moz.com Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700::6811:315f Public Scan

Back to summary

URL:
https://moz.com/learn/seo/redirection
Submission: On May 04 via manual (May 4th 2023, 5:35:59 pm UTC) from CA — Scanned from CA

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

/search

<form class="mzr-mobile-search" action="/search">
  <input type="text" class="mzr-input-search" name="q" placeholder="Search...">
  <button aria-labelledby="mobile-menu-search">
    <svg class="mzr-icon-search" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18">
      <title id="mobile-menu-search">Search</title>
      <path d="M18 16.94l-5.553-5.554C13.417 10.186 14 8.66 14 7c0-3.86-3.14-7-7-7S0 3.14 0 7s3.14 7 7 7c1.66 0 3.185-.584 4.386-1.553L16.94 18 18 16.94zM7 12.5c-3.032 0-5.5-2.467-5.5-5.5S3.968 1.5 7 1.5s5.5 2.467 5.5 5.5-2.468 5.5-5.5 5.5z"></path>
    </svg>
  </button>
</form>

https://analytics.moz.com/pro/link-explorer/overview

<form action="https://analytics.moz.com/pro/link-explorer/overview" class="d-flex flex-wrap mx-auto align-items-stretch position-relative search-bar-form col-12 col-md-10 offset-md-1 col-lg-8 offset-lg-2 cta-header mb-4"
  id="js-form-cta-linkExplorer-1053294343">
  <label for="site" class="visually-hidden d-none d-sm-block"> Link Explorer </label>
  <input type="text" class="form-control form-control-lg mr-md-4" name="site" placeholder="Enter a URL" required="">
  <button class="btn btn-yellow rounded-btn btn-outline">Analyze Links</button>
</form>

Text Content

Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
Search
* Products
* Moz Pro
* Moz Pro Home
* Moz Local
* Moz Local Home
* STAT
* Moz Links API
* Compare SEO Products

* Free SEO Tools
* Domain Analysis
* Keyword Explorer
* Link Explorer
* Competitive Research
* MozBar
* More Free SEO Tools

* Learn SEO
* Beginner's Guide to SEO
* SEO Learning Center
* Moz Academy
* SEO Q&A
* Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides

* Blog
* Why Moz
* Agency Solutions
* Enterprise Solutions
* Small Business Solutions
* Case Studies
* The Moz Story
* New Releases

* Log in
* Log out

* Products
* Moz Pro

Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

* Moz Local

Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

* STAT

SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

* Moz Links API

Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

* Compare SEO Products

See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

Free Trial

GET STARTED ON YOUR PATH TO SEO SUCCESS

Try Moz Pro Free
* Free SEO Tools
* Domain Analysis

Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

* Keyword Explorer

Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

* Link Explorer

Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

* Competitive Research

Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

* MozBar

See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

* More Free SEO Tools

Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

Moz Academy

FREE ACCESS TO '30 DAYS OF SEO' WITH MOZ PRO

Learn SEO now
* Learn SEO
* Beginner's Guide to SEO

The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

* SEO Learning Center

Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

* On-Demand Webinars

Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

* How-To Guides

Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

* Moz Academy

Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

* SEO Q&A

Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

SEO Industry Report

THE IMPACT OF LOCAL BUSINESS REVIEWS

Learn more
* Blog
* Why Moz
* Small Business Solutions

Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

* Agency Solutions

Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

* Enterprise Solutions

Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

* The Moz Story

Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

* Case Studies

Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

* New Releases

Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

New Feature: Moz Pro

SURFACE ACTIONABLE COMPETITIVE INTEL

Learn More

*
* Log in
* * Moz Pro
* Moz Local
* Moz Local Dashboard
* Mozscape API
* Mozscape API Dashboard
* Moz Academy

* Avatar
* Moz Home
* Notifications
* Account & Billing
* Manage Users
* Community Profile
* My Q&A
* My Videos
* Log Out

May Savings - Get up to 30% off Moz Pro subscriptions! Find out more

FUNDAMENTALS

* On-Site SEO
* On-Page Ranking Factors
* Title Tag
* Meta Description
* Alt Text
* Duplicate Content
* Robots.txt
* Robots Meta Directives
* Schema.org Markup
* HTTP Status Codes
* Page Speed
* Conversion Rate Optimization
* Domains
* URLs
* Canonicalization
* Redirects
* Core Web Vitals
* Performance Metrics: Opportunities & Diagnostics
* H1 Tags

RELATED RESOURCES

* Ranking & Visibility
* On-Site SEO
* Links & Link Building
* Local SEO
* Keywords & Keyword Research
* Mobile SEO
* International SEO
* Crawling & Site Audits
* Analytics & Reporting
* Beginner's Guide to SEO
* Free SEO Tools
* Google Algorithm Change History
* Workshops & Training

1. SEO Learning Center
2. On-Site SEO
3. Redirects

REDIRECTS

Redirection is the process of forwarding one URL to a different URL.

WHAT IS A REDIRECT?

A redirect is a way to send both users and search engines to a different URL
from the one they originally requested. The three most commonly used redirects
are 301, 302, and Meta Refresh.

TYPES OF REDIRECTS

* 301, "Moved Permanently"—recommended for SEO
* 302, "Found" or "Moved Temporarily"
* Meta Refresh

301 MOVED PERMANENTLY

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that passes full link equity (ranking
power) to the redirected page. 301 refers to the HTTP status code for this type
of redirect. In most instances, the 301 redirect is the best method for
implementing redirects on a website.

302 FOUND

Use 302 redirects when the URL of a resource is changed temporarily. Some of
Google's employees have indicated that there are cases where 301s and 302s may
be treated similarly, but our evidence suggests that the safest way to ensure
search engines and browsers of all kinds give full credit is to use a 301 when
permanently redirecting URLs. This is because while in theory both 302s and 301s
can both pass the same amount of link equity, there are cases where a 301 might
pass a stronger canonicalization signal to Google. For cases in which the
redirect truly is temporary, a 302 may be the most appropriate.

307 MOVED TEMPORARILY

A 307 redirect is the HTTP 1.1 successor of the 302 redirect. While the major
crawlers will treat it like a 302 in some cases, it is best to use a 301 for
almost all cases. The exception to this is when content is really moved only
temporarily (such as during maintenance) AND the server has already been
identified by the search engines as 1.1 compatible. Since it's essentially
impossible to determine whether or not the search engines have identified a page
as compatible, it is generally best to use a 302 redirect for content that has
been temporarily moved.

META REFRESH

Meta refreshes are a type of redirect executed on the page level rather than the
server level. They are usually slower, and not a recommended SEO technique. They
are most commonly associated with a five-second countdown with the text "If you
are not redirected in five seconds, click here." Meta refreshes do pass some
link equity, but are not recommended as an SEO tactic due to poor usability and
the loss of link equity passed.

A meta refresh might look like this:

<http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=https://example.com/">

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IDENTIFY CRITICAL REDIRECT ISSUES USING MOZ PRO

Moz Pro's Site Crawl feature uncovers urgent issues such as redirect chains,
temporary redirects, and meta refreshes so you can fix them fast. Take a 30-day
free trial on us and see what you can achieve:

Start my free trial

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SEO BEST PRACTICES

It is common practice to redirect one URL to another. When doing this, it is
critical to observe best practices in order to maintain SEO value.

The first common example of this takes place with a simple scenario: a URL that
needs to redirect to another address permanently.

There are multiple options for doing this, but in general, the 301 redirect is
preferable for both users and search engines. Serving a 301 indicates to both
browsers and search engine bots that the page has moved permanently. Search
engines interpret this to mean that not only has the page changed location but
that the content—or an updated version of it—can be found at the new URL. The
engines will carry any link weighting from the original page to the new URL, as
below:

Be aware that when moving a page from one URL to another, the search engines
will take some time to discover the 301, recognize it, and credit the new page
with the rankings and trust of its predecessor. This process can be lengthier if
search engine spiders rarely visit the given web page, or if the new URL doesn't
properly resolve.

Other options for redirection, like meta refreshes, can be poor substitutes, as
they may not as reliably pass the rankings and search engine value like a 301
redirect will.

Transferring content becomes more complex when an entire site changes its domain
or when content moves from one domain to another. Due to abuse by spammers and
suspicion by the search engines, 301s between domains sometimes require more
time to be properly spidered and counted. For more on moving sites, see
Achieving an SEO-Friendly Domain Migration: The Infographic.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT A REDIRECT

Today, most modern CMS platforms offer solutions and/or plugins to easily handle
301 and 302 redirects. For example, RankMath is a free WordPress plugin that
offers redirection as a basic feature. Many hosting and CDN platforms also offer
easy redirection management from their admin panels.

301 REDIRECTS IN .HTACCESS

A common way of implementing redirects is through an .htaccess file, which runs
on Apache servers. Below we've listed some common .htaccess directives for
redirection.

1. TO REDIRECT AN ENTIRE DOMAIN TO A NEW SITE:

Redirect 301 / http://www.example.com/

Replace the example domain with your new redirect destination. This will 301
redirect every page on your site to the corresponding URL on the target domain.

2. TO REDIRECT A SINGLE PAGE

Redirect 301 /oldpage/ http://www.example.com/newpage/

You can use this redirect across different domains, or on your own site.

3. USING APACHE MOD_REWRITE

You can also use Apache mod_rewrite in your .htaccess file for more flexible
redirection. For example, here's the code you'd use to redirect from a non-www
to a www subdomain.

RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
rewritecond %{http_host} ^domain.com [nc]
rewriterule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [r=301,nc]

For more .htaccess scenarios, the folks at Linchpin SEO have put together a good
resource.

PHP REDIRECT

Here is an example of implementing a 301 redirect using PHP:

<?php
header("Location: https://www.example.com/", true, 301);
exit();
?>

JAVASCRIPT REDIRECTS

While you can technically implement redirects using JavaScript, it is not a
recommended method for SEO purposes. While testing has shown that Google may
interpret JavaScript redirects as 301s, it's not a given. Because JavaScript is
executed client-side, not server-side, there's no guarantee of Google indexing
the redirection properly. And finally, there's no way to declare an HTTP status
code when using JavaScript for redirection.

While not recommended, the following is an example of how you could implement a
redirect in JavaScript:

PUT YOUR SKILLS TO WORK

GAUGE A SITE'S INFLUENCE WITH LINK EXPLORER

Link Explorer is a link popularity and backlink analysis tool that lets you
research and compare any site on the web.

Link Explorer Analyze Links

Moz logo
* Contact
* Community
* Free Trial
* Terms & Privacy
* Jobs
* Help
* News & Press
* MozCon

*
*
*
*
*

add amex book buffer calendar caret cart check close compare contact
conversation cta-arrow delta desktop discover dollar download envelope expand
external facebook flag gear google-plus grid heart help house image inbox
info-superscript info lightbulb linkedin map mastercard menu microphone mobile
moz-logo newspaper note page pager pencil pinterest play pound products quotes
refresh remove rss search share sliders sort-arrow sort-arrows sort-ascending
sort-descending spinner star success table tablet tag thumb toolbox trash
twitter video visa warning word-bubble

moz.com Open in urlscan Pro 2606:4700::6811:315f Public Scan

Form analysis 2 forms found in the DOM

/search

https://analytics.moz.com/pro/link-explorer/overview

Text Content

moz.com Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700::6811:315f Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM