A 301 redirect occurs when a user attempts to visit a website with an old URL and it navigates them to a different location. Maybe it's just me, but I find that quite fascinating. There are multiple kinds of redirects —301, 302, and meta refresh—but today, we will be talking about 301 redirects. So if you're unsure what I'm referring to, follow along with me.

If your website links aren’t directing people to the right place, you can’t expect it to perform well and engage users? Hubspot's article, "What is a 301 Redirect and When Should You Use One?" gave a great comparison of 301 redirects and forwarding your mail.

"Mail forwarding is an important step in any moving process so it ensures you don't lose any valuable information that is sent to you.”

The same goes for redirecting website URLs; if you're moving a website from one URL to another, you need to make sure your visitors are sent to the correct page. When setting up 301 redirects, you may or may not notice that the URL changes from the one you organically clicked on. Sometimes this happens so quickly that even we don't notice it.

WHY DO WE NEED 301 REDIRECTS? 

301 redirects can positively or negatively affect your SEO performance and are one of the many factors considered in determining your Google ranking. Listed below are the reasons why it's important to use 301 redirects:

• Improve Visitors Journey - If you recently replaced your old URL to the new one, and didn't set up 301 redirect correctly, users who click on that URL will get a 404 error, and we certainly don't want that. 404 errors create a bad user experience and can cause users to leave your site. 
• Search Engines (Google and Bing) are up to date with their indexing. 301 redirects help notify search engines that the piece of content has been redirected. Search engines then take that page’s visibility and transfer it to the new URL. “Hey Google, Page A is now Page B!”

WHEN DO WE USE 301 REDIRECTS?

If you're wondering when you need to use 301 redirect, start by performing an audit using one of these helpful tools: Screaming Frog and Site Bulb. You will then need to find unsecured URLs. Chances are, there are some URLS that are not secured and it's important to update them so Google can index your site. By using one of the handy dandy tools, you are able to see if your pages are broken or need a redirect.

IF YOU'RE IN NEED OF UPDATING YOUR URLS, CONTACT THE TEAM AT ECREATIVE TODAY!

Knowing when you should use 301 redirects is useful because it can reflect your ranking in the search engine results pages. At Ecreative, we can be a resource for you and your business. If you're looking for help, you've come to the right place! Contact a digital marketing specialist today at Ecreative!