redirect 301 or 302

Originally Posted by maximka So, what redirect is better for us, 301 or 302?

301 is a Permanent redirect and will result in the Source URL being de-indexed. Useful if you have no plans to develop the Source domain and actually want to remove any old SE listings.

302 is a Temporary redirect and will keep the Source URL still indexed. Useful if you want to develop the Source domain but are just redirecting whilst you find the time to do so.

The advantage of a 301 redirect over a 302 redirect is that the "link juice" is transferred to the Target URL, so increasing its rankings in the search engines. The advantage of a 302 redirect over a 301 is that the Source URL is not de-indexed.

As an example, I am shortly to transfer my site http://www.BoatSearchWorldwide.com to a new domain name http://www.BoatSearchEngine.com

I will use 301 Permanent redirects on all the ad pages, so that the http://UK.BoatSearchWorldwide.com/boats.asp etc. ad pages are removed from the search engines and replaced by the new http://UK.BoatSearchEngine.com/boats.asp ad pages, with the "link juice" being transferred as well.

I will use 302 Temporary redirects on my individual country home pages such as http://US.BoatSearchWorldwide.com until I am sure that the corresponding http://US.BoatSearchEngine.com etc. home pages rank about as high in the search engines - my country-based home pages bring in quite a lot of new visitors.

I will use no redirect on the overall home page http://www.BoatSearchWorldwide.com since I will have a "For Sale" sign on this page once the site transfer is completed.

Mike Seaton