# Meridian · Technical SEO finding and retest

Example: our own website. Historical implementation: September 1, 2026.
Record reviewed: September 11, 2026. This is a technical work example, not a claim of ranking or inquiry growth.

## MER-01 — Language URL consistency

- Scope: the shared language-routing rule used by service pages.
- Previous pattern: `/services/seo-services?lang=zh` selected Chinese through a query parameter.
- Decision: use `/zh/services/seo-services` as the Chinese address, align page signals, and permanently redirect the legacy request.
- Why it mattered: visitors, internal links, and search-facing metadata should use the same language URL rule. This is a shared-template concern.
- Owner: website developer; SEO reviewer defines checks and reviews results.

## Implementation

1. Redirect the legacy query URL to the dedicated language URL with HTTP 308.
2. Produce the correct language from the request path.
3. Localize navigation and contextual links.
4. Align the canonical and reciprocal language alternates; keep both language URLs in the sitemap.

## Retest checklist

- [ ] Legacy request redirects to the expected URL without a loop.
- [ ] Final Chinese URL returns HTTP 200 and Chinese page content.
- [ ] Its canonical points to that Chinese URL.
- [ ] English and Chinese alternate links are reciprocal.
- [ ] Sitemap entries and internal links use the dedicated URLs.
- [ ] Language switching is clicked in both directions, including from the middle of the page.

The boxes are left blank for reuse. Meridian's implementation and checks are recorded internally; verify the current website before using this as a fresh observation. Search Console indexing and ranking outcomes are separate from these technical acceptance checks.

## Reuse for another finding

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