Redirecting happens when a client opens your website and land on an unexpected page instead of the requested page. So, a redirect is a function that prevents your visitors from accessing your webpage directly. Sometimes you might redirect some of your website pages due to some reasons.
How Redirect Works
When you type a URL in your browser, it sends the request to a server. The server then displays your website request on the browser. But when there is a redirect, it places some instructions on to the server to post a different webpage and not the one you had requested.
Redirecting can affect your business in various ways. Such as; It makes your website load slowly and, in the process, reduces traffic on your website. Another thing is that it makes it impossible to access a website directly because a user has to go to another first.
Types of Redirects
#1 301 redirect
It is also known as a permanent redirect and is very common. 301 is a server-side redirect. When you type a URL on your browser, it sends a request to the server of the website. 301 redirect is some instructions that execute when the demand for a webpage hits the server, and it automatically switches it to a different page. If you are planning to move your website, it is the best redirect method to use, there are some tools out there to help you to track redirects, wheregoes is the best one, and free.
#2 302 redirect
In a 302 redirect, you can use it when you want to move your webpage temporarily. You can use this method when you are doing website maintenance. But it is not commonly used because most websites have a development mode where developers carry out some testing. It is also a server-side redirect. It is one of the fastest redirects that you can use.
#3 300 redirect
Also known as multiple choice. This method is rarely used, and it displays various options for a similar web page. For example, when a user searches with the required keywords, the server will post so many URLs that are linking to the same webpage.
#4 303 redirect
It is also known as “See other” code, and it responds to 303 redirects when the webpage needs some more time to load. It is described as a type of request for a URL that can identify real-world objects.
#5 307 redirect
It is an HTTP response that temporary redirects a webpage. It shows that a URL has been temporary redirected to another URL using a particular location header.
How to avoid redirects
If it is possible, you can avoid using redirect methods on your website. It is also essential to ensure that you find any unnecessary redirect and delete them. When using the 302 methods, you should avoid redirecting to other domains.
You should also prevent a large number of redirects to the same webpage. It is what spammers do, and Google can ban you if you have more than 5 URLs redirecting to the same website.
Those are the redirecting methods that you can use on your website. But to increase traffic and avoid being banned by Google, you should avoid using redirects. Another way to increase traffic on your site is by using suitable keywords when writing content.