What is htaccess?
The htaccess file is a directory-specific configuration file. It can be used to configure the Apache web server. Many different settings for the directory and subdirectories are possible with this file.
What does htaccess mean for seo?
In principle, it is not advisable to approach the changes as a layman. Various changes can have major and, above all, undesirable effects. However, the file is very important for SEO specialists. You can rewrite and redirect URLs. Manage error documents and prevent access to desired files and directories.
URL rewrites and redirects are particularly relevant for search engine optimization. The status of the redirect is important from an SEO perspective. If no status is specified, most servers assume a temporary redirect, which causes the message 302 to be displayed. A 301 redirect is much more important for search engines, as such a redirect transfers the ranking of the linked source to the target page. If this permanent redirect is to take place, this must be specified in the htaccess file.
It is also important that there is no 404 error code as a server response. Pages with the error code are not indexed by the web crawler. Experts know exactly what they need to specify in order to avoid such errors. Incorrect settings sometimes lead to the website being downgraded in the ranking or not appearing in the index at all.
