A redirect forwards one domain name to another domain name. For example, when you type wikipedia.com into your browser, the installed redirect automatically makes your browser go to wikipedia.org instead. Or try amazon.blog. It will forward you to blog.aboutamazon.com.
But, why does it make sense to buy a domain name and then redirect it to another website? That’s what we’ll explain in this blog post. You will also learn what type of redirect to use. Let’s get to it!
Why and when should you redirect?
There are several reasons for businesses to use redirects. Here are the four most common ones and their benefits.
Rebranding
Imagine you established your website a few years ago. Since then, your audience has grown and your focus shifted. Your old domain name doesn’t suit the new direction of your business anymore. That’s when companies decide to rebrand. They choose a more memorable, brandable domain name and redirect their old domain to the new one. When done correctly, you won’t lose out on SEO and page authority. In fact, your traffic might even go up if your new brand turns out to be more marketable.
Link shortening
Established businesses often launch their blogs within their existing websites. Unfortunately, this can result in very long domains, like https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/. To make it easier for visitors to find the site, Amazon has shortened the link to Aws.blog, which then redirects to the original domain.
Shorter domain names are generally easier to remember and type out. Check out our five tips for selecting the best domain name for your blog.
Brand protection
Businesses in competitive landscapes benefit from purchasing more than one domain to protect their brand. Owning any other TLD versions of their domain name prevents others from registering domains that are too similar and might mislead visitors. The different domain names simply have to be redirected to the main site. For example, Nike.blog redirects to https://www.nike.com, and Calvinklein.blog redirects to https://www.calvinklein.com/.
Preparing for a launch
Redirects don’t always have to be permanent. Suppose you are launching a new website but are not quite ready to reveal it yet. The domain name of the new site could temporarily link to another website you own so that the link doesn’t appear broken for early visitors.
How to redirect the right way
There are multiple ways for website owners to do this, but one way is preferable for both users and SEO – the 301 redirect.
A 301 redirect tells browsers as well as search engines that a page has moved permanently. The search engine bots understand that the page has changed location and that the content can now be found at the new domain. The main advantage is that the 301 redirect will pass most of the site’s ranking power to the new domain.
However, it will take a little time for search engines to discover the 301, recognize it, and credit the new domain with the rankings and trust of its predecessor.
Conclusion
Redirects are a useful tool to improve the experience of your users. They can purposefully guide your visitors to the right page, increasing your traffic. If you are looking for more guidance on redirects and how to manage a portfolio with multiple domains, then your domain registrar can be a good source of information.
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