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What in the World is a 301 Redirect?

A 301 redirect sends your traffic elsewhere

A 301 Redirect? Why Should I Care?

Simply put, 301 redirects are like setting up a sign at your old house once you’ve moved – that automatically sends visitors to the new location. However, that isn’t the only use. For example, if your customers access your site through a bunch of different URLs, you can specify to only send traffic to the preferred URL. Further, if you’ve merged websites or removed a page and made a new one, you might also want to consider adding 301 redirects.

Temporary vs. Permanent Redirects

When it comes to redirect types, there are three things to keep in mind. First, when choosing a redirect, be sure that the redirected target is canonical. Second, think about how long you expect the redirect to be in place, and what page you want to appear on Google search results.

Server Side Redirects

Next, server side redirects require access to the server configuration files (like .htaccess for Apache servers). Also, you can create permanent and temporary redirects. Here are a few of the types of redirects that you could implement on your server:

Permanent

  • HTTP 301 (moved permanently)
  • HTTP 308 (moved permanently)
  • meta refresh (0 seconds)
  • HTTP refresh (0 seconds)
  • JavaScript location
  • Crypto redirect

Temporary

  • HTTP 302 (found)
  • HTTP 303 (see other)
  • HTTP 307 (temporary redirect)
  • meta refresh (>0 seconds)
  • HTTP refresh (>0 seconds)

Meta Refresh its HTTP Equivalent

If you’re not able to implement server side redirects, you can try using one of two types of meta refresh redirects:
  • Instant meta refresh redirect – this type of redirect fires as soon as the page is loaded; Google Search interprets instant meta refresh redirects as permanent redirects1.
  • Delayed meta refresh redirect – this redirect triggers only after an arbitrary number of seconds set by the site owner. Google Search interprets delayed meta refresh redirects as temporary redirects2.

Alternate Versions of a URL

When you redirect a URL, Google saves the old and new URL. One of the URLs will be the canonical – the URL of the page that Google thinks is most representative from a set of duplicate pages on your site. The other URL then becomes an alternate name of its canonical counterpart. These alternate names may appear in search results when a user’s query hints they might trust the old URL more.

Other Types of Redirects

Believe it or not, there are still other types of redirects, such as crypto redirects which lets your users know the page has moved. Google may understand this as a crypto redirect, but other search engines may not. Before committing to a crypto redirect, check with your hosting provider for help to see if there’s an alternative option.

Last, there are JavaScript redirects, and even 302 redirects (which we briefly touched on above). Generally, redirects are preferred to the Internal 404 Error messages if content has moved.

301 Redirect Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Setting up a 302 redirect between versions of your domains
  2. Setting up a 301 redirect after creating a new page
  3. Using a 302 redirect during content migration
  4. Having redirects link to outdated content
  5. Redirect a page with a different intent than the destination page

In Conclusion

Ultimately, while there are a lot of redirect types out there, 301 redirects are best used for “forwarding” traffic. Though, they might not be the best option. Before setting up a redirect, evaluate all of your options and reach out to your hosting provider if you’re not sure which route to take.

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