What is 301 Redirect?

• Permanently moving a page to a new URL • Changing your domain name • Consolidating multiple pages into one • Switching from HTTP to HTTPS • Removing a page and pointing to relevant content • Fixing URL structure issues • Merging duplicate content Always use 301s for permanent moves. They tell Google to transfer ranking signals to the new URL.

301 (Permanent) - Use when content has permanently moved • Transfers ~90-99% of link equity • Google de-indexes the old URL • Browsers cache the redirect 302 (Temporary) - Use when content will return to the original URL • May not transfer link equity • Google keeps the old URL indexed • Used for A/B testing, maintenance pages Using a 302 when you mean 301 is a common mistake that can hurt SEO.

301 redirects transfer most link equity, but not 100%. Google's John Mueller has confirmed that some ranking power is lost in any redirect. Best practices: • Redirect to the most relevant page (not just the homepage) • Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C → D) • Update internal links to point directly to the new URL • Monitor redirected pages in search console for crawl errors • Keep redirects in place permanently - don't remove them after a few months

• Redirect chains - Multiple hops lose more link equity • Redirect loops - A → B → A (causes errors) • Redirecting to irrelevant pages - Hurts user experience and SEO • Too many redirects - Slows page speed • Removing redirects too soon - Users and search engines still follow old URLs • Not updating internal links - Unnecessary redirect hops on your own site