In plain English
It's a forwarding address with the post office. You've moved, but mail sent to the old address still reaches you, and over time senders update their records.
Used in a sentence
“Every old address redirects to its new page, so the rankings carry over to the new site.”
“We changed all our page addresses in the redesign and lost half our Google traffic overnight.”
In detail
A permanent redirect, often called a 301, tells search engines the page has moved for good and that the new address should take its place, including most of its ranking strength. A temporary redirect, a 302, says the move is short-term. Redirects are set on the server or by the website platform.
Redirects matter most during a redesign or move. Every old address that had visitors, rankings or links should point to its closest new page. Missing redirects create dead ends, called 404 errors, and throw away the reputation the old pages earned. Read moving your website.
Why it matters for your business
Redirects are how a new website keeps the rankings and links the old one earned.
- Protects rankings during a redesign
- Keeps old links and bookmarks working
- Points each old page to its closest match
Easy to mix up
Redirecting every old page to the homepage isn't the same as proper redirects. Search engines treat a pile of unrelated redirects to one page much like a missing page.
Related terms
Sitemap, Indexing and Domain name. Or browse the whole glossary.
