WHAT IS REDIRECT IN SEO?
A redirect is an HTTP Status code that assigned to the current or old page, which tells Google to display the newer one instead. So basically, you need to add a redirect into your webserver to indicate a new URL that will be replace the old one. Then, search engines will display the more recent page on the visitor’s browser instead of the old one. Essentially, it will be automatically directs visitors to another page without them even noticing. Then it shouldn’t be noticeable, but we’ll be talk about that later. Then the same website will send the both visitors and the search engines to a different URL than the one users either typed in on their browser or picked from Google results.
TYPES OF REDIRECT IN SEO
There are two main types of redirect,
- Permanent redirect is 301.
- Temporary redirects are 302, 303, 307, 308
301 REDIRECT
A 301 redirect forward the users to the new URL and tells the search engines that the resource has been permanently moved. When it confronted with the 301 redirect, search engines will be typically drop the old redirected URL from their index in a favor of new URL. They will also transfer the PageRank or authority to the new URL.
302 REDIRECT
A 302 redirect forwards users to the new URL and tells the search engines that the resource has temporarily moved. When confronted with a 302 redirect, the search engines keep the old URL indexed even though it’s redirected. However, if you leave the 302 redirect in the place for a long time, search engines will be likely start treating it like the 301 redirect and index the new URL instead.
303 REDIRECT
A 303 redirect will forwards the user to a resource similar to one requested and is a temporary form of redirect. It’s typically used for a things like preventing form resubmissions when the user hits the “back” button in their browser. You won’t typically use the 303 redirects for SEO purposes. If you do, the search engines may treat them as either a 301 or 302.
307 REDIRECT
A 307 redirect is same as a 302 redirect, except it retains a HTTP method of the original request when it performing the redirect.
308 REDIRECT
A 308 redirect is same as a 301 redirect, except it will retains the HTTP method of the original request when it performing the redirect. Google says it treats 308 redirects same as 301 redirects, but most SEOs still use the 301 redirects.
WHEN TO USE REDIRECT?
You should use the redirects when you move a content from one URL to another and, occasionally, when you delete the content. Let’s take the quick look at a few common scenarios where you’ll be want to use them.
MOVING DOMAINS
If you’re rebranding and then moving from one domain to another, you’ll be need to permanently redirect all the pages on a old domain to their locations on the new domain.
MERGING WEBSITES
If you’re merging the multiple websites into one, you’ll need to permanently redirect the old URLs to new URLs.
SWITCHING TO HTTPS
If you’re switching from the HTTP to HTTPS, you’ll be need to permanently redirect the every unsecure HTTP page and the resource to its secure HTTPS location.
RUNNING A PROMOTION
If you’re running the temporary promotion and want to send a visitors from, one domain to another domain, you’ll need to use a temporary redirect.
DELETING PAGES
If you’re removing the content from your site, you should be permanently redirect its URL to the relevant, similar page where possible. This helps to ensure that any backlinks to old page still count for the SEO purposes. It also ensures that any bookmarks or the internal links still work.
HOW TO SETUP THE REDIRECT IN WORDPRESS USING REDIRECTION PLUGIN?
Here we will how to redirect the web page in WordPress using the redirection plugin.
Step 1: First, install and activate Redirection plugin on your WordPress site.
Step 2: In Tools tab of your dashboard, a Redirection sub tab has appeared in dashboard.
Step 3: To set up a redirect, just fill the Source URL the one you want to replace, and Target a URL the one you want it to lead the visitor to.
Step 4: Then click the Add Redirect button and you’ve have will created your first WordPress redirect.
