On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 8:52 AM Dave Wreski
<dwre...@guardiandigital.com.invalid> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a FAQ, but need some additional info I haven't been able to find.
>> I'm trying to process links Google has indicated are 404s that never really
>> ever existed on our site.
>>
>> I have an htaccess file I'm Including with my main apache config that
>> only contains RewriteConds. This file is processed before any of the other
>> htaccess files that contain standard RewriteRules. This is what I'm using
>> to strip off any trailing slashes in URLs:
>>
>> RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
>> RewriteRule ^(.*)/$ /$1 [R=301,L]
>>
>> I just want to confirm that this means none of the RewriteRules that
>> follow should contain a trailing slash or they will not match, correct?
>>
>> Some of my existing RewriteRules that were created before I realized I
>> should be stripping off the trailing slash actually contain a trailing
>> slash.
>>
>> Perhaps I should instead be using '/?' instead of just '/' at the end of
>> URLs?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dave
>>
>>
>>
> If the following rules look for a trailing slash and you remove it prior,
> in theory it won't match. However, remember that .htaccess files will be
> parsed over and over until it stops matching, so you are likely to create a
> rewrite loop.
>
> Oh, good info. I didn't realize that.
>
> What is the rationale for removing trailing slashes here?
>
> Because apparently Google considers it duplicated content when it sees one
> version with a slash and one version without. Here's a few articles that
> discuss the issues.
>
> https://authenticdigital.nz/blog/trailing-slashes-and-seo/
> https://ahrefs.com/blog/trailing-slash/
>
> https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5948659/when-should-i-use-a-trailing-slash-in-my-url
>
> Also, I learned my RewriteCond above to strip off the trailing slash
> doesn't work with URLs involving query strings.
>
> RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
> RewriteRule ^(.*)/$ /$1 [R=301,L]
>
> I believe it also has the potential to add a duplicate slash in the
> beginning if $1 already has a slash in it, but using just $1 alone doesn't
> fix the problem with losing query strings. Even ahrefs uses the above
> example in their blog post without considering query strings or the
> potential for creating duplicate slashes.
>
> Ideas greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
>
>
>
>
I would stop using .htaccess files, first, and merge all rewrite rules in
the relevant vhost / Directory block. Then, I would use the rewrite log to
see what is really happening.
Using multiple .htaccess files is a recipe to lose all your hair.
