Definition
The 301 redirect strategy goes beyond simple technical redirection. It encompasses all strategic decisions related to using permanent redirects to maximize the preservation of link juice and authority during site migrations, URL changes, content consolidation, or expired domain acquisitions. A good 301 strategy involves precise mapping of old URLs to new ones, verifying that redirects point to relevant content (not just the homepage), managing redirect chains, and post-migration monitoring. Errors in 301 strategy (redirects to the wrong page, redirect chains, misused temporary 301s) can lead to significant losses in traffic and authority.
Key Points
- Always redirect to the most relevant page, not the homepage
- Avoid redirect chains (A -> B -> C) that dilute link juice
- Monitor redirects after migration to detect errors quickly
Practical Examples
Site migration
During a CMS change, a 301 redirect plan maps each old URL to its corresponding new URL. Backlinks pointing to old pages continue to pass their value.
Consolidation with 301
During content pruning, deleted pages are 301-redirected to the most relevant page (not to the homepage). The link juice from deleted pages is transferred to the target page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Google confirmed that 301 redirects pass full PageRank since 2016. Previously, a 15% loss was estimated. However, multiple redirect chains can still cause loss.
Google recommends maintaining redirects for at least one year for the signal transfer to be complete. Ideally, keep them as long as the old URLs receive traffic or backlinks.
Go Further with LemmiLink
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Last updated: 2026-02-07