According to Google, keep 301 redirects in place for a year. 301 redirects must be maintained in position for at least a year, and this must be done to guarantee that the modifications are properly recognized.
Google was asked how long 301 redirects must be held in check following a site relocation. Google says a year is a bare minimum.
See also: “Keep Redirects Active For One Year,” Says Google
What Are The Top Queries?
What is the significance of a year?
Since a big shift, such as a website transfer, takes time for Google to analyze. If the redirects are in effect for very little than a year, Google might face some issues. It might not even scan the URLs a sufficient number of instances to notice that the website has been completely transferred.
In the most recent part of the Ask Googlebot video segment on YouTube, this subject is addressed.
For a webpage transfer, for what period of time should I keep a redirect?
The aforesaid query is answered by Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller. John Mueller first clarifies that 301 redirects are the right answers to utilize in this particular instance. 301 redirects and 302 redirects are the two most common forms of site redirection.
A 301 redirect informs Google that a web page has been relocated indefinitely. Whereas, on the other hand, a 302 redirect informs Google that a website has been relocated temporarily. Because a site relocation is a long-term modification, a 301 redirect is the best option.
Given how quickly the internet changes, you might be questioning if “permanent” really implies “permanent.”
See also: Hard To Call A Site Authoritative After 30 Articles, Says Google
Mueller’s Remarks
The following is what Mueller said:
“At Google, they strive to reformat all web pages every several weeks at the absolute least.”
The majority of pages are visited more frequently. Nevertheless, because the quantity of crawling time is restricted and there are numerous pages to crawl, they must prioritize.
In order to capture a modification in a URL, the computers must observe the modification. This must be done in the format of a redirect at least a couple of instances.
They suggest leaving a redirect in position for at least a year. This can help ensure that it has already been seen for several moments.
It is not as easy as forwarding the previous domain to the current domain when it comes to site transfers. You must create 301 redirects from every single page on the previous website to the new site’s comparable page.
It is not required to redirect pages from the old website to a different URL. It’s especially not necessary if you do not want to maintain them. It is also crucial to replace all connections to the previous URLs, including certain key external links.
To be explicit, keeping redirects in place for more than a year is absolutely acceptable. You are free to leave them up for as long as you wish.
Keep 301 redirects in place for a year as a year is the absolute minimum period of time to maintain 301 redirects in place. This would help prevent the possible adverse effect a site relocation might have on your SEO.