301 Moved Permanently

What it means

HTTP 301 Moved Permanently tells clients and search engines that a URL has permanently changed and they should use the new location from now on. The new URL is given in the Location header.

When it happens

It happens when you change a URL structure, move a page, switch from HTTP to HTTPS, consolidate www and non-www, or migrate to a new domain and set up permanent redirects.

How to fix it

• If intended, no fix is needed — 301 is the correct way to permanently redirect a URL.
• Point the redirect directly at the final destination to avoid long redirect chains.
• Update internal links to target the new URL directly instead of relying on the redirect.
• Avoid redirect loops where two URLs 301 to each other.

SEO impact

Strong and positive when used correctly. A 301 passes nearly all ranking signals to the new URL and is the preferred way to migrate pages. Chains and loops dilute that benefit and slow crawling, so keep redirects to a single hop.