Automatic redirects when a slug changes

Changing the slug of a published post changes its URL. Without a redirect, every link, bookmark and search result pointing at the old address leads to a 404, and the page loses the rankings it had built up.

RankKit SEO prevents this for you. When the slug of a published post changes, it adds a 301 redirect from the old path to the new one, with no action on your part. This is free and on whenever the Redirects module is on.

When a redirect is added

RankKit SEO adds the redirect when all of these are true:

• The post was published before the change and is still published after it.
• Its slug changed (for example /best-running-shoes-2025/ to /best-running-shoes/).
• The content type has public URLs (posts, pages, products and other public content types).
• No existing redirect rule already matches the old path.

It does not add one when you edit the slug of a draft, change a post that isn't published, or rename a category or tag.

Where to find it

The new rule appears on RankKit SEO → Redirects like any other redirect: From is the old path, To is the new path, and Type is 301.

It is also recorded in the Change Log with the source Automatic and the note "Slug changed", so you can see when it happened.

Undo or change it

• Remove it: delete the rule on RankKit SEO → Redirects, or revert the entry in the Change Log.
• Point it elsewhere: click Edit on the rule and change To.

Deleting the rule doesn't change the post's slug back. If you renamed the slug by mistake, change it back in the editor; the old URL then works again on its own.

Example

1. You publish a post at https://example.com/best-running-shoes-2025/.
2. A year later you change its slug to best-running-shoes.
3. RankKit SEO adds: From /best-running-shoes-2025/ To /best-running-shoes/, 301 Moved permanently.
4. Anyone opening the old URL, including Google, lands on the new one, and the old URL's query string is carried over.

Note If you move a page under a different parent page, its URL changes too, but its slug doesn't. RankKit SEO only reacts to slug changes, so add a redirect for the old path by hand in that case. See Create and manage redirects.

FAQ

Do I also need WordPress's own old-slug redirect?

No harm in having both. WordPress core remembers old slugs of posts and can redirect them on its own, but not for pages. RankKit SEO's rule covers pages too, and you can see it, edit it and count its hits.

Can I turn automatic redirects off?

They run as part of the Redirects module, which also runs your manual rules. There is no separate switch. Delete any automatic rule you don't want.

I changed a slug several times. Do I get a chain of redirects?

Each change adds a rule from the previous path to the new one. If an older rule already matches a path, no duplicate is added. To avoid chains, edit older rules so they point straight at the final URL.