Google: We Recommend You Not Use Meta-Refresh

Jul 21, 2011 - 8:35 am 3 by

meta refreshGoogler, JohnMu said in a Google Webmaster Help thread that you are better off not using the meta refresh HTML tag.

In response to why one webmaster was seeing unusual error reports in Google Webmaster Tools, John noticed the site was using the meta refresh tag. In response, he said:

In general, we recommend not using meta-refresh type redirects, as this can cause confusion with users (and search engine crawlers, who might mistake that for an attempted redirect). This is likely where the warning you saw came from. This is currently not causing any problems with regards to crawling, indexing, or ranking, but it would still be a good idea to remove that.

John made a point to say that this is not impacting his rankings or crawling but he did recommend the site remove the meta tag.

There are many sites out there that use it, for no real good reason, so if you do, maybe drop it.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
Google Core Update Coming, Ranking Volatility, Bye Search Notes, AI Overviews, Ads & More - YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 25, 2024

Jul 25, 2024 - 10:00 am
Google Ads

Google Again: We Will Test Ads In AI Overviews Soon

Jul 25, 2024 - 7:51 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Now Testing Bing Generative Search Experience

Jul 25, 2024 - 7:41 am
Bing SEO

Reddit Blocked Bing Search & Others But Not Google

Jul 25, 2024 - 7:31 am
Local Search

Apple Maps Web Version Launches Beta

Jul 25, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

Google Local Service Ads Shows Phone Number On Hover

Jul 25, 2024 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: A Fresh Noogler Zurich
Next Story: Goodbye Google Labs