What is the difference between 301 redirects and backlinks?
-
i have seen some 301 redirects on my site billsonline, can anyone please explain the difference between backlinks and 301 redirects, i have read some articles where the writer was stating that 301 are not good for website.
-
301 redirects and backlinks serve different purposes in the realm of website management and SEO.
A 301 redirect is a method used to permanently redirect one URL to another. It's commonly used when a page has been moved or removed, ensuring that visitors and search engines are automatically directed to the new URL. Essentially, it's a way to preserve a page's ranking and traffic when its URL changes.
On the other hand, backlinks are incoming links from one webpage to another. They are crucial for SEO as they signal to search engines that other websites find your content valuable enough to link to. Backlinks are like votes of confidence for your website, and quality backlinks from reputable sites can significantly improve your site's search engine rankings.
-
@jackwill1234 said in What is the difference between 301 redirects and backlinks?:
Could someone explain the difference between backlinks and 301 redirects for my website, www-homeworkify.live ? I've come across articles suggesting that 301 redirects might not be advantageous for websites, and I'd like to understand more.
Sure! Backlinks are links from other websites to yours, helping to boost your site's authority and visibility in search engine rankings. 301 redirects, on the other hand, permanently direct users and search engines from one URL to another. While backlinks improve your site's reputation, 301 redirects are useful for preserving SEO value when you've changed a URL or merged two websites. Both are valuable tools, but they serve different purposes in optimizing your website's performance.
-
Could someone explain the difference between backlinks and 301 redirects for my website, www-homeworkify.live ? I've come across articles suggesting that 301 redirects might not be advantageous for websites, and I'd like to understand more.
-
301 Redirects:
A 301 redirect is a method used to permanently redirect one URL to another. It's an HTTP status code that indicates that a webpage has been permanently moved to a new location. When a user or a search engine bot tries to access the original URL, they are automatically redirected to the new URL specified in the 301 redirect.
301 redirects are commonly used when a website undergoes a redesign, changes its domain name, or moves content to a new location. They help preserve SEO value by transferring the ranking signals from the old URL to the new one.
Backlinks:Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are hyperlinks on other websites that point back to your website. They are a crucial component of search engine optimization (SEO) and are considered a vote of confidence from one site to another.
Backlinks are valuable because search engines like Google use them as one of the factors to determine the authority, relevance, and credibility of a website. Websites with a higher number of quality backlinks tend to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Backlinks can be obtained through various methods such as creating high-quality content, outreach campaigns, guest blogging, and participating in online communities. -
A 301 redirect is a method used to permanently redirect one URL to another, often utilized during website migrations or when a page is no longer active. Backlinks, on the other hand, are incoming links from other websites to a specific webpage, which can influence a site's search engine ranking and authority. While both serve to redirect traffic, they operate in distinct ways: 301 redirects manage URL redirection, while backlinks contribute to a site's off-page SEO efforts by enhancing its credibility and visibility.
-
301 redirects and backlinks serve different purposes in website management. A 301 redirect is a server-side instruction that permanently redirects users and search engines from one URL to another, preserving SEO value and ensuring seamless navigation. Backlinks, on the other hand, are inbound links from other websites to your website that influence search engine rankings and demonstrate trustworthiness and authority in your niche. 301 redirects manage URL changes and website rebuilds, while backlinks contribute to off-page SEO and domain authority.
-
I've noticed some 301 redirects on my website, LiteblueInsights. Can someone please clarify the distinction between backlinks and 301 redirects? I've read articles suggesting that 301 redirects aren't beneficial for websites.
-
A 301 redirect is the header response sent when a page does not exist or not required and the redirected page is loaded instead. Typically a 301 redirect is created when a page is taken down. A 301 redirect is not bad for a site. Redirect chains can be bad - so 301 to 301 to 301 etc.
What you want to look at is if you have 301s in your menus, homepage or main content linking to main pages. These links should be either removed or updated to the new URL. There should be no 301s here, it's good housekeeping.
A backlink is an link from an external site linking to a page on your site.
-
I believe the below reply that is explained by Mr Victor, is absolutely correct.
-
The redirects are intended to keep link juice when migrating to a new domain. Actually they just help the existing users find the new domain. If there are redirects to your domain from unrelated websites the Google bot should be smart enough to ignore them. That's why it's better to have backlinks from unrelated sources than redirects.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Can a page that's 301 redirected get indexed / show in search results?
Hey folks, have searched around and haven't been able to find an answer to this question. I've got a client who has very different search results when including his middle initial. His bio page on his company's website has the slug /people/john-smith; I'm wondering if we set up a duplicate bio page with his middle initial (e.g. /people/john-b-smith) and then 301 redirect it to the existent bio page, whether the latter page would get indexed by google and show in search results for queries that use the middle initial (e.g. "john b smith"). I've already got the metadata based on the middle initial version but I know the slug is a ranking signal and since it's a direct match to one of his higher volume branded queries I thought it might help to get his bio page ranking more highly. Would that work or does the 301'd page effectively cease to exist in Google's eyes?
Technical SEO | | Greentarget0 -
I need help with redirecting chain to another page and 301, I don't understand on how to fix
Redirect Chain <label>What it is:</label> Your page is redirecting to a page that is redirecting to a page that is redirecting to a page... and so on. Learn more about redirection best practices. <label>Why it's an issue:</label> Every redirect hop loses link equity and offers a poor user experience, which will negatively impact your rankings. <label>How to fix it:</label> Chiaryn says: “Redirect chains are often caused when multiple redirect rules pile up, such as redirecting a 'www' to non-www URL or a non-secure page to a secure/https: page. Look for any recurring chains that could be rewritten as a single rule. Be particularly careful with 301/302 chains in any combination, as the 302 in the mix could disrupt the ability of the 301 to pass link equity.” This is not helping me I don't understand about the 301 do I use the www.jasperartisanjewelry.com or the /jasperartisanjewelry.com I'm confused
Technical SEO | | geanmitch0 -
301 Redirects, Sitemaps and Indexing - How to hide redirected urls from search engines?
We have several pages in our site like this one, http://www.spectralink.com/solutions, which redirect to deeper page, http://www.spectralink.com/solutions/work-smarter-not-harder. Both urls are listed in the sitemap and both pages are being indexed. Should we remove those redirecting pages from the site map? Should we prevent the redirecting url from being indexed? If so, what's the best way to do that?
Technical SEO | | HeroDesignStudio0 -
301 redirects delay in picking up
Hi I have been involved in the redesign/development of a website which has up until now had a lot of international traffic. On day of migration I uploaded all the 301 redirects to the website (wordpress) using Simple 301 redirect plugin. I tested a number of them and they appeared to be working. I also submitted the new sitemaps to Search Console. Since migration international traffic - particularly from countries such as india, Phillipines, Sri Lanka etc have significantly dropped off whereas the local traffic and some of the international traffic such as USA has remained fairly consistent. Looking at Analytics and entrances recently it appears as though search results are/were showing a number of pages with 404's (one in particular which received significant traffic and for which I had created a 301 redirection) - I have checked this page using the old url and it re-directs correctly for me and today asked a colleague in India to also check - he is getting the redirection fine. Does Google.in take a significantly longer time to pick these up in search results? Or am I missing something?
Technical SEO | | musthavemarketing0 -
How to 301 redirect via OpenCms/7.5.4
Hi everyone, My programmer told me it is impossible to do a permanent redirect from www.website.com/index.html to www.website.com due to cms technical limitation which I do not want to believe hence is it possible / is there documentation available instructing on how to do a proper 301 permanent redirect on OpenCMS 7.5.4? Thanks a lot! Steve
Technical SEO | | sjcbayona-412180 -
301 Redirect with an Exact Domain name Match
My Client had a site that ranked for a pretty competitive two word phrase, but for a variety of reasons had to transfer the site to a different domain name (with none of the previous keywords). We've 301'd everything just fine to the new site, but our traffic for that two word phrase, as well as related long tail traffic, is beginning to drop. Could the drop be related to something that we didn't do well in the transfer? Or is it due to the new domain name now not being an exact match? Sitenote question: Our Google Analytics is still set up for the former domain name and shows data just fine. Is there any reason to switch GA to the new domain? What are the pros/cons? Much thanks in advance!
Technical SEO | | TrevorMcKendrick0 -
301 redirecting some pages directly, and the rest to a single page
I've read through the Redirect guide here already but can't get this down in my .htaccess I want to redirect some pages specifically (/contactinfo.html to the new /contact.php) And I want all other pages (not all have equivalent pages on the new site) to redirect to my new (index.php) homepage. How can I set it up so that some specific pages redirect directly, and all others go to one page? I already have the specific oldpage.html -> newpage.php redirects in place, just need to figure out the broad one for everything else.
Technical SEO | | RyanWhitney150 -
301 Redirect NOT Working as Expected - HELP!
Hi! I just launched our newly coded site and just realized the installed 301 is NOT working. The URL string is the same EXCEPT for the removal of /shop/. Here is the code in .htaccess: ############################################ enable rewrites Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine on #RedirectMatch 301 ^/shop?/$ http://hiphound.com/ RedirectMatch 301 ^/shop?/$ http://hiphound.com ########################################### When I go to Google and click on an old link I get a 404. No bueno!! Here is an example: http://hiphound.com/shop/rubit-dog-tag-clip I thought (and was told) that the installed 301 would send this page to: http://hiphound.com/rubit-dog-tag-clip It's not. Please HELP!! 🙂 What am I doing wrong??? Lynn
Technical SEO | | hiphound0