Have you have changed your mailing address? If so, you know you must redirect your mail. The same is true when you change your website URL. If you fail to do this, you will miss out on all the traffic that is going to your old website.
The 301 redirect is the equivalent of a mail redirect service, but for your website URL. This is the best redirect option if you plan to move your website address permanently, unlike 511 and 302 redirects, which are more useful for a temporary URL relocation.
What Is the 301 Redirect?
The 301 redirect is a permanent redirect instruction that leads traffic to your desired URL. It has an HTTP status code that is easy to interpret and implement by search engines. This makes it an SEO-friendly way to change your website’s URL.
One of the best things about the 301 redirect is that it helps to forward all the link ranking and weighting authority of your website’s old URL. This means you don’t lose the SEO benefits you have worked so hard to achieve.
The 301 redirect is an all-inclusive redirect instruction for search engines that shows your website URL, and all the contents have moved to another location permanently.
Why Use the 301 Redirect?
There are a few situations when you should use a 301 redirect. These include:
- You have overhauled or reorganized your website and changed the location permanently.
- You changed the CMS for your website, or you are working to move your site to WordPress.
- Your content is expiring, and you want to redirect users to another location.
- You have merged or are merging two websites to a new website URL.
All the scenarios mentioned above require you to redirect your incoming website traffic to a new location, the proper location, so your website visitors can reach you.
Another important reason to use the 301 redirects is to preserve up to 99% of your search ranking power. This means that the references, backlinks, and social shares that enabled your former URL to achieve a better ranking will be moved to the new URL ranking.
The 301 redirect is also a type of status code instruction that google easily understands. It helps to support the process of website indexing and ensuring the pages show up sooner. The other redirects may not be able to be easily crawled or even interpreted by search engines. This is why a 301 redirect is going to be the best option for you to use.
Make Sure Your Website is Found
When it comes to ensuring that people can find your website after you have changed your URL, a 301 redirect is a smart move. If you need help with this, contact the professionals. They can ensure the process is done properly and that the redirect will work properly. Being informed is one of the best ways to ensure that you don’t lose website traffic and that they can find the location of your new website.
By, Peter Roesler, President of Small Business SEO. 25+ years in marketing! Yippee.
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