What is a 301 Redirect and Why Does It Matter?
Moving can be a strenuous and time-consuming activity. But this doesn't just apply to moving to a new house or office building - moving to a new website can be a tricky process as well!
And unfortunately, many people miss opportunities when it comes to linking to older sites.
Nearly everyone who has a website wants it to experience high levels of traffic and go up in search engine rankings. But not many people consider that linking their new website to their old one to redirect users can have a big impact on the new site's performance.
Understanding a 301 Redirect - What is it?
New websites are created constantly. While some people make a new website whenever their business or organization goes through major changes, others simply create a new site in order to utilize a new domain name. But even though an older website is no longer in use, it may still get visitors periodically. This can be due to a number of factors including:
- Outside links to the original site.
- Press materials advertising the original site.
- Users bookmarking the old site.
Creating a new website can be exciting, but many people neglect to consider that their old website is still getting traffic. A 301 redirect is essentially a "change of address" for a website. All traffic to the older website can be automatically sent to the new one by using a 301 redirect. Lisa Barone, a writer at Bruce Clay Inc., details the process of a 301 implementation. This strategy has several benefits to the creators of the sites.
Why Use a 301 Redirect?
Some people are unsure if their site actually needs a 301 redirect. When a new site is created, most people want all users to come to the new site instead of the old one. This means that by using a 301 redirect, they are able to combine the traffic going to both sites into the rankings for the newer site.
Or in other words, an older website may have five outside links that direct users to it. A newer website may have ten outside links that direct users to it. In terms of search engine rankings, both sites and the respective link sources are counted separately. But by utilizing a 301 redirect, users can get all 15 links counted toward a single site!
What is the Difference Between 301 vs. 302?
A 301 redirect isn't the only type of traffic transfer protocol which can be used for websites. A 302 redirect is also a popular choice. The main difference between the two is that while a 301 is permanent, a 302 is only temporary. A 302 may be used to advertise a certain event or to redirect users to another page while the original is being updated. A 301 redirect provides users with a permanent way to transfer traffic to their new site, helping them to improve their new site's performance in search rankings.
Utilizing All Available Resources Efficiently
Even if a user creates an updated website, the work they put into building and promoting their old site shouldn't go to waste. With a 301 redirect, it is possible to use the popularity of an older site to boost the performance of a newer one.
To find out information about building a new website, visit WebsiteSpot today!