What does 301 mean?

301 Moved Permanently is a redirect code. It tells the browser that the page now lives at a different URL and always will, and the browser goes there automatically. Search engines treat a 301 as a strong signal to replace the old address with the new one in their results and pass along the old page's ranking value. A 308 code means the same thing for most purposes. A 301 is not an error, and visitors never see it.

Why it matters for your business: When you rename a page, move to a new domain or merge two pages, a 301 redirect keeps old links, bookmarks and search rankings working.

What to do if you see it

• Nothing for a visitor; the browser follows the redirect on its own.
• When pages on your site are renamed or removed, ask that each old address gets a 301 to the closest matching new page.
• If a 301 sends people to the wrong place, open a request with the old and new addresses so we can correct it.

Related articles

• What is a redirect?
• What does 302 mean?
• What does 3xx mean?
• What does 404 mean?
• When does my website need a redirect?