SEO Redirects 301 302

A redirect sends both users and search engines from one URL to another. When you change a page's URL, delete a page, or restructure your website, redirects ensure that visitors and ranking authority are transferred to the correct destination. Using the wrong redirect type — or no redirect at all — can cause significant ranking losses.

What Happens Without a Redirect

When you delete a page or change its URL without setting up a redirect, anyone visiting the old URL (or clicking an old link) sees a 404 error page — "Page Not Found." Search engines also see this error and remove the page from their index. All the ranking authority that page had built disappears.

Diagram: No Redirect = Lost Authority

Old URL: yoursite.com/old-blog-post
  --> Deleted without redirect
  --> 100 backlinks from other sites now go to a 404 error
  --> All ranking authority from those 100 links = LOST

With 301 Redirect:
Old URL: yoursite.com/old-blog-post
  --> 301 redirect to yoursite.com/new-blog-post
  --> All 100 backlinks now point to the new URL
  --> ~95% of ranking authority preserved

301 Redirect: Permanent Move

A 301 redirect tells both browsers and search engines that a page has permanently moved to a new URL. It transfers approximately 95% of the ranking authority (link equity) from the old URL to the new one. Google removes the old URL from its index and replaces it with the new one.

When to Use a 301 Redirect

• You permanently changed a page's URL slug.
• You merged two similar pages into one.
• You deleted a page and a similar replacement page exists.
• You switched from HTTP to HTTPS (redirect all HTTP to HTTPS).
• You switched from www to non-www (or vice versa).
• You migrated your website to a new domain.

302 Redirect: Temporary Move

A 302 redirect tells browsers and search engines that a page has temporarily moved. Search engines keep the original URL in their index because they expect it to return. It does NOT transfer ranking authority to the destination URL the way a 301 does.

When to Use a 302 Redirect

• A page is temporarily down for maintenance and will return.
• You are A/B testing two landing page versions.
• A product is temporarily out of stock but will return.
• Seasonal pages that disappear and reappear (holiday promotions).

Diagram: 301 vs 302 Comparison

                    301 (Permanent)     302 (Temporary)
Old URL in Index:   REMOVED             KEPT
Authority Passed:   ~95%                Minimal / None
Best For:           Permanent URL       Temporary absence
                    changes             or A/B tests

Other Redirect Types

• 307 Temporary Redirect: The modern equivalent of 302. Strictly temporary. Browsers preserve the HTTP method (GET/POST) between requests.
• 308 Permanent Redirect: The modern equivalent of 301 with method preservation. Less commonly used in SEO contexts.
• 404 Not Found: Not a redirect — means the page does not exist. Use only for pages with no relevant replacement.
• 410 Gone: Tells Google the page is permanently deleted with no replacement. Google de-indexes it faster than a 404.

Redirect Chains: What to Avoid

A redirect chain happens when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C, which redirects to URL D. Each hop in the chain loses a small amount of authority and slows down page load time.

Diagram: Redirect Chain Problem

CHAIN (problematic):
/old-page --> /page-v2 --> /page-v3 --> /current-page
Each hop = slower load + authority loss

DIRECT (correct):
/old-page --> /current-page (one hop only)

Fix all chains by updating the first redirect to point 
directly to the final destination.

How to Set Up Redirects in WordPress

The Redirection plugin is the most popular free tool for managing WordPress redirects:

1. Install and activate Redirection from the WordPress plugin directory.
2. Go to Tools → Redirection → Add New.
3. Enter the source URL (old page) and target URL (new page).
4. Choose redirect type (301 for permanent).
5. Click Add Redirect.

For large site migrations with hundreds of redirects, use .htaccess rules (for Apache servers) or Nginx configuration rules for faster server-level processing.

Checking for Redirect Issues

Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Ahrefs Site Audit to find redirect chains, broken redirects, and 404 errors across your entire website. Google Search Console's Coverage report also highlights crawl errors including 404s and redirect issues.

Key Takeaway

Use 301 redirects for permanent URL changes — they preserve ranking authority and guide both users and Google to the right page. Use 302 redirects only for temporary situations. Always redirect old URLs when deleting or renaming pages, avoid redirect chains by pointing directly to the final destination, and audit your redirects regularly to keep your site clean.