What You Need to Know About SEO Redirects

An SEO redirect or URL redirect is a process of redirecting users and search engines from one web page to another. It’s an important tool for maintaining a website’s SEO rankings, especially when pages are changed or removed.

SEO redirects also ensure that users who visit a website are pointed to the most up-to-date version of a page, which is essential for maintaining a high user experience.

There are several types of SEO redirects, and it’s important to understand how they work so that you can ensure your website is set up correctly.

How Does an SEO Redirect Work?

SEO redirects work by sending visitors and search engines to a different URL than the one they initially requested. How a redirect works depend on the type of redirect. 

Generally, however, there are two main types of redirects:

• Permanent URL redirects
• Temporary URL redirects

How Permanent URL Redirects Work

The most commonly used redirect is a 301 redirect, which is a permanent URL redirect that tells search engines a page has been moved to a new location permanently.

This type of redirect passes almost all of the link juice (ranking power) from the old page to the new page. It also keeps the search engine bots from crawling the old page, which helps avoid duplicate content issues.

How Temporary URL Redirects Work

Another type of redirect is a 302 redirect, which is a temporary URL redirection that tells search engines the page has moved to another location but only temporarily. This type of redirect does not pass any link juice and the search engine bots are still able to crawl the old page.

This helps ensure that if the page is only temporarily unavailable, users will still be able to access it and search engines won’t index the new page.

Different Types of SEO Redirects 

Permanent URL Redirects

• 301: As we mentioned, this redirect tells search engines that a page has been permanently moved to a new location.
• 308: This redirect is similar to a 301 redirect, but it is more specific and only works with the HTTPS protocol.

Temporary URL Redirects

• 302 (found): This redirect tells search engines that a page has been temporarily moved to a new location.
• 303 (see other): This type of redirect is typically used in cases where there is a form submission on the page, as it lets search engines know that the content has not been moved permanently.
• 307 (temporary): This redirect is similar to a 302 redirect, but it only works with the HTTPS protocol.

Setting Up SEO Redirects

Setting up an SEO redirect is relatively simple and can be done with a few lines of code. For more information on how to code redirects, refer to Google’s server-side redirect guide.

If you’re unfamiliar with coding, however, it’s best to contact a web developer or SEO expert to ensure that the redirects are set up correctly.

Using WordPress plugins can also help you set up redirects without having to code. Some examples of plugins are:

• WP Redirects
• Simple 301 Redirects
• Rank Math

5 Quick Tips for Optimizing Your SEO Redirects 

SEO redirects can be tricky, but here are a few tips to help you optimize them:

1. Avoid chain redirects 

Chaining redirects is a practice of redirecting URLs multiple times. This can hurt your website’s SEO rankings and user experience, as it takes a long time for the page to load.

2. Ensure redirects are working correctly 

Regularly check your website’s redirects with a tool like Screaming Frog. This will help you verify that the redirects are working as they should and that there aren’t any broken redirects.

3. Redirect from the most relevant page

 If you have two pages about the same topic, make sure to redirect from the most relevant page so that you’re not losing any link juice.

4. Notify search engines of changes

Make sure to notify the search engines so that they can properly index your website. In Google Search Console, you can use the Change of Address tool to notify them of your redirects.

5. Keep track of redirects

If you have a lot of redirects on your website, consider keeping track of them in an Excel sheet. This will help you stay organized and make changes if needed.

Create a Comprehensive SEO Strategy for Your Brand

When done correctly, URL redirects can help improve your website’s SEO rankings and improve user experience. Redirects, coupled with a comprehensive SEO strategy, can help you reach more customers and increase your online visibility.

If you need help creating an SEO strategy or setting up redirects, Ilfusion can lend you a hand. We tailor each SEO strategy to the unique needs of our clients, and we’ll ensure that your website is properly optimized for search engines. 

Contact us today at 888-420-5115, or send us an email at [email protected] to learn more!

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