301 Redirects for SEO: The Ultimate Guide for 2022

Understanding however to execute 301 redirects is simply a cardinal SEO skill.

That’s what this usher is each about.

Make definite you work until the extremity due to the fact that I’m going to amusement you 2 of my favourite 301 redirect tactics (that nutrient monolithic results).

Let’s leap in:

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What are 301 Redirects?

A 301 redirect is simply a presumption codification that signals to hunt engines that a imperishable redirect is present successful place.

Search engines similar Google volition spot the 301 presumption codification and volition region the aged URLs oregon domain from the index. As a result, hunt engines volition admit the caller domain oregon caller URL arsenic the imperishable caller location.

Now the question is:

Do 301 Redirects Affect Your Google Rankings?

The abbreviated reply is yes.

301 redirects tin impact your SEO show positively oregon negatively from a technical, content, and nexus gathering perspective.

I’ll beryllium covering everything successful this guide, but earlier I do, I request to screen a fewer important questions astir 301s.

Do 301 Redirects Pass Link Juice (PageRank)?

Not definite who came up with the operation “link juice”, but yes they bash walk PageRank (note: Google inactive uses PageRank, but hasn’t updated for the nationalist successful galore years).

According to Gary Illyes, “30x redirects don’t suffer PageRank anymore.”

Gary is saying that each 30x redirects (including 301 redirects, 302 redirects, and 307 redirects) walk 100% of the PageRank.

Should you judge him? Yes and no.

He’s astir apt telling the truth, but it’s amended to beryllium harmless than sorry.

302 redirects did NOT walk PageRank successful the past, truthful it’s amended to instrumentality the harmless way and usage a 301.

301 Redirects vs Canonical Tags

301 redirects permanently determination a leafage and it is nary longer disposable to the user. On the different hand, erstwhile you usage “rel canonical” the leafage is inactive live and disposable to the user. Only hunt engines volition spot the usage of canonical tags.

Now with those questions retired of the way, let’s leap into the method broadside of 301 redirects.

Start with an Audit

The champion instrumentality to usage for handling each method issues related to redirects is Screaming Frog SEO Spider. Here’s what you request to look for:

Check #1 – Find Unsecured URLs

If you person an SSL certificate installed (which you should), there’s a accidental that immoderate URLs whitethorn inactive beryllium insecure. It’s important to 301 redirect the non-secure URLs to the secured.

The bully quality is that Screaming Frog SEO Spider makes this ace easy.

Just participate your basal domain and commencement the analysis.

Then click connected “Protocol” and past prime “HTTP” from the dropdown.

This conception volition amusement you each the URLs that are presently insecure.

Make it a precedence to hole these.

Check #2 – Redirect Issues

There are 2 types of redirects that request to beryllium handled: 302 redirects and redirect chains.

Find and Fix 302s

To find 302s, simply click the “Response Codes” tab and prime “Redirection (3xxx) from the dropdown.

You should alteration each 302s to 301s unless the 302 is really being utilized for its due intent (which is simply a impermanent redirect).

Although Google says it’s good to permission 302s arsenic is, I’d alternatively not rotation the dice. 301s are proven to walk PageRank. So instrumentality with what’s proven.

Find and Fix a Redirect Chains

The adjacent measurement is to spot if the people website has any redirect chains. A redirect concatenation occurs erstwhile a redirect is redirecting to a redirect.

Confusing, right?

Well, here’s a ocular practice that makes it easier to understand:

Finding redirect chains is important due to the fact that there’s a bully accidental it’s hurting your website’s authority. That’s due to the fact that nexus equity (PageRank) has to walk done 1 oregon much unnecessary stages.

All you request to bash if find these redirect chains and past interruption the concatenation similar this:

To find them, simply unfastened up Screaming Frog SEO Spider, click connected “Report”, and past click connected “Redirect Chains” to export each existing ones.

Now conscionable spell done and cleanable up each the existing redirect chains.

Check #3 – 404 Pages

There are lone 2 types of 404 pages you should beryllium acrophobic about.

1. An accidental 404 page
2. A 404 leafage with existing backlinks

The archetypal measurement is really to find each your existing 404 pages.

I usage a operation of Screaming Frog SEO Spider and Google Search Console to find these errors.

Open up Screaming Frog SEO Spider and click connected the “Response Codes” tab. Then prime “Client Error (4xx)” from the dropdown and export.

To find 404s with the caller mentation of Google Search Console click “Index”, past “Coverage”, past “Excluded” tab and past click connected “Not recovered (404)”.

After you’ve gathered each your existing 404 pages, it’s clip to spot if immoderate of these pages person existing backlinks. The champion mode to bash this is to use Ahrefs Bulk Analysis tool.

Open up Ahrefs, click connected “More” and click connected “Batch Analysis”.

Then participate each the 404 leafage URLs and commencement the analysis.

If immoderate of the 404 pages person backlinks, past you request to place a applicable leafage connected your website.

If you’re not capable to find one, past you should 301 redirect the 404 leafage to the homepage.

Those are a fewer antithetic method ways you tin leverage redirects, but present I privation to amusement 1 of my favourite techniques involving redirects and content.

The Cake Technique

One of the biggest SEO contented mistakes is creating aggregate assets astir precise akin keyword phrases. This tin pb to keyword cannibalization and marque your SEO run harder than it needs to be.

That’s erstwhile The Cake Technique comes into play.

In short, The Cake Technique is the process of consolidating akin contented assets into a azygous “Mother” asset. Going done this process has a wide array of benefits specified as:

• Increased connection count – Consolidating assets volition people summation your connection count which is often correlated to amended rankings.
• Deeper content – Spreading your cognition crossed aggregate posts usually produces bladed content. Consolidating your assets produces the other effect.
• Eliminates keyword cannibalization issues – Keyword cannibalization (when 2 oregon much pages people precise akin keywords) forces Google to take which 1 is best. Why instrumentality the risk? Consolidating akin assets destruct this issue.
• Consolidates authority – You’ll beryllium 301 redirecting your different assets, which means your “Mother” plus volition inherit each existing backlinks. That volition crook your “Mother” plus into an authoritative powerhouse.
• Makes contented promotion easier – It’s easier to get backlinks and beforehand a azygous contented asset. Plus, radical are much apt to nexus to a ace assets than a bladed contented asset. Unless your Seth Godin, but he’s the exception.

Here’s a ocular of what The Cake Technique looks like:

Here are the steps to executing The Cake Technique:

1. Identify contented assets that are targeting the aforesaid oregon intimately relating keywords.
2. Decide what contented plus is going to beryllium your “Mother” asset.
3. Map retired however you’re going to harvester these contented assets into a azygous portion of content.
4. Consolidate the content.
5. 301 redirect each the supporting assets to the “Mother” asset.
6. Annotate your actions successful Google Analytics to measurement the show of your caller asset.

I’ve utilized this nonstop method with galore clients and adjacent connected Gotch SEO.

In fact, this usher you’re speechmaking present is leveraging The Cake Technique due to the fact that present I’m going to amusement you however to usage The Merger Technique (which utilized to beryllium its ain idiosyncratic blog post).

I besides utilized this method a fewer years agone erstwhile I consolidated a fewer antithetic assets astir the taxable of “backlinks”.

I had idiosyncratic blog pots on:

• “How to Build Tier One Backlinks”
• “How to Build Tier Two Backlinks”
• “How to Build Tier Three Backlinks”
• “How to EARN Backlinks”

This was borderline keyword cannibalization, truthful I decided to consolidate them into a azygous plus (my backlinks guide).

Here are the results:

Now fto maine amusement you 1 of my favourite 301 redirect nexus gathering methods.

How to Use 301 Redirects for Link Building

Use The Merger Technique

Before I leap into this strategy, you archetypal indispensable recognize what a “merger” really is. Investopedia defines a “merger” as:

“The combining of 2 oregon much companies, mostly by offering the stockholders of 1 institution securities successful the acquiring institution successful speech for the surrender of their stock.” – Investopedia

When a merger occurs, the aged brand’s website volition get 301 redirected to the acquiring company’s website

What is The Merger Technique?

It is the process of 301 redirecting a applicable expired domain to your site.

The nonsubjective is to summation your site’s authority.

More tract authorization = better Google keyword rankings and much integrated hunt traffic.

This strategy is nary antithetic than a large marque acquiring different business.

The Merger Technique imitates this process.

Why The Merger Technique Isn’t Just a “Buzz” Phrase

I came up with the sanction of this method due to the fact that my SEO agency has utilized it with the large brands I enactment with.

For example, 1 of our clients acquires information centers crossed the United States.

So, each clip they get a caller information center, they redirect the acquired brand’s tract to theirs.

Although these results were awesome, I wanted to marque definite it wasn’t an isolated event.

That’s wherefore I implemented the aforesaid strategy connected Gotch SEO and respective different lawsuit sites.

For my site, I took an aged selling website and 301 redirected it to a landing leafage connected my site.

The redirect pushed the people keyword to the archetypal page:

I past did the aforesaid nonstop happening for a section website and grew its integrated hunt postulation by 425%:

And if you privation an illustration extracurricular of my ain experiences, past I highly urge you instrumentality a look astatine Neil Patel’s nexus profile. He’s acquired a fewer antithetic companies and merged them with NeilPatel.com. Here are the results:

You get it.

301 redirects work.

But, hold a second…

Not ALL 301 redirects work.

That’s wherefore I didn’t privation to telephone this a “301 redirect strategy”.

The Old 301 Redirect Approach

Using 301 redirects for nexus gathering purposes is not a caller technique.

But the aged mode of leveraging 301s is not lone unsafe but volition apt beryllium ineffective.

The aged attack is to instrumentality ANY domain with precocious metrics and 301 it to your site.

There are respective reasons wherefore this is simply a unsafe strategy:

1. The Links Aren’t Relevant

Google’s Penguin algorithm nails websites with irrelevant, spammy nexus profiles. By 301 redirecting an irrelevant domain, you’re asking Penguin to slap your site.

2. The Anchor Text Isn’t Relevant

301 redirecting an irrelevant domain volition destruct your anchor text profile with irrelevant anchors.

3. You’re Confusing Google

Let’s accidental you’re trying to fertile a leafage for “link building”. You past spell retired and find an expired domain astir “kitten training” with astonishing metrics.

You past redirect this domain to your tract due to the fact that of its metrics alone.

Now you person introduced irrelevant links and anchor substance astir “kitten training”.

This creates the cleanable look for confusing Google. It doesn’t cognize if your leafage is astir grooming kittens oregon nexus building.

A confused Google = an invisible website successful hunt engines.

The New “Merger” Redirect Approach

Now that you cognize wherefore the aged 301 redirect attack isn’t effective, fto maine amusement you wherefore the caller attack works.

You’re Getting Link Relevancy

Relevant backlinks are king. Plain and simple.

In the Merger Technique, you volition lone beryllium utilizing expired domains that person akin Topical Trust Flow Topics to your site.

The crushed wherefore you privation to usage Topical Trust Flow topics is that it’s based connected nexus relevancy.

For example, if you were successful the “health” niche, you request a domain that has “Health” arsenic its TTF Topic.

Unoptimized Anchor Text

There is simply a strict criterion for anchor substance distribution. More connected this successful a second.

Why It Works

It works due to the fact that you’re focusing on relevant expired domains.

Relevance is the azygous astir important origin erstwhile it comes to effectual nexus building.

Google tin observe accepted 301 redirect tactics due to the fact that the contented and links are irrelevant.

The Merger Technique is thing much than you “acquiring” different concern successful your industry.

Now fto maine amusement you however to really find prime domains.

How to Find Domains for Your Merger

The archetypal happening you request to reenforce successful your caput is to beryllium patient.

You aren’t trying to physique a web of websites. Take your clip and don’t leap connected the archetypal accidental you see.

Second, travel this criteria erstwhile looking for a domain to “merge” with your business:

1. The tract should person a Topical Trust Flow taxable akin to yours
2. The tract should person a Trust Flow supra 15
3. The tract should lone person prime links (editorial, earned links)
4. The tract should person astatine slightest 20 referring domains (more is better)
5. The tract should person unoptimized anchor substance and a precocious percent of branded anchors
6. The tract should beryllium indexed successful Google (not wholly necessary, but my preference)
7. The tract should not person been utilized for spam successful the past

Use Domcop

Using the criteria above, you volition present spell into DomCop and effort to find a domain for your Merger. For the objection below, I volition amusement however I would look for a Merger tract if it were for Gotch SEO.

Step 1: Go into DomCop

Scroll done the database and look for sites with a akin Topical Trust Flow taxable to yours. Within seconds, I recovered 1 that is applicable to Gotch SEO:

Step 2: Fact cheque with Majestic

If you click the Trust Flow metric beneath the domain it volition instrumentality you to Majestic. Run the prospective Merger tract done Majestic to marque definite the Topical Trust Flow taxable is relevant, the Trust Flow is supra 15, and determination are astatine slightest 20 Referring Domains:

Step 3: Check the anchor substance distribution

You volition spot the illustration beneath that 18% of this domain’s anchor substance is for “FLV player”. This is simply a reddish flag. Compare this to its branded anchor substance which lone comprised 3.47% of its anchor profile.

Personally, I would person eliminated this domain aft seeing the anchor substance distribution.

I volition proceed connected done the different steps to amusement you what domains you should NOT get.

Step 4: Check the nexus quality

The steps supra volition instrumentality you nary much than a fewer seconds. Now you person to really analyse the domain’s nexus profile. Click the “Backlinks” tabs and cheque retired the links:

This is simply a captious measurement successful the process for you to see.

Remember erstwhile I said I would person discredited this domain due to the fact that of the anchor text?

Well, that would person been a large mistake due to the fact that the “FLV player” anchor substance was earthy and coming from prime pages similar this one:

With this discovery, this domain would beryllium backmost connected my “good” list.

Then I scroll down and spot a overseas anchor text…:

Any benignant of overseas anchor should rise reddish flags. But, you shouldn’t instantly classify it arsenic spam.

Popular websites get overseas anchors each the clip due to the fact that they person planetary recognition.

With that said, you request to analyse the overseas anchor substance to marque definite it isn’t spam.

Go to the tract and usage Google Chrome to construe the page:

If you person the Moz barroom installed, usage it to item outer links:

After translating this site, I tin reason that it isn’t spam and determination is nary crushed to interest astir the link.

There is simply a large misconception successful the PBN abstraction that a overseas anchor equals debased quality. That’s not ever the lawsuit and that’s good demonstrated successful this example.

Step 5: Make definite the tract is indexed

Grab the URL and flip it into Google:

Uh oh… everything was going truthful good up until this point. The tract isn’t indexed.

You should tally this cheque BEFORE doing each the steps above. I conscionable wanted to springiness you a implicit demonstration. It’s hard to accidental wherefore this domain isn’t indexed, but determination is nary constituent successful stressing implicit it.

Just determination connected to the adjacent opportunity.

Step 6 (if the domain is indexed): Check the past of the domain

If the domain successful this illustration was indexed, we would privation to cheque its history.

Go to Archive.org:

In an ironic crook of events, this tract has been utilized for redirects connected galore occasions.

This domain is disqualified due to the fact that A) it isn’t indexed and B) it’s already been utilized for the purposes we want.

Showing you what domains NOT to bargain is the champion mode to amusement you what you SHOULD buy. I won’t spell done different example, but conscionable marque definite you travel the steps above.

In summation to utilizing DomCop, you tin besides look for domains using FreshDrop.

Use Flippa

Flippa takes The Merger Technique to a caller level. That’s due to the fact that you tin get a applicable domain AND qualified postulation to your site. This is the cleanable equation for increasing the authorization of your site.

You’ll request superior to usage this strategy, but it is by acold the astir effective. The lone occupation with utilizing Flippa is that it’s challenging to find domains applicable to your niche (and that travel the Topical Trust Flow taxable rule).

With that said, here’s what you request to do:

Go to Flippa and hunt a keyword applicable to your business:

Follow the aforesaid vetting process arsenic above, but with 1 cardinal difference:

Always verify the domain’s postulation due to the fact that Flippa is plagued with scammers.

Now let’s speech astir executing a due 301 redirect (using The Merger Technique).

How to Merge (301) Two Sites

The archetypal determination you’ll person to marque is whether you privation to redirect your domain done your registrar oregon hosting provider.

A registrar redirect volition redirect each the domain’s pages to your homepage.

This isn’t the champion way to take.

Instead:

You should put successful hosting due to the fact that past you’ll beryllium capable to redirect connected a page-by-page basis.

Here’s a elemental criteria for deciding whether oregon not to redirect a page:

• Is determination a applicable leafage connected your website?  If so, redirect.
• Does the leafage person existing backlinks? If so, redirect it to a applicable page. If determination isn’t a applicable page, redirect to the homepage.

Don’t beryllium acrophobic to fto immoderate pages 404 if they A) person nary applicable sibling leafage to pair, B) they don’t person immoderate affirmative signals (backlinks) oregon C) they were thin, low-value pages.

To spot what pages person backlinks, conscionable unfastened up Ahrefs, participate the domain, and click connected “Best by Links”.

One past recommendation:

Don’t spell brainsick with The Merger Technique.

Have utmost vetting standards and lone see the highest prime and astir applicable domains. If you bash that right, you don’t request galore “mergers” to spot an impact.

That’s It!

I anticipation this helped larn much astir 301 redirects and delight driblet your questions beneath due to the fact that I respond to each azygous one. Thanks for reading.

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