I am currently updating a blog post from 2023 and considering changing the title, which would also require changing the URL. Should I redirect the old URL to the new one, or should I delete the old post and publish the new one instead? How would this affect SEO?
It’s generally best to redirect the old URL to the new one. This will prevent any loss of SEO value and ensure that any existing backlinks to the old post will still direct users to the updated content.
Deleting the old post and publishing a new one could result in a loss of search engine ranking and potentially lead to broken links. While a new URL may be beneficial for SEO if it is more relevant to the content, the potential loss of existing backlinks and the time it takes for the new post to be indexed and ranked could outweigh those benefits.
By using a 301 redirect, you are essentially telling search engines that the old URL has permanently moved to the new one. This allows search engines to transfer the SEO value (including backlinks) from the old post to the new one, minimizing any negative impact on your search engine ranking.