This article is relevant if you are managing a NetSuite web site or eCommerce system.
NetSuite URLs for SEO Optimization
When optimizing your NetSuite web site for SEO ranking, many times you may want to modify the URL naming convention. NetSuite allows you to define the URL manually via the “URL Component” within your items and information item definitions.
The basic idea is that you simply change the URL and now the NetSuite web site will respond on that updated URL. All good. But let’s suppose that you want to preserve any traffic that may already be referencing that old link. This is where you need Redirect definitions.
NetSuite URL Redirects Appear to not Work
After you have updated the URL on your item, you then proceed to go to the Redirect management screen to define the old URL and the new URL. All of this appears straight forward. The challenge is that when you test it, by going to your old URL, NetSuite responds like a 404 error and throws you to the native search engine. This is not what you expected.
The issue is that NetSuite’s web site caching architecture does not update its redirect definitions real-time. It may take 24 to 48 hours before you see the new redirect definitions. Due to this, I suggest the following:
- Make your URL changes at the start of a day when you expect the lowest traffic to minimize impact.
- Test your URL two days later to make sure you didn’t make a mistake. Don’t get tranquilized that you did it right as this defeats the purpose of the redirect.
- If possible, see if you can catch the improper handling via Google Analytics so you can at least observe the possible impact.
Marty Zigman
Holding all three official certifications, Marty is regarded as the top NetSuite expert and leads a team of senior professionals at Prolecto Resources, Inc. He is a former Deloitte & Touche CPA and has held CTO roles. For over 30 years, Marty has produced leadership in ERP, CRM and eCommerce business systems. Contact Marty to set up a conversation.
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Does NetSuite support wildcards in the re-directs?
Hello David,
My understanding is that NetSuite doesn’t support wildcards. Instead, NetSuite supports a way to upload all the redirect definitions. We have written algorithms that generate all the combinations of URLs o the old system which then can be mapped to the new system.
Marty
We want to be able to add a tracking script after the completion of a checkout submission. is there a path where we can integrate code for it to fire, or be able to create a redirect url path so that once someone completes the transaction through the netsuite frame it can automatically redirect to a seperate page (thank you) where we can integrate code into the body
Hello Zeeshan,
I am curious, did you add your scripts to the Head area of the site?
Marty
I believe you can use a redirect wildcard only for the 2nd to last parameters. You always need the 1st one.
redirect from: /this-item?n=1*
redirect to: /that-item
test.com/this-item?n=1&sc=12 -> test.com/that-item?sc=12
how i can redirect to a outside page(different URL) using suitelet API 1.0
Thanks
Check out the NetSuite Application Navigation APIs in the Help document. Review the nlapiRequestURL and then you remember basic web mechanics for web redirection from server-side generated content.
Marty