As the term redirection would suggest, redirects are the methods of forwarding or redirecting URLs to other URLs. This is done for various reasons, but redirection is a large part of SEO methodology. This is achieved through three categories of redirects that are simply termed 301, 302 and Meta refresh redirects.

301 redirects are the most relevant redirects for the business of SEO because they achieve the specified goals in an efficient manner. Redirects send search engines and users to other URLs from the initially requested URL.

Because the 301 redirect is a permanent redirect, the new location is weighted the same by search engine companies as the original URL. It is estimated that between 90 and 100 percent of the original ranking power is forwarded to the redirected URL because of the 301 Moved Permanently function. This characteristic alone makes the 301 direct the most relevant for SEO purposes.

In short you will use a re-direct if you wanted to change domain names and keep all the ranking power of your old site.

Other less used re-directs:

Don't Redirect Your Customers

  • The 302 Found is a temporary redirect that passes no ranking to the redirected URL. This is its major disadvantage. This redirect would ruin a business, and it should never be used in any SEOform. The 302 Found and Moved Temporarily are the same, but are modified for HTTP. Under HyperText Transfer Protocol 1.0, the redirect is 302 Moved Temporarily, but under HTTP 1.1, the direct is simply labeled Found. The version upgrade had no effect on the SEO business becauseneither version passes ranking strength to the redirected URL.
  • The progression for Moved Temporarily or the 302 redirect is the 307 Moved Temporarily. It is only accessible for HyperText Transfer Protocol 1.1. In certain circumstances, the 307 is still treated as if it is still a 302 redirect. This means that the 301 is still the best redirect for SEO purposes. However for developers, the 307 Moved Temporarily redirect makes it easy to perform maintenance on the site. This is because the 307 redirect is built specifically fortemporary moves.
  • The other redirect is Meta refresh and it is not a technique used for SEO. Meta refresh does retain some ranking strength, but the drop is so drastic that it is still not an effective SEO tool. When users experience the message, “if not directed shortly, click here, Meta refresh is being used. This is called the five second countdown with text and is executed at the page level.

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