Redirect mapping is the document, prepared before a migration or a URL change, that pairs every existing URL with the single best destination URL it should redirect to afterwards.
Definition
Redirect mapping is the document, prepared before a migration or a URL change, that pairs every existing URL with the single best destination URL it should redirect to afterwards. Each row is old URL to new URL, using a permanent (301) redirect, chosen so the destination is the closest equivalent in content and intent — not a blanket redirect of everything to the home page, which loses the specific relevance and most of the link equity.
URLs with no true equivalent are handled deliberately (redirect to the nearest relevant page, or return 410 if the content is genuinely gone).
A good map has no chains (A to B to C; it should be A to C directly), no loops, and no redirects to error or noindexed pages. It is the single most important artefact in preserving organic performance through a structural change.
In context
For an iGaming affiliate, the redirect map is where a migration is won or lost, and the scale is significant: operator reviews, comparison pages, market sections, guides, blog posts, and a large bilingual glossary can be thousands of URLs, each carrying rankings, links or both. The map has to be complete (every indexable URL with traffic or links accounted for), accurate (each old URL to its genuine best equivalent), and clean (no chains, loops, or redirects into 404s or noindex).
Skipping low-traffic URLs is a common mistake — long-tail pages collectively carry real traffic, and glossary terms individually look small but matter in aggregate.
Building it: crawl the current site and pull every URL; enrich with Search Console clicks, rankings and backlink data so nothing valuable is missed; map 1:1 to the new structure; flag URLs with no equivalent for a manual decision; validate the map for chains and loops; and after launch, test a sample and then check server logs and Search Console to confirm the redirects are being followed and the new URLs indexed. For a bilingual glossary, the map must also preserve the EN/RU pairing so that after redirection each language's term still points to the correct hreflang counterpart.
A thorough redirect map, tested before and monitored after launch, is what lets a site restructure without a lasting traffic loss.
Worked example
Before restructuring its URLs, an affiliate crawls the site, enriches the URL list with Search Console and backlink data, and builds a 1:1 redirect map covering every review, guide and glossary term in both languages. It validates the map for chains and loops, launches, tests a sample, and monitors logs and Search Console; a handful of unmapped edge URLs are caught and added in the first week.
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Frequently asked questions
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