301 Permanent Redirects

some of you are aware of this technical implement known as the 301 Permanent Redirect. and those of you outside the world of search engine optimization may have no idea what i'm talking about (read on if you wish).

over time a website, hopefully, will build up or increase in what is known as Google PageRank.

this increased ranking or weight feeds that site or page's relevance in the search world and as a result, gives that site or page a better chance of coming up in the search results for keywords (this is over-simplified of course).

now, PageRank is a pretty important thing in the search world and you don't want to lose it (which is easy to do).

let's say you decide to get rid of a web page or change the URL structure of your site. if you decide to do so and don't take the right precautions, you could lose your built up PageRank. in addition, if someone is linking directly to a given page on your site and the URL has changed, that link is now broken.

but, if you change your URL structure or drop/move pages on your site, you can maintain or pass on that built up ranking by implementing a 301 permanent redirect.

it's a simple thing to implement and is sanctioned by Google to officially pass along that PageRank.

keep this in mind if you have a site with some quality ranking built up. don't lose it.

here's a link to a listing of ways to implement 301's if you need help:

How to Redirect a Web Page

cheers!