Redirect

A redirectA redirect forwards users and search engines from one URL to another. It can be permanent (301) or temporary (302) and transfers signals to the target URL.Open glossary entry → ensures that a requested URL automatically leads to a different URL. It is a key tool for cleanly handling URL changes, relaunches or deleted pages.

The main variants:

• 301: permanent redirectHTTP status 301 signals a permanent redirect: a URL has been permanently replaced by another. Search engines transfer the signals to the target URL.Open glossary entry →, transfers signals to the target URL,
• 302: temporary redirectHTTP status 302 signals a temporary redirect: content is temporarily available at a different URL. The original URL is meant to remain.Open glossary entry →, the original URL remains the actual version.

Good practice: the target should be topically relevant and return status 200. Avoid irrelevant redirects to the homepage, redirect chains (A → B → C instead of A → C) and redirect loops. After a redirect, internal linksInternal linking refers to links that connect pages within the same website. They control how search engines and users find and thematically classify content.Open glossary entry → should be updated to point directly to the final URL rather than permanently running through the redirect. A redirect is not the same as a canonical tagThe canonical tag is an HTML link element that tells search engines the preferred (canonical) URL of a page. It helps consolidate duplicate or similar URLs onto a main version.Open glossary entry →: with a redirect the old URL is no longer reachable, with a canonical it remains.