How 301 Redirects Protect Your SEO During URL Changes

How 301 Redirects Keep Your SEO Strong When You Change URLs

Moving pages on your website doesn’t have to hurt your search rankings. 301 redirects are permanent redirects that send visitors from old URLs to new ones. They also transfer almost all your SEO value to the new location.

Think of them as forwarding addresses for web pages. When someone visits your old URL, they automatically land on the new page. The address bar updates, and most users never notice the redirect happened.

Why 301 Redirects Matter for Your Rankings

301 redirects preserve your search engine rankings when you change URLs. Google transfers nearly all the ranking power from your old page to the new one. This means you keep the authority you built through backlinks and content quality.

Without redirects, you lose that SEO value. Visitors hit broken pages, and search engines can’t find your content. Your rankings drop, and traffic disappears.

The redirects also improve user experience. People reach the right content instead of error pages. Better user signals help your SEO performance over time.

When You Need 301 Redirects

You should use 301 redirects in several situations:

Replacing deleted pages: Redirect old product pages to new ones. Send outdated blog posts to updated versions on similar topics. Only redirect to pages that serve the same purpose as the original.

Changing domains: When you rebrand or switch domains, redirect every old URL to its new equivalent. Create a mapping document before you start the migration.

Moving to new platforms: Shopify uses different URL structures than WordPress. Map your old paths to new ones when switching platforms.

Fixing URL slugs: Correct typos in web addresses or make slugs shorter and more descriptive.

Consolidating similar pages: Combine duplicate or nearly identical pages. Redirect the weaker ones to a single, comprehensive page.

How to Set Up 301 Redirects

The setup process depends on your website platform:

WordPress users can install redirect plugins like Redirection. These tools let you add old and new URLs without touching code. Paid Yoast SEO also includes redirect features.

Other platforms have built-in redirect tools. Shopify users go to Content > Menus > URL Redirects. Wix has a URL Redirect Manager in the SEO Dashboard.

Advanced users can edit .htaccess files on Apache servers. This requires technical knowledge, so get developer help if you’re unsure.

Best Practices That Protect Your SEO

Follow these rules to make your redirects work properly:

Update internal links: Change links on your site to point directly to new URLs instead of redirected ones. This reduces loading time and prevents redirect chains.

Remove old URLs from sitemaps: Your XML sitemap should only include current pages you want indexed. Add new URLs if needed.

Avoid redirect chains: Don’t redirect to pages that already redirect elsewhere. These chains slow down crawlers and can weaken SEO value transfer.

Only redirect to relevant pages: Don’t send users from a product page to your homepage. The new page should solve the same problem as the old one.

Tools like SiteGuru help you find redirect issues on your website. The platform identifies broken links, redirect chains, and other problems that hurt your search performance.

Common Redirect Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t use 301 redirects for temporary moves. Use 302 redirects instead to tell search engines the original URL will return.

Avoid redirecting deleted pages to generic locations like your homepage. If there’s no good replacement, let the page return a 404 error.

Never create redirect loops where page A redirects to page B, which redirects back to page A. This breaks websites and confuses search engines.

What specific redirect challenges are you facing on your website that SiteGuru could help you solve?