A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect, usually passing between 90% and 99% ranking power to the redirected page. These are often recommended for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and they add indefinite pass page value.
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Key Takeaways
- Importance of 301 Redirects for SEO: 301 redirects are vital for SEO as they pass ranking power from old pages to new ones. Retaining redirects with valuable links can significantly boost your site’s rankings and maintain its SEO integrity.
- Assessment Criteria for 301 Redirects: Before deciding to keep or remove 301 redirects, consider factors like the presence of valuable external links, traffic generation, and server log hits. Prioritise redirects with significant traffic and link authority while periodically auditing and optimising them for better site performance.
Do They Boost Your SEO?
If you’re thinking of getting rid of your 301 redirects, don’t kill them off just yet! If your old site has a lot of valuable, high-quality links which point to those pages, then it can be worth keeping them in place to boost your SEO rankings. If you notice any URL redirects you haven’t created manually yourself or discovered incomplete URL’s in Google Search Console, this is because from WordPress 5.5 they introduced URL autocomplete guessing to prevent 404 page not found pages appearing for your webiste visitors.
Questions To Ask Yourself
Before you decide whether to keep or cull them, ask yourself a few questions to determine whether they’re still providing some benefit to your new site. Do they contain valuable external links? Are they still generating traffic? Are they achieving frequent ‘hits’ in server logs?
If the answer to all three is ‘yes’, then it’s worth hanging on to them. It would almost take up too much of your time and effort to go through and meticulously remove them.
You could break your assessment criteria down further to work out which 301 redirects should be saved and which are ready to go. If they’ve achieved under one hundred visits in the past six months, have a citation flow of five or less and are associated with a very specific event, then they’re probably not worth keeping.
Assessing links on an individual basis can be a time-consuming exercise, so make sure you’re not spending more time looking backwards when you should be moving forward with your new site. A regular look through and audit of your 301 redirects will help you add value to your website and keep it feeling uncluttered.
Need More Advice?
If you need more advice on managing your 301 redirects, then the expert team at Baldwin Digital are always on hand to offer more advice and guidance. Simply get in touch with us to find out more!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are 301 Redirects Essential for SEO?
Yes, 301 redirects play a crucial role in SEO by transferring ranking power from old pages to new ones. Retaining redirects with valuable links can significantly enhance your site’s SEO performance and maintain its integrity.
How to Evaluate the Need for 301 Redirects?
Before deciding to remove 301 redirects, consider factors like the presence of valuable external links, traffic generation, and server log hits. Assess redirects individually based on their contribution to site traffic and authority to ensure optimal SEO outcomes.
