transition page to new url and replace old url with new page

[damon]

Okay, conundrum.

For usability reasons I am splitting the tables in my database and the scripts that access it on my education-related site into two categories: resource and course.

<background>
Originally, one set of tables and scripts, course.php et al..., accessed the database, but most of the fields weren't in use because the tables covered such a wide range of data (online resources and synchronous online courses). Users were also finding the terminology confusing so a change was definitely in order.
</background>

This is a new site with no back links to the course.php?id=xx so this is strictly to be robot friendly and not ruin the longtail keywords I'm currently ranking for.

I want to redirect all my current course.php?id=xx listings to resource.php?id=xx ... easy enough ... Afterwards, I want to reuse course.php for actual courses, currently they are primarily listing online resources. The data currently listed in course.php?id=xx is exclusively online resource data.

I would like to know the best way to transition the data to the new urls and then start using the old urls for new data.

I figure the first step is to upload resource.php?id=xx and, using 401s, redirect course.php?id=xx to resource.php?id=xx.

Is waiting for search engines to find the 401s and the new urls enough, or should I wait longer before replacing the course.php?id=xx files with new content?

I hope I explained this well enough.

Damon

[beu]

If possible, I'd leave the current URLs alone and rewrite the new URLs to be more search friendly (IE course.php?id=seo101 to course/seo101/). Then use the current URLs to link to the new, more friendly URLS. After you achieve good rankings for the new URLs linking to the current URLs, I'd change the current URLs to be more search friendly and implement a 301 redirect from the current URLs to the more search friendly version. When you rewrite and redirect the current URLs linking to the new URLs to be more search friendly that's when I'd include "resources" in the rewrite. Just my two cents!

[damon]

Thanks for the quick reply.

After you achieve good rankings for the new URLs linking to the current URLs, I'd change the current URLs to be more search friendly and implement a 301 redirect from the current URLs to the more search friendly version.

I presume you mean: "After you achieve good rankings for the new URLs linking from the current URLs"... otherwise I don't understand what you are telling me.

My post wasn't about more search friendly URLs, however. I want to know the best (most search friendly) way to move content to a new set of URLs (which are easier to understand for human visitors) and then reuse the old URLs for content that is more appropriate (for human visitors).

But, you're right. I need to implement search frienly urls too...

d.

[beu]

right, that is what I was trying to say (After you achieve good rankings for the new URLs linking from the current URLs)

Funny thing is, in many cases search friendly URLs are human friendly too. In your case it just seems best to keep what you have for a little while, use it to your advantage and then "kill two birds with one stone" when you make the change. Meaning make the current URLs more search and human friendly.

Hope that helps!

[Marcia]

Is there any particular reason you need to re-use those URLs?

[damon]

I don't have to use the exact URLs, but the base script name (course.php) makes the most logical sense for what I want to ultimately use it for.

I could use something like course.php?courseid=xx instead of course.php?id=xx if it made a difference.