Glossary · technical-seo
What is 301 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a permanent instruction from a server that a page has moved to a new address. Browsers send visitors straight to the new address, and search engines transfer the old page's ranking signals and links to it over time. A 302 means the move is temporary and is handled differently. 301s are essential whenever addresses change: a new website, a renamed page, a move from http to https, or merging two pages into one. Without them, old links and bookmarks hit an error page and the rankings the old addresses earned are thrown away.
What does 301 redirect mean for a business in Pakistan?
When Pakistani businesses get a new website, the old pages are usually just deleted, and traffic falls sharply after launch. A list of old addresses mapped to new ones, done before the switch, is the cheapest insurance in a website project. We ask for the old site's page list at the very start of every rebuild in Islamabad.
A worked example
A Rawalpindi tour operator's old site had a well-ranked page at /tours/naran-kaghan.html. The new site uses /trips/naran-kaghan. A 301 from the old address to the new one keeps visitors arriving from Google and from three travel blogs that link to it, and the new page takes over the old page's ranking within weeks.
Terms that go with this one
These come up in the same conversations and are worth reading together.
- 404 errorpage not foundA 404 error is the response a server gives when a requested page does not exist: the page not found screen. Some 404s are normal and harmless, such…
- Canonical tagcanonical tagA canonical tag is a line in a page's HTML head, written as link rel="canonical", that tells search engines which web address is the main version of…
- Duplicate contentduplicate contentDuplicate content is the same or nearly the same text appearing at more than one web address, either on your own site or across different sites.…
- SSL certificateSSL / httpsAn SSL certificate, more precisely a TLS certificate, is a small file installed on a web server that lets browsers connect over an encrypted https…
- Keyword cannibalisationkeyword cannibalisationKeyword cannibalisation happens when two or more pages on the same website target the same search phrase and end up competing with each other. Google…
301 redirect — quick answers
What does 301 redirect mean?
A 301 redirect is a permanent instruction from a server that a page has moved to a new address. Browsers send visitors straight to the new address, and search engines transfer the old page's ranking signals and links to it over time.
301 redirect ko Urdu mein kya kehte hain?
تین سو ایک ری ڈائریکٹ — though in practice almost everyone in Pakistan says "301 redirect". When Pakistani businesses get a new website, the old pages are usually just deleted, and traffic falls sharply after launch.
Why does 301 redirect matter for a business in Pakistan?
When Pakistani businesses get a new website, the old pages are usually just deleted, and traffic falls sharply after launch. A list of old addresses mapped to new ones, done before the switch, is the cheapest insurance in a website project. We ask for the old site's page list at the very start of every rebuild in Islamabad.
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