Yesterday I wrote a post entitled Site Optimization Tips from Google Search’s Matt Cutts, where I talked about Matt’s recommendation to avoid using dates in your posts URL’s.  In that post, I explained how to adjust your permalink structure to remove the dates.  Some concerns where then expressed in the comments about making the switch to a permalink URL and the possibility of broken links.  This is a legitimate concern for those that rely on old inbound links and search engines for their incoming traffic, so I decided to provide the solution in a new post.

One of the great things about using WordPress is it always seems that the solution is only a plugin away.  In this case, the 301 Permalink Redirect plugin should already be installed for the SEO benefits it provides, including merging your www and non-www posts to avoid having duplicate content.  What people often forget is it can be used for other purposes as well, including making it easy to redirect your old permalink structure to a new one.

Assuming you have the plugin installed, you’ll want to go into the Options section and find Permalink Redirect.  Towards the bottom you will see a section that looks like this:

Permalink Redirect

You can see where it says Old Permalink Structure I put the old structure:  /%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/

That’s all you have to do to redirect everything from your old permalink structure to a new one.   Any questions? Post them below and I’ll do my best to answer them!