How Do I Work with Redirects?

Purpose of URL Redirects

The URL redirect feature in allows you to create short, user-friendly links that point to existing website content. This is particularly useful for:

  • Broken Backlinks: URL redirects can help you lead users who are ending up on a 404 page due to using an outdated backlink url they may have bookmarked. 
  • Printed Materials: Replaces long URLs with shorter, more memorable versions for brochures, flyers, and social media posts.
  • Branding and Readability: Short URLs can enhance brand consistency and improve readability in printed materials.

When to Use URL Redirects

This feature is ideal for creating shortlinks for various content types, including:

  • Basic Pages
  • Landing Pages
  • Listing Pages
  • How-To guides
  • News Articles
  • Events
  • FAQs
  • Location Pages

Elements of URL Redirects

  • Long URL (Source): The original, full URL of the webpage you want to redirect users to.
  • Short URL (Destination): The shorter, user-friendly link you create that will redirect to the long URL.

Limitations:

  • Redirection: Users will still see the long URL in their browser address bar even though they used the shortlink.
  • Redirect Troubleshooting: URL Redirects for any new pages do not work if the original page remains in trash. Make sure you've emptied your content trash can so the original page is fully deleted this way you can now create the new url redirect.
  • Microcontent Exclusion: Currently, redirects cannot be created for microcontent types like promos or link collections.
illustration of hands and puzzle from freepik
Image by storyset on Freepik

State Employee Link Shortener

If you want to change a long URL to a shorter URL all State employees are able to use the State Link Shortener

When using the link shortener there isn't an option to customize words of the new shorter url link

Example of Long Link URL:

example of a long url link

Example of Short Link URL:

example of shorter url link

Did you know Google Analytics can help you locate new URL redirects to create?

Google Analytics Pages and Screens report tracks user path on your website and you can use this feature to track how many users are ending up on your sites 404 page by first searching for the title of your 404 page within the report search bar then selecting the "Page title and Screen name" report dimension within the little arrow next to the plus symbol.

decorative

Additionally you can also find the URL redirects you need to create by adding a second dimension by selecting the plus symbol and then selecting the  "Page path and screen class" dimension. This will show you the url string that users are using that brought them to the 404 page. 

With this information you can then take that url path and create a url redirect on your site to lead your users to the correct page. 

decorative

Did you know ServiceNow offers Training Resources on Essential Google Products?

Visit the ServiceNow knowledge base and learn valuable insights on utilizing Google Tools:

  • Google Analytics: Track website traffic and user behavior for informed decision-making.
  • Google Search Console: Optimize your website's search engine ranking and visibility.
  • Google Tag Manager: Manage website tags efficiently and gain valuable data insights.
  • Google Programmable Search: Enhance your website's search functionality and user experience.
illustration of two people searching for something
Image by storyset on Freepik

How to Create a Redirect link to go to a new URL

One simple way to create a new shorter AND customized url redirect is by navigating to the "Content" button and then within the dropdown navigate to "URL redirects" and then select "Add redirect"

Example of how to make a shorter custom url

From there you can add the new custom and short url you would like to use within the "Path" field and then after that you will search for the title of the page that you want this new url to direct to. 

example of how to create a redirect

Once the page is located within that drop down list select it and then click save and your new custom redirect url is created and you can now share that shortened link and it will lead to the specified page.

How to make a custom shorten url

Please keep in mind that within the to field you should not add the actual URL link because this will result in an error. You will know that it is incorrect when you see within the grey pop up box that it says "No Result." and "No content suggestions found"

Example of the incorrect way to create a redirect:

example of an incorrect way to create a redirect

Only the title of the page should go within the to field so that the system can take care of the rest of the linking for you in the back end.

Remember to always save any changes you make by clicking the save button.

URL Redirect Not Working?

If you are getting an error when creating your url redirect for a page that was previously deleted then this means that the original page is still in the trash can section of the site and in order for the url redirect to work you will have to clean your trash can because redirects for new pages do not work if the original page remains in trash.

To clean your trash can to permanently delete the original page from your site navigate to the trash tab in the Content tab section.

locating the trashcan inside of the content tab

Next in the operation row you will click the little dropdown arrow for the page that you want to fully delete and select purge.

locating the purge button to delete from the trash can

Now the original page is deleted from your trash can and full removed for your site you can now create the url redirect for it.

Fixing Extra "0" in Page URL

Problem: You have a link that looks like this:

https://dxtraining.iowa.gov/testpage-0

...but you want it to look like this:

https://dxtraining.iowa.gov/testpage

If you create multiple pages there will be a -0, -1, -2 at the end of the url but there is a way to fix that.

  • Navigate to Content and select "Url Redirects"
example of url redirect
  • Search for the original page URL (without the "-0") and select the edit button to then create a redirect to the URL with the "-0" at the end
url redirect
  • Once the new redirect is created you can delete the duplicated page that has the -0 (or -1,-2, etc) and then resave your original page for the issue to be fixed

This new redirects is created so anyone who have already bookmarked a link with vision-0 in it, can still be directed to the correct page.

Do not redirect to microcontent

Individual links will also not work if linked directly to a direct Video, Google Calendar Embed, or Tableau Embed from the Media Library. Please create a Basic page (or other major content type) and then place that microcontent inside, and use the basic page for generating the redirect link.

Do not redirect to media library items

An individual link *could* be created to go directly to a Document but it's recommended to instead create a page or microcontent that links to that document.