critical for successful website migrations. When you move to a new site structure, every old URL needs to redirect to its corresponding new URL to maintain:

• SEO rankings: Search engines follow redirects to understand that content has moved, preserving years of accumulated search authority
• User experience: Visitors clicking on old bookmarks or links won't encounter broken 404 pages
• Traffic retention: Without proper redirects, you can lose 40-60% of your organic traffic overnight
• Backlink value: External sites linking to your old URLs will continue passing authority through redirects

Missing or incorrect redirects can result in significant SEO penalties, lost revenue, and frustrated users. Redirect Buddy ensures every URL is properly mapped, protecting your digital assets during the migration.

Our tool uses a sophisticated multi-layered approach that combines several advanced techniques:

Each match receives a confidence score (high, medium, low) so you can focus your manual review efforts only on uncertain mappings while trusting high-confidence matches.

Yes! Redirect Buddy provides multiple export formats to fit your exact technical needs:

• Excel (.xlsx): Perfect for documentation, client presentations, or further analysis with summary statistics
• CSV: Universal format compatible with any system or database import tool
• JSON: Structured data format ideal for custom scripts or programmatic processing
• Apache .htaccess: Production-ready redirect rules using Redirect 301 syntax
• Nginx configuration: Ready-to-deploy rewrite rules for Nginx servers

You can also filter exports to include only approved mappings or all mappings with their confidence levels. All exports include the source URL, target URL, match confidence, and match method used.

Redirect Buddy accepts the most common spreadsheet formats:

• Excel files (.xlsx, .xls): The most popular format for URL lists
• CSV files (.csv): Simple text-based format that works universally

Your files should contain one URL per row. For best results, include additional columns like page titles, H1 headings, or SKU numbers—this extra data significantly improves matching accuracy. The tool automatically detects which columns contain URLs and which contain supporting metadata.

Our multi-method approach typically achieves 80-95% automatic mapping success for most website migrations, depending on how similar your old and new site structures are.

Every match is assigned a confidence level:

• High confidence (Auto-mapped): Very reliable matches you can use immediately
• Medium/Low confidence (Needs Review): Possible matches that should be manually validated
• No match: URLs where no suitable target was found—may need manual mapping or 410 status

The tool shows you exactly why each match was made (structural similarity, semantic meaning, fuzzy match, etc.) so you can make informed decisions. You maintain full control and can override any automatic suggestion.

Yes, limits vary by plan to ensure optimal performance:

• Free Plan: Process up to 100 URLs per project with 1 project total—perfect for small sites or testing
• Professional Plan ($20 one-time): Process up to 5,000 URLs per project with 3 projects total—ideal for enterprise migrations

If you need to process more than 5,000 URLs in a single project, please contact us for custom enterprise solutions. Most medium-sized website migrations fall well within these limits.

When exact matches aren't possible, Redirect Buddy provides intelligent alternatives:

• Hierarchical fallback: Suggests redirecting to parent categories or section pages rather than leaving URLs broken
• Homepage redirects: As a last resort, redirecting to your homepage preserves at least some user experience
• 410 Gone suggestions: For truly obsolete content, we recommend proper 410 status codes instead of redirects
• Manual mapping: You can always manually specify the correct target URL for any unmatched source

The tool clearly marks unmatched URLs so you can make informed decisions. You might choose to create new content, redirect to similar pages, or properly deprecate outdated URLs with 410 status codes.

Processing is remarkably fast—typically completing in minutes, not hours:

• 100 URLs: Usually processes in under 1 minute
• 1,000 URLs: Typically completes in 2-5 minutes
• 5,000 URLs: Generally finishes within 10-15 minutes

Actual processing time depends on factors like the complexity of your URLs, the amount of additional metadata (titles, descriptions), and current server load. Regardless, what would take days or weeks manually is reduced to minutes with automation.

Yes, we take data security very seriously:

• Encrypted storage: All uploaded data is encrypted at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption
• Private projects: Your URL data is only accessible to you—we never share or sell data
• Secure authentication: Projects are protected behind secure user authentication
• Data retention: You control your data and can delete projects at any time
• No public access: Your URL mappings remain completely private unless you explicitly choose to share export files

We process only the information necessary for URL mapping—we don't store actual page content or scrape your websites. Your data is used solely to generate redirect mappings for your projects.

Absolutely! Manual review and control are core features of Redirect Buddy:

• Interactive review interface: Browse all mappings in an easy-to-use table with filtering and sorting
• Confidence-based filtering: Focus your attention on low-confidence matches that need validation
• Manual overrides: Change any target URL or mark mappings as approved/rejected
• Alternative suggestions: For each mapping, see alternative target options if available
• Bulk actions: Approve multiple high-confidence matches at once to save time
• Export filtering: Choose to export only approved mappings or include all with their confidence scores

The automation handles the heavy lifting, but you always have final say. This combination of speed and control is what makes Redirect Buddy both efficient and reliable for critical SEO migrations.