What is 301 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a server instruction that permanently sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one, passing most of the old page’s ranking signals along.
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In plain English
When a browser asks for the old address, the server replies with status code 301 and the new address. Visitors land on the right page without noticing. Search engines update their index and transfer the old page’s signals to the new one.
A 302 means “temporarily moved”. Google eventually treats long-lived 302s like 301s, but using the right code from the start removes doubt.
Why it matters for a small business
Old URLs carry bookmarks, backlinks and rankings built up over years. Changing them without redirects throws that away and sends visitors to error pages. It’s one of the most common reasons a redesign causes a traffic drop.
An example
A Calgary accounting firm moves from /services.php?id=4 style URLs to clean ones like /services/corporate-tax. Before launch, every old URL is mapped one-to-one to its new equivalent and set up as a 301. Search traffic carries over with only a small, temporary dip.
Common mistakes
Where I see 301 redirect go wrong most often.
Redirecting every old URL to the homepage instead of to its closest new equivalent.
Creating chains where one redirect leads to another, then another.
Removing redirects a few months after launch, when old links still point to those URLs.
301 redirect, answered
Ideally indefinitely. They cost almost nothing to maintain, and backlinks to the old URLs may exist for years.
Google has said permanent redirects don’t lose PageRank. In practice a clean one-to-one redirect keeps nearly all of a page’s standing.
Keep reading
- nick@tavro.ca
- 587-439-9994
- Calgary, Alberta