← Dictionary301 Redirect
also called permanent redirect
A permanent redirect that passes most ranking signals to the new URL.
The permanent version. Use it when a page moves for good.
What It Is
You will find 301 Redirect in the Website layer, alongside the rest of Structure. The working definition is simple: a permanent redirect that passes most ranking signals to the new URL.
It is a mechanism rather than an opinion: set up properly it behaves predictably, and set up badly it fails just as predictably. Once it is defined that clearly, arguments about it usually stop.
How It's Used
301 Redirect comes up in site builds, page structure and the technical decisions underneath them. It is usually discussed together with Redirect and Brand Migration. The practical test is whether it is configured, documented and actually working.
Why It Matters
Getting 301 Redirect wrong is expensive in a quiet way. When it is unclear, the site still launches — it just quietly underperforms. It is worth pinning down before anyone builds on top of it.
Think of plumbing. Nobody admires it, everybody notices when it leaks. The permanent version. Use it when a page moves for good.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Practitioners use 301 Redirect as shorthand and expect no explanation — a permanent redirect that passes most ranking signals to the new URL.
Outside the industry, most people would just say: the permanent version. Use it when a page moves for good.
The Bottom Line
If you only keep one thing about 301 Redirect: the permanent version. Use it when a page moves for good. Everything after that is detail.