Here are some codes for URL redirections that you need to know to manage the links on your website, helping visitors find what they are looking for. This is especially helpful when you change the domain name or the permalink structure of the website:
Common URL Redirection Codes
- 301: Permanently moved to the newly assigned URL; the old URL no longer exists.
- 302 and 307: The URL is moved temporarily, indicating that the current URL isn’t working right now or is under maintenance.
- 404: The URL is not found and leads to a “404 Not Found” page. We want to avoid this and always show content to visitors, perhaps with a new page indicating they are in the right place.
- 410: The URL is gone; this code tells search engines (e.g., Google) to remove the page from their index.
- 451: The page is currently unavailable for legal reasons (I haven’t found a use case for this in my experience).
Notes on Setting Up and Managing Redirections
When applying redirections to a URL, consider: “Will the user click on this link? Why would they click on this link, and what would they expect to see?” From there, you can set up redirection to the needed page, perhaps with instructions or related content that guides them to the information they are looking for.
Check your backlinks at Ahrefs Backlink Checker to see if any pages need redirection.
Use a broken link scanner within your SEO plugin or Ahrefs Broken Link Checker to identify any obsolete or inactive links.
Set up 404 reports within your SEO plugin and in your Google Analytics to track when any 404s show up, so you can set up redirections when needed.
This notes is written from my understanding while learning the lessons from Jeffrey’s SEO for WordPress course by Lytbox Academy, please check the course out and buy the course if you’re interested: https://lytboxacademy.com/seo-for-wordpress-course/