Faulty redirects are extremely frustrating for mobile users and Google wants to do something about it. Well, the Google has no intentions of fixing those links for webmasters. Instead, it will spare you the headache of retrying to open links when you search for content through its portal.
For those unaware, faulty redirects basically happen when you click a link to a specific web page and it takes you to the home page instead. This is a very common issue faced by smartphone users and almost everyone has fallen victim to it. The reason behind the faulty redirect is mainly because a website isn’t capable of handling requests from smartphones. Also, the issue can only be fixed by webmasters themselves.
To make it convenient to find such links and to help users avoid the hassle, the Mountain View giant has started offering alerts on its English search results. The notification will be visible below the link with a ‘Try anyway’ option which allows you to ignore the warning and proceed to the page. A post on the Google Webmaster Central blog states that the company ‘may note it below the result.’ This suggests that not all links will be covered, but hey, it’s a start. Also, this facility is only being rolled out in the US for now.
The company is also providing webmasters with advice and resources to help them fix such links and ensure that readers as well as audiences reach the right page and not get redirected. Site owners in the US can start by manually searching their content from a smartphone or a browser tweaked to function like one. Then there are Google’s own Webmaster Tools that provide alerts on detection of faulty redirects.
More recommendations and information can be found on the Webmaster Central blog.