301 redirect
A 301 redirect is an HTTP status code telling browsers and search engines that a page has moved permanently to a new URL. Google treats it as a strong signal that the new URL should be the canonical one.
Updated , every quotation and figure read in its source that day.
A 301 ("moved permanently") response sends anyone who requests the old URL to a new one. It is the standard way to move a page, merge two pages, switch from HTTP to HTTPS or move a whole site, and it keeps visitors and links pointing at the old address from hitting a dead end.
How Google treats a 301
Google sorts redirects into permanent and temporary. For permanent ones, "Googlebot follows the redirect, and the indexing pipeline uses the redirect as a signal that the redirect target should be canonical"; the 301 and 308 status codes "mean that a page has permanently moved to a new location". Google recommends "a permanent server-side redirect whenever possible" when a URL changes, and lists the other ways in decreasing order of how reliably it reads them: meta refresh with no delay, then JavaScript, and last a "crypto" redirect, which Google says not to rely on unless you have no other choice (Redirects and Google Search, updated 2026-04-14).
301 versus 302
With a temporary redirect (302, 303, 307), "Googlebot follows the redirect, but the indexing pipeline doesn't use the redirect as a signal that the redirect target should be canonical". In search results, a permanent redirect shows the new URL and a temporary one keeps showing the source page (Google). Use a 302 only when the old URL is coming back.
Redirect chains and how long to keep them
Google's crawlers follow "up to 10 redirect hops" by default (HTTP status codes and Google's crawlers), but Google advises against chains: "Avoid chaining redirects", and redirect straight to the final URL. When you move a site, it says to keep the redirects "for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year", so that Google can transfer all signals to the new URLs (Site moves with URL changes).
What happens to the old URL and its links
Google keeps track of both addresses. One becomes the canonical, depending on signals such as whether the redirect was permanent, and the other becomes an alternate name that can still appear in results for a while when a searcher seems to trust the old URL (Google). Because a permanent redirect is a strong canonical signal, and canonicalization lets search engines "consolidate the signals they have for the individual URLs (such as links to them) into a single, preferred URL" (How to specify a canonical URL), links pointing at the old URL end up counting for the new one; see canonical tag.
Redirect to the closest equivalent page. Sending every retired URL to the home page gives visitors nothing they asked for, and a page that answers the same question is the better destination.