Search Engine Optimization and 301/Permanent Redirects
There are many reasons a web developer or web designer may need to use a redirect. If you are permanently moving a page, always use a 301 redirect or a permanent redirect.
What’s the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 302 redirect is a “temporary” redirect and is the most commonly used redirect. When a web developer or web designer uses one of the following methods to accomplish a redirect, a 302 or a temporary redirect is being used.
ASP.net (VB)
Response.Redirect(“/somepage.html”)
ASP.net (C#)
Response.Redirect(“/somepage.html”);
ASP
Response.Redirect(“/somepage.html”)
PHP
Header( “Location: /somepage.html ” );
ColdFusion
<cflocation url(“/somepage.html “>
HTML
<META http-equiv=”refresh” content=”0;URL=/somepage.html ” />
JavaScript
document.location.replace(“/somepage.html”);
These methods will redirect a user from page A to page B, but you are doing a huge disservice to your search engine marketing campaign, because you are basically telling search engines that the page has temporarily moved and it’s no big deal.
Why use a 301 redirect
Using a 301 redirect tells search engines that the page is permanently being replaced by the page that is being redirected to and to pass along all search engine history.
To accomplish a 301 redirect in one of the aforementioned technologies, use one of the following methods:
ASP.net (VB)
Response.Status = “301 Moved Permanently”
Response.AddHeader(”Location”,”/somepage.html”)
ASP.net (C#)
Response.Status = “301 Moved Permanently”;
Response.AddHeader(”Location”,”/somepage.html”);
ASP
Response.Status=”301 Moved Permanently”
Response.AddHeader “Location”,”/somepage.html”
PHP
Header( “HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently” );
Header( “Location: /somepage.html” );
ColdFusion
<.cfheader statuscode=”301″ statustext=”Moved permanently”>
<.cfheader name=”Location” value=”/somepage.html”>
PERL - CGI Redirect
print $q->redirect(”/somepage.html”);
As you can see there isn’t a corresponding method to accomplish a 301 redirect in HTML and JavaScript, because it currently isn’t possible. If you would like to accomplish a 301 redirect on pages that only employ HTML/JavaScript, take a look at 301 redirects using .htaccess and/or IIS. Also note that 301 redirects are not foolproof. Sometimes, search engines just won’t grab onto the 301 redirect and pass along all of the corresponding information.
Check out all of our articles on search engine optimization and .htaccess
URL Rewriting with .htaccess and Apache to boost Search Engine Optimization
URL Rewriting with IIS (Internet Information Services)
Search Engine Optimization and 301/Permanent Redirects
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