301 Redirect | Does it Pass on Link Juice Finally?

Insightful Tips on 301 Redirects

Website optimization for search engines is one of the most important ways to maximize traffic and increase popularity without spending a fortune on it. Many SEO strategies have been perfected, giving website owners a chance to rank among the top results for specific searches.

Various SEO technologies are available for the needs of everyone. Some of them focus on content, others involve the website’s code. Still other strategies are dealing with link building and the provision of the so-called link juice.

Sometimes you have to change website URL’s, due to changes in the site’s structure, domain, or content management system. Most SEO experts believe that a 301 redirect is useful in terms of SEO and passing on link juice. Is this really so?

What is a 301 Redirect?

For starters, what does a 301 redirect really mean?

The 301 redirect is a method in which a website tells search engines and browsers that a web page has moved permanently to another location. This is the simplest and shortest way to explain the technical term. A 301 redirect is often used when a website owner wants an old web page to take website visitors to a new one.

When a 301 redirect is used, website visitors will automatically be taken from the old page to the new one. This technique is very useful and simple, but does it do any good in terms of search engine optimization?

301 Redirects and SEO

Most website owners are scared of changing domains or modifying URLs because it is possible to experience lower search engine rankings. A common fear is that changing domain names may result in lower Page Rank and diminished search engine traffic.

The old URL and the old website have already managed to achieve some search engine status. According to some experts, a 301 redirect will pass all the link reputation from the old website to the new one. This way, a new URL will quickly gain the popularity and the Google PageRank of the old one.

Web-based experiments show that 301 redirects tend to pass a lot of link juice from the old page to the new one. Many websites that move from one address to another tend to perform well, some of them even experiencing an increase in traffic after the change.

Studies performed by various SEO research companies show that Google tends to value 301 redirects well. Though there may have been a problem in the past connected to the domain and its age, the situation has started to change. 301 redirects can be used safely to pass link juice and to quickly establish the search engine ranking of a new URL.

Tips and Tricks when applying 301 Redirects

To make a 301 redirect more effective, you may consider following some of these tips.

Set up 301 redirects to the new domain only after the pages on the new domain is set up. Do not try to redirect pages to new pages that are not relevant. If a page contains significant link reputation, but there is no comparable page on the new domain, then write a new page to redirect it to instead of just redirecting to the home page.

Keep the old domain and all of the files in place for several weeks. This will be necessary for all search engines to reflect on the changes and to give the new domain a chance to quickly improve its search engine positioning.

Always test! Make sure that the 301 redirect functions smoothly. You may otherwise lose some of your website visitors.

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Author Info: Jamie Highland writes for My Baby Shower Favors, a website selling baby shower favors and other baby shower games and supplies. Jamie also works on SEO related tasks and in this article explained 301 redirects and if you should use them.

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Thank you Jamie for you contribution.

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