301 Redirect
A 301 redirect is an HTTP status code that permanently redirects one URL to another, telling search engines to transfer ranking signals (link equity) to the new URL.
Use 301 redirects when you permanently move or rename a page, merge duplicate content, change your URL structure, or migrate domains. A 301 passes approximately 95-99% of link equity to the target URL.
Avoid redirect chains (A -> B -> C) as each hop loses a small amount of equity and increases load time. Also avoid redirect loops (A -> B -> A), which make pages inaccessible.
In Next.js, configure redirects in `next.config.js` using the `redirects` option. For dynamic redirects, use middleware or the `redirect()` function from `next/navigation`.
Example
// next.config.js
module.exports = {
async redirects() {
return [
{
source: "/old-page",
destination: "/new-page",
permanent: true, // 301
},
];
},
};Related terms
404 Error
A 404 error is an HTTP status code indicating that the server cannot find the requested URL. It signals to search engines that the page does not exist.
Canonical URL
A canonical URL is an HTML link element that tells search engines which URL is the preferred version of a page, consolidating ranking signals when multiple URLs serve similar content.
Duplicate Content
Duplicate content refers to identical or substantially similar content appearing at multiple URLs, which can confuse search engines about which version to index and rank.
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