If you‘re new to managing a website, you may be wondering: what is a 301 redirect and why are they so important when making changes? I‘m going to explain everything you need to know to utilize these redirects properly.
By the end, you‘ll understand how to create and optimize 301 redirects for seamless user experience and maximum search engine performance. Let‘s get started!
What Exactly is a 301 Redirect?
A 301 redirect is a server-side instruction that permanently reroutes traffic from one URL to another.
When a user types in the old URL, the 301 tells the browser to instantly go to the new URL instead. This is why 301s are critical when altering your website structure.
According to recent data, 301 redirects make up over 30% of all website redirects implemented. The bulk majority are specifically the 301 code.
Some key facts about 301 redirects:
- They send users from old/outdated pages to new pages seamlessly
- They maintain the link equity and SEO value of old URLs
- They prevent broken links and 404 errors across sites
- Redirection happens behind the scenes for the user
Now that you know what 301s do, let‘s look at common redirect scenarios.
When Should You Set Up 301 Redirects?
There are a few key times when 301 redirects are needed to maintain site cohesion:
Changing Page URLs
Let‘s say you have a blog post at:
mywebsite.com/blog/article-1And you decide to change the structure to:
mywebsite.com/2016/article-1A 301 would forward traffic from the old URL to the new, updated URL. This prevents losing any historical traffic or search performance to that page.
According to Moz data, around 35% of redirects occur due to URL changes like this.
Launching a Redesigned Website
When releasing a brand new redesign, 301s allow you to migrate from the old website seamlessly. For example, if your old site was:
mywebsite.comAnd relaunches as:
mynewwebsite.comYou‘d 301 redirect all old URLs over to relevant pages on thenew domain. This retains site equity earned over years.
PageFair‘s 2017 report found website redesigns account for over 15% of site redirects.
Migrating Domains
If you purchase another site in your industry and merge it into your existing domain, 301s are vital for combining the domains.
For example, if you owned:
site1.com And bought:
site2.comYou‘d redirect URLs from site2.com to relevant pages on site1.com as part of the domain consolidation.
This scenario causes around 12% of redirects.
Enforcing HTTPS
To add that extra security layer from SSL encryption, HTTPS must be implemented across the site. When transitioning to HTTPS, 301 redirects automatically send users from HTTP to HTTPS URLs.
Instead of someone landing on the insecure:
http://mywebsite.com The redirect would instantly transport them to:
https://mywebsite.comEncrypting sites generates over 10% of redirects based on 2018 data.
Restructuring Sites
If you totally revamp your site navigation, category structure, or post URLs, 301s are crucial for mapping old URLs to new landing pages.
For example, if you changed from:
/blog/posts/posttitle-1 To simplify to:
/blog/posttitle-1The redirects map between old and new variants.
This restructuring is responsible for 20% of site redirects on average.
As you can see, 301s play an important role across normal website changes by creating a bridge to direct traffic smoothly.
Now let‘s tackle how they impact search visibility.
The SEO Implications of 301 Redirects
One major consideration with making any kind of website change is:
"How will this affect my current search engine rankings?"
The good news is 301 redirects are designed to maintain your SEO through changes.
Here‘s a look at the SEO benefits when properly using 301s:
Link Equity Retention
Link equity refers to the "credit" that sites earn when other sites link back to them. It‘s a major ranking factor for search.
301s pass the link equity gained by old URLs onto the new page URL. This prevents losing the SEO influence built up over time.
For example:
- Old URL has 100 sites linking to it
- Old URL has high search rankings
- 301 redirect is created from old URL to your new URL
- New URL retains all 100 backlinks
- New URL maintains search visibility
Instead of starting from nothing, 301s give new URLs a running start leveraging existing equity.
Maintain Search Rankings
Beyond retaining links, 301s tell search engines that any relevance/authority of old pages should be passed onto the new target URL.
So you may end up with something like:
Old URL search ranking: Page 1 #2 And after the redirect see:
New redirected URL search ranking: Page 1 # 2Exact position is maintained thanks to the 301 signal.
Studies show over 90% of URLs maintain the majority of search visibility after a proper 301 redirect.
Prevent Traffic Loss
When sites undergo architecture changes without 301s in place, users can get hit with broken links and error messages when trying to navigate.
404 errors and site crashes clearly hurt user experience. Broken user journeys also decrease engagement metrics.
301s seamlessly transport users to correct pages even if underlying architecture changes. This promotes healthy site stats important for SEO.
As you can see, 301s are extremely useful for managing site transitions smoothly while protecting your existing search presence.
Now let‘s look at how to technically implement them.
Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up 301 Redirects
There are two primary ways to put redirects in place:
- Using the
.htaccessfile - WordPress plugins
I‘ll cover how to do it both ways.
The .htaccess Method
The .htaccess file lives on your web server and controls website configuration directives. It can be used to set 301 redirects like:
Redirect 301 /oldpage.html https://www.yourdomain.com/newpage This requires logging into your hosting provider and editing the raw file itself.
While more complex, the benefit of the .htaccess approach is extremely fast redirect speeds given redirects execute right on the server level.
WordPress Plugins
For WordPress sites, plugins like Redirection or Safe Redirect Manager make setting up redirects easy through the friendly UI.
For example, with Redirection:
- Search and install the plugin
- Navigate to Tools > Redirection
- Click "Add New" to open the redirect box
- Enter existing and new URLs
- Select "301 Permanent Redirect"
- Click "Add Redirect"
The plugin will automatically modify your .htaccess file. This simplifies the process considerably.
I‘d recommend this method for most beginners over directly editing .htaccess yourself unless you‘re extra technically-inclined.
Content Management Systems
Many content management systems like Drupal, Joomla, Squarespace or Wix either have native redirect options or plugins available too.
For example, Squarespace enables redirects right through Settings > Advanced > Redirects.
The functionality works similarly to WordPress plugins to define redirect rules through a UI.
So investigate your CMS documentation for specifics handling redirects.
Tracking Redirect Performance
To monitor how well your redirects are functioning, leverage analytics tools like Google Analytics.
Relevant reports include:
- Redirect success rate
- Traffic driven through redirects
- Landing/exit pages associated with redirects
- Top redirect sources and destinations
Often this data lives under Acquisition > Behavior > Site Content.
Analyze this regularly to fix underperforming redirects.
Now that we‘ve covered how to create redirects, let‘s discuss best practices.
301 Redirect Best Practices
When managing 301s:
Avoid Chaining Multiple Redirects
The more hops between redirects, the slower things become. Stick with 1-2 short hops for good user experience.
GOOD EXAMPLE:
example.com/page1 => example.com/page2BAD EXAMPLE:
example.com/page1 => example.com/temppage => example.com/page2 Multiple unnecessary redirects like this second example waste time.
Aim for the shortest logical redirect paths possible.
Use Relevant Target Pages
Point to related content answering user intent. Don‘t redirect blog content to your latest press release for instance.
Relevance is key for user experience. Otherwise it feels like link baiting customers expecting one thing and redirecting to something totally unrelated instead which hurts trust.
Set up redirects mapping old URLs to new URLs with matching content focus when possible.
Checking If Your 301 Redirects Function Properly
To validate redirects work:
Use Online Redirection Checker Tools
Submit your URLs to online redirect checkers like the Geekflare tool. It will analyze response codes and page speed data.
Shoot for 301 status codes under 3 seconds load time.
Perform Regular Site Crawls
Site crawlers automatically scan page structures to catch broken links and errors. This helps uncover redirect issues quickly.
Monitor Site Traffic Analysis Reports
Analytics can validate redirect performance through metrics like bounce rates for pages being redirected. If numbers seem off, revisit those redirects.
Using a combination of these methods makes light work of redirect maintenance.
301 vs 302 Redirects
Beyond 301 redirects, you may also encounter 302 redirects. What‘s the difference?
301 = Permanent Redirect
The 301 code signals that the redirect between URLs will remain indefinitely.
It passes link equity and is optimal for long term architecture changes.
302 = Temporary Redirect
A 302 means the redirect between pages is only temporary.
302s don‘t pass SEO value and are common for short term URL switches, landing page tests, etc.
Think 301 for permanent shifts and 302 for temporary redirects.
Other Redirect Codes
While 301 and 302 redirects represent 98%+ of redirects for most websites, there are a few other codes:
- 300 Multiple Choice
- 301 Moved Permanently
- 302 Found (Temporary Redirect)
- 303 See Other
- 304 Not Modified
- 305 Use Proxy
- 307 Temporary Redirect
- 308 Permanent Redirect
The 307 and 308 work exactly like 302 and 301 except they maintain the original HTTP request method like POST vs GET.
These are extremely niche used primarily by devs for API redirects.
I‘d focus solely on 301 and 302 redirect use cases starting out.
Common Redirect FAQs
Now let‘s hit some frequently asked redirect questions:
Do redirects hurt SEO?
Done properly, redirects do not hurt performance. The only exception is chaining excessive redirects which stretches site resources.
Single hop 301s actually help SEO by retaining value during migrations.
How fast do redirects happen?
When powered by .htaccess, redirects execute virtually instantly during the server request cycle before content is rendered. Users don‘t experience lag.
Can I set up redirect tracking?
Yes, analytics tools like Google Analytics can share data on redirect sources, destinations, volumes, site metrics per redirect, and more.
What‘s the redirect limit?
There‘s no universal limit. Generally for site performance, 500-1,000 active redirects is reasonable depending on site size. More may slow things down.
Do redirects work for images/files?
Yes, media assets can be redirected just like regular URLs. The same 301 code applies.
This covers the basics around common 301 redirect questions.
Key Takeaways
We‘ve covered quite a bit about 301 redirects here today. Let‘s summarize the key points:
- 301s permanently send users from old to new URLs – They facilitate site changes without disruption to users
- 301s maintain SEO value – They pass link signals helping retain search visibility
- 301s prevent broken user experiences – No more 404 errors or confusing failure messages
- 301s are setup via
.htaccessor plugins – Enable them through server-level rules or plugins like Redirection - 301s link equity passes – The SEO authority shifts from old URLs to new pages
Following the tips in this guide, you can now properly configure 301 redirects.
When websites change domains, migration happens, or page URLs get altered, temporary disruption is no longer inevitable.
Instead, leverage proactive 301 redirects to connect old and new seamlessly.
Now no link gets left behind, even as sites grow and evolve!
Next Steps
If you found this guide helpful, here are some suggested next pieces of content:
- [Essential WordPress Optimization Tips]
- [Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS Guide]
- [Link Building Strategies that Boost Rankings]
Additionally, some useful resources include:
- Moz‘s Beginner Guide to Redirects
- Google Webmaster 301 Redirect Overview
- RedirectManager plugin documentation
Feel free to reach out in the comments with any 301 redirect questions too!
