## What is a 301 Redirect?
A **301 redirect** is a directive given to crawl bots to permanently redirect all incoming traffic from one page, or folder(s) to another page, folder or domain.
## Why are 301 Redirects Important?
301 redirects are essential for good [SEO](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/search-engine-optimization) because they ensure that you don’t undermine [UX (User Experience)](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/user-experience-ux).
If an end user clicks on your link wanting to discover more information about products and services and is met with a [404](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/404-page), they’re not going to be happy.
Equally, broken links or bad [external linking](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/external-links) can lead to websites receiving a drop in traffic.
This can see websites missing out on business, or even worse, may prohibit [crawlers](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/google-crawlers) from crawling and [indexing](http://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/indexing-seo) vital pages.
301 redirects can also help websites avoid publishing [duplicate content](http://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/duplicate-content), which typically get flagged up and potentially lead to a [Google penalty](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/google-penalty).
## When should you use a 301 Redirect?
There are a few different scenarios when you should implement a 301 redirect, including:
- When your URL location has been altered
- You have a new website that you want to redirect traffic to
- Websites linking to you have written your URL incorrectly
- Your web page or its content has been deleted
## What to Avoid with 301 Redirects?
301 redirects are a great tool that helps you maintain [link equity](/marketing-glossary/link-equity) and page ranking when you have changed your site’s architecture or fixed linking issues. But, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing 301 redirects.
### 1. Choose a 301 Over 302
302 redirects should only be used for temporary relocation, whereas 301 should be used for a permanent redirection to a new location.
### 2. Don’t Forget About Your Old Internal Links
You’ll leave end users in the dark if you don’t redirect old [internal links](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/internal-links). This can lead to a higher [bounce rate](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/bounce-rate) and less [dwell time](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/dwell-time).
### 3. Don’t Jump the Gun with a New Domain before using 301 Redirect
This can be dangerous and result in your website losing traffic and lead to a drop in your [SERP](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/serp) ranking.
## 301 Redirect Best Practices
You should follow a few best practices when it comes to 301 redirects.
- Make sure you **remove pages that have been assigned a 301 redirect from your** **[sitemap](https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/xml-sitemap-seo)**. This will ensure that you don’t waste [crawl budget] (https://growhackscale.com/marketing-glossary/crawl-budget)
- Amend redirect loops. These are bad for the bot and the user, and will send both in a circle back to a particular URL in the chain
- Redirect 404’s with a 301. This will boost UX and send the user and crawler to a relevant page, rather than a dead end
- Ensure that the 301 redirects HTTP to HTTPS
- Make sure you don’t 301 redirect to a dead page. This will have the exact opposite effect than the one that you are seeking, so watch out
## Redirect Checker Tools
Here are some tools to help you identify redirect loops and check and analyze your redirect chains.
- [HubSpot](/go/hubspot-cms)
- Rankwatch
### How Can We Help?
Got a complex web of pages that require redirects and don’t know where to start? Contact us and we could pair you with a team that will put a fresh pair of eyes onto your plans.
If you reckon you’ve got it covered, [our training courses](https://growhackscale.com/academy) are worth a look for when you want to get ahead of the competition regarding your whole SEO strategy.
