301 redirect
A 301 redirect is an HTTP status code that permanently sends users and search engines from one URL to another, passing the bulk of its ranking signals to the destination.
Use a 301 when a page has permanently moved, when consolidating duplicate or retired pages, or when migrating to a new domain. Unlike a 302 (temporary) redirect, a 301 tells Google to transfer indexing and the original URL's link equity to the target, so backlinks pointing at the old address keep most of their value.
This makes 301s a core link-building tool. If a referring site links to an old or broken URL on your domain, redirecting it to the relevant live page recovers that link's value rather than letting it 404. The same applies during link reclamation after a site restructure.
Two cautions. Avoid long redirect chains (A to B to C), which dilute signals and slow crawling, so point directly to the final URL. And do not redirect unrelated pages just to grab their authority, since Google may treat an irrelevant 301 as a soft 404 and pass little or nothing.