The world of SEO can be a confusing place, filled with technical jargon and seemingly endless strategies for boosting your search engine rankings. But fear not. We’re here to help demystify one of the most important concepts in the world of SEO: 301 redirects.
In this article, you'll find:
- What are 301 redirects?
- SEO impact when using 301 redirects
- 301 vs 302 redirect
- Challenges and solutions for creating 301 redirects
So, what is a 301 redirect exactly?
Simply put, a 301 redirect is a way to permanently redirect one URL to another. The "301" is a response code given by a server, indicating that the URL has changed permanently. For example:
www.exampledomain.com/old-url
--> 301 redirect -->
www.exampledomain.com/new-url
This means that all traffic going to the old URL will be redirected to the new URL. This is also the case for web crawlers, such as search engine crawlers (e.g. Googlebot).
Implementing a 301 redirect useful in a number of different scenarios, such as when deleting a page, migrating content to a new URL, using vanity links, or when to migrating your website to a new domain.
A real-world example of a 301 redirect
Let me give you an example from the real world: if you're a pizza lover like us, you know that sometimes the perfect slice can be hard to find. You may have to try a few different places before you find the one that hits the spot.
Let’s say that you found your perfect pizza at ‘Papa’s Pizza Place’, but Papa has retired and his son Mike is taking over the business, which – surprise, surprise – he’s renaming as ‘Mike’s Pizza Place’. Mike has moved his restaurant to a new, better location with its new name. And, now, you can’t find it! Leaving you hungry and disappointed.
This is where the 301 redirect comes in. A 301 redirect is like a moving notice, telling you that your favorite pizza is still waiting for you, and conveniently pointing you to the new location.
The same goes for your website. You may have to try a few different URLs before you find the one that really resonates with your audience. But what happens to all those old URLs that you've tried and abandoned? Enter the 301 redirect. It will take your website visitors from the old, stale URL to the fresh, new one that you've chosen. And that’s a slice of good news for your business!
SEO Impact: 301 Redirects make sure your visitor isn’t left empty-handed
Why is this important for SEO? Well, imagine you have an old page on your website that’s getting a lot of traffic and backlinks. If you simply delete that page and replace it with a new one, all of that hard-earned traffic and link juice will be lost.
By using a 301 redirect, you can send search engines a moving notice that the old page has been permanently moved to a new location. They’ll then pass all of that traffic and link juice on to the new page. This can help maintain - or even improve - your search engine rankings.
Why do you get this bonus from search engines? Simple: making sure your visitors get the best available information is core business for the likes of Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, DuckDuckGo and other search engines. They only benefit from visitors who find what they’re looking for.
301 permanent redirect or 302 temporary redirect?
But what about other types of redirects? You may have heard of 302 redirects, which are similar to 301 redirects, but are intended to be temporary. While a 301 redirect indicates to search engines that a page has been permanently moved, a 302 redirect tells search engines that the move is only temporary. This can be useful in some situations, but it’s generally better to use a 301 redirect whenever possible, as it offers the most benefits for your SEO efforts.
Challenges when implementing a 301 redirect
So, how do you implement a 301 redirect? Classically, 301 redirects are no walk in the park. There are a number of things to consider when creating and managing redirects: