What Is a 301 Redirect? Permanent Redirect Guide
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines from one URL to another, passing most of the original page's link equity to the new URL.
Explain It Like I'm 5
A 301 redirect is like leaving a permanent forwarding address when you move house. Anyone who goes to the old address gets sent straight to the new one - and the mail carrier (Google) updates its records so everyone learns the new address.
Understanding 301 Redirects
A 301 redirect is an HTTP status code that permanently tells browsers and crawlers a page has moved to a new URL. When Google re-crawls the old URL and sees the 301, it eventually replaces the old URL with the new one in its index and transfers the ranking signals, a process Google has described as combining signals from both pages.
The classic use case is URL changes: migrating domains, removing dates from slugs, switching to HTTPS, or fixing duplicate-content variants. Done correctly, a 301 preserves the accumulated authority of the old URL at the new address.
Google handles 301s very well, and cycles of redirect chains should still be minimized: each hop adds crawl and processing overhead. Redirecting old URLs directly to their final destination, rather than through a chain of historical URLs, keeps crawl paths clean.
Google has stated that 301 redirects no longer lose a fixed percentage of PageRank; the long-cited 15% loss figure came from a 2013 comment about redirects versus direct links, and current guidance is that no PageRank is lost across 301s. In practice, redirecting to an equivalent, relevant page preserves the vast majority of ranking strength.
Types of 301 Redirect
Permanent (301)
The page has moved forever. Google consolidates signals to the new URL.
Example: old.com/post-a 301s to new.com/post-a after a domain migration.
Wildcard / Pattern Redirect
Server rules that redirect entire URL patterns in bulk, common in CMS migrations.
Example: RedirectMatch 301 ^/blog/(.*)$ /news/$1
Why 301 Redirects Matter for SEO
When URLs change without a 301, every link pointing at the old address points at a 404, and years of accumulated equity evaporate. A correct 301 is the difference between keeping your rankings through a site migration and starting over.
Best Practices
Redirect to the Closest Equivalent Page
Point old URLs at the page that genuinely replaces them, not the homepage. Bulk-redirecting hundreds of URLs to the root dilutes relevance and can be treated as a soft 404.
Avoid Redirect Chains
If a URL has redirected before, update it to point directly to the final destination rather than stacking hops.
Keep a Redirect Map Forever
Maintain the old-to-new mapping indefinitely. External backlinks and old bookmarks keep hitting old URLs for years.
Map Every URL During Migrations
Crawl the old site before migrating and export every URL. Any URL not mapped becomes a lost asset.
Common Mistakes
Redirecting everything to the homepage
Fix: Homepage redirects for deep content read as soft 404s to Google. Always map old URLs to their true equivalents.
Using 302 when the move is permanent
Fix: A 302 says temporary, so Google keeps the old URL indexed. For permanent moves use 301.
Deleting redirects after a few months
Fix: Backlinks never expire. Keep old URL mappings alive for as long as the site exists.
How WPLink Handles Redirects
WPLink's internal link audit flags links that now resolve to redirects or 404s, so when you restructure URLs the link graph gets cleaned up alongside your redirects instead of silently rotting.
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