Redirects are rules that automatically send users and search engines from one URL to another. They’re used when a page moves, gets deleted, or changes its address, so visitors and crawlers land on the right content instead of a dead page. Each redirect carries an HTTP status code that tells browsers and search engines whether the move is permanent or temporary.
For a business, redirects protect the work already put into a page. If a roofing company renames a service page or merges two blog posts, a redirect keeps existing backlinks and rankings pointed at the live page instead of a 404. Done wrong, redirects waste link juice, create loops, or send users to irrelevant content.
Key takeaway
A 301 redirect passes nearly all ranking value to the new URL and should be the default choice whenever a page moves for good. Use a 302 only for genuinely temporary changes.
How redirects work
A redirect works by having the server respond to a request for one URL with an instruction to fetch a different URL, along with a status code that explains why.
When a browser or crawler requests a page, the server can respond with the page itself (status 200) or with a redirect instruction such as 301 or 302. The client then follows that instruction to the new address. Search engines record the code and use it to decide whether to keep indexing the old URL, drop it, or transfer its signals to the destination.
Why redirects matter for SEO
Redirects matter because they preserve rankings, backlinks, and user trust when URLs change, and their absence turns moved pages into dead ends that hurt crawlability and conversions.
Without a redirect, anyone clicking an old link, including one from a high-authority backlink, lands on a 404 error. Search engines eventually drop that URL from the index, and the ranking signals it built up are lost. A correct 301 redirect transfers most of that value to the new page instead of starting from zero.
Redirects don’t fix bad content or make an unrelated page relevant. Redirecting a plumbing page to a homepage, for example, tells Google the two pages aren’t equivalent, and rankings for that plumbing keyword usually don’t survive the move.
Types of redirects
The main types are the 301 permanent redirect, the 302 and 307 temporary redirects, and the meta refresh or JavaScript redirect, each suited to a different situation.
| Type | Status code | When to use it |
| Permanent redirect | 301 | Page moved for good, URL retired, domain migration |
| Temporary redirect | 302 / 307 | A/B test, seasonal page, short outage |
| Meta refresh | 200 with delay | Rare fallback when server-level redirects aren’t possible |
| JavaScript redirect | 200 with script | Client-side apps; harder for crawlers to process reliably |
301 redirect vs 302 redirect
A 301 tells search engines the move is permanent and passes ranking signals to the new URL, while a 302 signals a temporary change and keeps the original URL indexed.
| Factor | 301 redirect | 302 redirect |
| Meaning | Moved permanently | Moved temporarily |
| Ranking signals | Transferred to new URL | Largely stay with original URL |
| Best use | Site migrations, retired pages | Promotions, tests, maintenance |
Good vs bad redirect setups
A good setup uses a single 301 straight to the closest matching live page; a bad one chains several redirects or sends every dead URL to the homepage.
- Redirect an old service page directly to its updated replacement with one 301.
- Redirect www to non-www (or vice versa) once, consistently, sitewide.
- Update internal links to point at the final URL instead of relying on the redirect.
Chains and blanket homepage redirects are the two most common failures. Each extra hop in a chain adds latency and dilutes the signal passed along, and Google may stop following chains after several redirects.
How to check redirects
Check redirects with a browser network tab, a crawler like Screaming Frog, or Google Search Console‘s Page Indexing report to confirm the status code and final destination.
Search Console’s Indexing report flags pages excluded due to redirects, including chains and loops. A site crawl tool shows the full path a URL takes, hop by hop, along with the status code at each step. For a quick manual check, open browser developer tools, load the old URL, and inspect the network requests to see the response code.
Example: A Texas moving company rebrands its
