You might notice your country or language code in the URL bar when visiting global sites. This means you’re using the version of the site that the developer made for your region or language. This is the result of using IP redirects. However, sites with no IP redirects can also localize content using some alternatives.
In this article, we’ll explore both IP redirects and no IP redirects approach. Let’s begin by understanding IP redirects in detail!
Table of Contents
What Are IP Redirects?
IP redirects refer to rerouting visitors to different versions of a website based on particular criteria. The web server uses the visitor’s IP address to determine the approximate geographical location of the user. This information helps the server redirect the user to a version of the website for that region.
Websites use IP redirects to provide content in the user’s native language or tailored to their regional preferences. This redirected version of the site also typically lists the product prices in the visitor’s local currency.
Notice how Apple uses a different language and currency for its Australian and German websites.
While geographical targeting is the main use of IP redirects, it is not the only one. For instance, websites may use IP redirects for load balancing. Distributing traffic across multiple servers prevents any single server from becoming overwhelmed, which helps maintain website performance and availability.
Moreover, when a website reorganizes its structure, IP redirects can point old URLs to new ones to prevent broken links.
While IP redirects are beneficial, there are scenarios where no IP redirection is a better approach. This means all users visit the same website version without redirection using their source IP address. What is the no IP redirects approach, and how does it work? We’ll discuss that later in this article.
For now, let’s explore how IP redirection works.
How Does IP Redirection Work?
Here’s a simplified process of how the IP redirect works.
Step 1: The Initial Request
When you type a URL into your browser and hit enter, your computer sends an IP packet to the web server. This packet includes your source IP address, which identifies your device on the network. The source IP address tells the server where the request came from and where to send the response.
Step 2: Analyzing the Routing Table
The server receives the IP packet and examines its routing table. The routing table acts like a map for the server and details paths to different destinations.
It helps the server decide where to send incoming packets. If the server determines that it should redirect the IP packet, it looks up the appropriate route in routing table.
The server’s decision to use IP redirects depends on several factors. If the source IP address indicates a foreign user, the server can redirect them to the foreign website version. The server can also use redirection to point the traffic to a less busy server.
Furthermore, the server might redirect or block packets from suspicious or known malicious IP addresses.
Step 3: Sending the Redirect Message
Once the server decides to redirect the packet, it sends back a special type of message to the user’s device. This is the redirect message. There are different types of redirect messages, but one common type is the ICMP redirect:
- ICMP redirect: The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) redirect message contains error and operational information. An ICMP redirect tells the user’s device that there is a better route to the destination. The user’s device then updates its routing table to reflect this new information.
Step 4: Updating the Default Gateway
Sometimes, the redirect involves changing the default gateway. The default gateway is the router that your device uses to send packets to destinations outside your local network. If the server sends an ICMP redirect indicating a better route, your device updates its default gateway accordingly. This ensures that future outgoing packets from your device take the optimal path.
Step 5: Re-Sending the Request
After the routing table updates, your device re-sends the IP packet using the new route specified by the server. This time, the packet takes the optimal path and reaches the intended destination.
What Is No IP Redirects?
There can be times when a user might want to visit your main English website, regardless of their location. Automatically redirecting them to other versions can leave a forced impression, damaging the user experience (UX).
This is where the no IP redirects approach is more feasible. It maintains a consistent user experience as all users see the same website version.
In addition to better user experience, no IP redirection also helps with:
- SEO complications: Google’s crawler indexes websites for search results and is based in the US. If a website automatically redirects users based on their IP addresses, Google’s crawler might only index the US version. This can result in neglecting other site versions, which can hurt the website’s visibility in search results globally.
- Consistency for travelers: Automatic IP redirects can send international travelers to local website versions. Such unasked redirections can frustrate the user and increase bounce rates.
There are a few measures you can take to prevent your site from using IP address redirects.
Firstly, you can use static routes instead of dynamically redirecting users based on their IP addresses. A static route sends all users to the same website version, regardless of their location.
You should also use the no IP redirect command to disable ICMP redirect messages and prevent the routing table from updating.
Maintaining a consistent URL structure that does not change based on the source IP address is important. You can use a single domain or organize content independently of the user’s location to maintain consistency.
No IP Redirects but With the Perks of IP Redirects
Did you know you can still benefit from IP redirection without even using it? You can do this by allowing users to manually select their preferred language or regional version from the homepage.
For this, you can either display all the options on a banner on the homepage or provide a dropdown menu.
For example, this is ZARA’s no IP redirection approach.
FAQ
What does No IP Redirects mean?
This approach avoids automatic redirection based on IP addresses. It ensures a consistent user experience. Users see the same website version regardless of their location. The site doesn’t change content based on the source IP address.
Why should I disable IP redirects?
Disabling IP redirects prevents unauthorized traffic rerouting and ensures users navigate to the correct webpage that they intend to.
IP Redirects and No IP Redirects Both Need Geolocation!
While IP-based redirection requires you to geolocate the visitor’s IP for obvious reasons, no IP redirects also require geolocation.
You’ll need to analyze incoming traffic to determine which regions really need a separate geo-page. For this, you can use IP geolocation databases containing location data corresponding to IP addresses.
A smarter approach is to use a geolocation service like geoPlugin to filter visitors in real-time. geoPlugin can determine the country, city, zip code, and other information of your visitors by solely using their IP addresses.
The IP geolocation service by geoPlugin is also free. So, sign up for geoPlugin today and implement smart websites!
