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301 Redirect Problems with SEO and Website Hosting Companies

Problem:

I've run into 301 redirect problems with seo and website hosting companies. I was experiencing problems lately with my website having duplicate content issues due to the www version and the non-www version of my domain name. I know this because the employees at Google are great at answering questions in the Google Groups. The simple answer is a 301 redirect from the non-www version to the www domain name.
Solution: It should've been simple; but it wasn't. According to my website hosting company, they do not know how to do a proper 301 redirect. The dns records for both versions are pointing to the same ip address so as far as they're concerned, the problem is solved. I am using the Check Server Headers Tool available from SEO Consultants to confirm if a 301 redirect is in place properly.

I put a bandaid in place by using an index.asp page with a 301 redirect to www.kandiandkeith.com/Default.aspx; however, the root domain name is where PageRank is accumulating and where the majority of my incoming links are pointing to. So, while that worked to make sure that anyone who typed in the www version or the non-www version were all being redirected to the same page.

Now, people may disagree but 301 redirects on an Apache server are easy so I'm not going to talk about those. I'm going to focus on 301 redirects on Microsoft IIS servers.

The directions on the right come from a great reference source at Stepforth.com. Unfortunately, again, my website hosting company says they cannot give me a separate ip address for the non-www version of my domain name. I have not been able to fix the duplicate content issue but Google is aware of it and are not penalizing me for it at this time.

Installing the Non-WWW 301 Redirect on a Microsoft IIS Server


Microsoft servers do not have a .htaccess file to alter so we suggest that you contact your hosting provider and request they make this change for you. If they are baffled or need further instructions on how to make the changes you can refer them to the tutorials referenced below:
  1. Using Internet Services Manager create a new IP-based website using the http://example.com URL or alternatively you can avoid using a unique IP by using the host header (virtual website) of www.example.com.
  2. Now verify the server headers for each website using the Server Header Checker. The server response should be 200 OK for both addresses.
  3. Now add your domain-revised version of the following ASP code to the default home page for http://example.com:


    Note: do not change the spacing or line placement within the above code; place it as is.
  4. Once the default page is online first visit your website via http://example.com to ensure the redirect is working. Next check the server headers for http://example.com and make sure you see the following code within #1: "HTTP Status Code: HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently". That code will confirm the 301 redirect is being properly communicated.
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