Technical SEO
Redirect Candidate
A Redirect Candidate is an AYSA review record for a URL that might warrant redirection but has not yet received an approved destination and implementation decision.
What it means
The record stores the source URL, current status and content, proposed target, equivalence evidence, internal links, sitemap presence, known traffic or Backlink gaps, ownership and rollback risk. It remains a proposal until the destination serves an equivalent or more complete user outcome and the accountable reviewer authorizes the exact mapping.
Why it matters
A candidate state separates discovery from execution, preventing automated audits from turning thinness, similarity or a guessed target into an irreversible public redirect.
Example
A discontinued campaign page is marked as a candidate for its evergreen guide, but the redirect stays unimplemented until unique instructions are transferred and traffic, links and customer expectations are reviewed.
Common mistakes
Do not treat the label as an HTTP response, redirect unrelated URLs to a homepage, infer equivalence from titles alone, conceal missing GSC or Backlink evidence or approve a target that redirects again.
How AYSA handles this
Signals reviewed
source status, content comparison, proposed target, internal links, sitemap presence, traffic evidence, backlink evidence, approval
Problem AYSA can identify
AYSA can surface URLs that appear redundant, obsolete or migrated while distinguishing confirmed evidence from unavailable analytics and backlink data.
Recommendation prepared
AYSA prepares a keep, improve, consolidate or redirect decision with the exact destination, content transfer, link updates, risks and rollback.
Approval preview
The reviewer sees the live source and target, comparison evidence, unknowns, protected-URL status, proposed mapping and all planned downstream changes.
Execution
AYSA executes only the explicitly approved owned-site mapping on supported systems; candidate creation alone never changes HTTP, robots, canonical or sitemap behavior.
Verification
After approval and implementation, AYSA validates the source response, final target, transferred value, updated links and absence of loops or unrelated destinations.
Limits
The evidence remains URL-, crawler-, platform- and time-bound; recommendations, generated drafts, approvals, crawls and monitoring do not automatically certify AI Act or legal compliance, and applicable Article 50 transparency duties require a separate role-and-use assessment from 2 August 2026.
Sources and further reading
- Google Search Central — Redirects and Google Search — Official search documentation
- Google Search Central — Site moves with URL changes — Official search documentation
- Google Search Central — Specify a canonical URL — Official search documentation
- W3C — PROV Overview — W3C provenance standard
- European Commission — AI Act Article 50 transparency guidelines — Official European Commission guidance
Written by Marius Dosinescu. Reviewed by AYSA SEO Editorial Team · 2026-07-28 00:00:00.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Does Redirect Candidate mean the URL already redirects?
No. It is a review state; public behavior stays unchanged until an exact mapping is approved and implemented.
Can missing traffic data be treated as zero traffic?
No. Missing evidence must remain visible and blocks destructive retirement under AYSA glossary governance.
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