Redirects & Site Migrations: 301, 302, 308 & Blogger Redirects

Redirects are the bridge between an old URL and its new destination.

Used correctly, they preserve user access, consolidate signals, reduce broken links and help search engines understand a site move.

Used badly, they can create:

• Redirect chains.
• Redirect loops.
• Soft 404s.
• Incorrect canonical signals.
• Broken internal links.
• Temporary ranking volatility that lasts longer than necessary.

Last verified: September 15, 2026.

---

---

1. 301 vs 302 vs 308

Google currently recommends server-side permanent redirects such as 301 or 308 when a URL move is permanent.

---

2. Permanent vs Temporary Redirects

Use a permanent redirect when:

• An old article URL has been replaced.
• A site permanently moves to a new domain.
• HTTP permanently redirects to HTTPS.
• www permanently redirects to non-www, or vice versa.
• Two pages were merged into one replacement.

Use a temporary redirect when:

• A campaign temporarily sends traffic elsewhere.
• A page is temporarily unavailable.
• You expect the original URL to become primary again.

---

3. Redirect Mapping Comes Before Implementation

Before changing URLs, build a mapping table.

Mapping first prevents accidental homepage redirects and missing destinations.

---

4. Avoid Redirect Chains

A chain looks like:

Old URL
   ↓
Intermediate URL
   ↓
Another URL
   ↓
Final URL

Prefer:

Old URL
   ↓
Final URL

Google can follow multiple hops, but its current guidance recommends keeping chains low and pointing directly to the final destination wherever possible.

---

5. Avoid Redirect Loops

A loop occurs when redirects eventually send users back to a URL already visited.

URL A → URL B → URL A

Browsers and crawlers eventually stop following the loop.

Common causes include:

• Conflicting CMS redirects.
• HTTPS rules plus proxy rules.
• www/non-www redirects in both directions.
• Blogger Custom Redirects added on top of an already redirecting path.

---

6. Do Not Redirect Everything to the Homepage

Google explicitly warns against redirecting many old URLs to one irrelevant destination such as the homepage.

If no equivalent replacement exists:

• Let the old URL return a proper 404/410 where appropriate.
• Or redirect to a genuinely consolidated replacement page.

---

7. Blogger Custom Redirects

Blogger currently provides Custom Redirects under:

Settings
→ Errors and redirects
→ Custom redirects

You enter the old path and the new destination path.

If the old article was permanently deleted/replaced, Blogger instructs you to enable Permanent.

---

8. Blogger Custom Redirect Example

Suppose the old URL is:

https://www.example.com/2026/08/old-guide.html

and the replacement is:

https://www.example.com/2026/09/new-guide.html

Use Blogger's Custom Redirects interface to map the old path to the new path, and mark it Permanent if the move is permanent.

---

9. Do Not Use Custom Redirects to Hide a Search Console Redirect Error

A Search Console redirect error can be caused by:

• A loop.
• Too many hops.
• A broken destination.
• Conflicting redirect rules.

Adding another redirect without diagnosing the path can make the problem worse.

---

10. Hosting Migration Without URL Changes

If the public URLs remain exactly the same and only hosting infrastructure changes, you usually do not need page-level redirects.

The migration flow is more like:

Same URL
   ↓
New server / platform
   ↓
DNS updated
   ↓
Same public page

For DNS-side planning, use our DNS Configuration Best Practices Guide.

---

11. Site Migration With URL Changes

A URL-changing migration requires more than DNS.

Google's current site-move process includes:

1. Prepare and test the new site.
2. Create an old-to-new URL mapping.
3. Implement redirects.
4. Update canonicals and indexing controls.
5. Update internal links.
6. Update sitemaps.
7. Monitor both old and new properties.

---

12. Update Canonicals After the Move

New pages should point canonicals to the new URLs.

Do not leave:

New URL
   ↓
Canonical still points to old URL

For canonical troubleshooting, use our Canonical URLs & Indexing Guide.

---

13. Update Sitemaps and Crawl Controls

After a URL migration:

• Submit the new sitemap.
• Keep migration-related robots blocks from accidentally blocking the new site.
• Remove temporary noindex rules used during staging.
• Monitor Page Indexing reports.

For sitemap and crawl-control implementation, use our Blogger Robots.txt & XML Sitemap Guide.

---

14. Update Structured Data URLs

If your Article or BlogPosting JSON-LD includes:

• mainEntityOfPage
• image URLs
• author URLs
• publisher URLs

make sure any migrated URL references are updated where appropriate.

For implementation, use our Blogger JSON-LD Schema Guide.

---

15. Update Internal Links

Do not rely on redirects forever for your own internal navigation.

After the move, update internal links to point directly to new URLs.

This:

• Reduces redirect hops.
• Improves user experience.
• Reduces unnecessary server work.
• Sends clearer canonical signals.

---

16. Update Important External Links Where Practical

Google recommends updating important external references where possible.

Prioritize:

• High-traffic backlinks you control or can request changes for.
• Social profiles.
• Email templates.
• Paid campaigns.
• Partner pages.

---

17. Keep Permanent Redirects Long Enough

Google currently recommends keeping permanent redirects in place for at least one year.

This gives Google time to:

• Recrawl old URLs.
• Discover the new URLs.
• Transfer signals.
• Reprocess external links pointing to old URLs.

For users, keeping useful permanent redirects indefinitely can be reasonable.

---

18. Redirects and PageRank

Google's current migration documentation says permanent redirects such as 301 do not cause PageRank loss simply because they are redirects.

The bigger practical problems are usually:

• Wrong destinations.
• Broken chains.
• Irrelevant redirects.
• Missing internal-link updates.
• Robots/noindex mistakes.

---

19. Expect Temporary Ranking Fluctuations

Google explicitly warns that rankings may fluctuate during a significant site move while URLs are recrawled and reprocessed.

That does not automatically mean the migration failed.

Monitor:

• Old-property impressions and clicks.
• New-property impressions and clicks.
• 404/redirect errors.
• Indexed URL counts.
• Sitemap processing.

---

20. Domain Moves

A domain move changes the visible hostname, for example:

oldexample.com/article
        ↓
newexample.com/article

That requires coordinated:

• DNS.
• Redirects.
• Canonicals.
• Sitemaps.
• Internal links.
• Search Console monitoring.

---

21. Blogger Custom Domain Moves

Blogger supports custom domains and a naked-domain redirect setting.

When moving to or reconfiguring a custom domain, verify:

• The Blogger-required CNAME values.
• The current A records for the naked-domain redirect where applicable.
• HTTPS availability.
• HTTPS redirect.
• The preferred www/non-www hostname.

Use current Blogger-provided values rather than stale copied DNS records.

---

22. Redirect HTTP to HTTPS

If HTTPS is the permanent version, redirect HTTP to HTTPS consistently.

Then update:

• Canonicals.
• Internal links.
• Sitemaps.
• Structured data.

---

23. Redirect www and non-www Consistently

A clean hostname setup should have one preferred version.

example.com/page
   ↓
www.example.com/page

or the reverse.

Do not configure both directions.

---

24. Merge Two Articles Correctly

If two old articles are consolidated into one stronger page:

1. Choose the final replacement URL.
2. Merge genuinely useful content.
3. Redirect both old URLs to the new consolidated page.
4. Update internal links.
5. Remove old URLs from active sitemap listings.

This is appropriate when the new page truly replaces the old intent.

---

25. Deleted Content With No Replacement

If a page is permanently removed and there is no meaningful equivalent:

Do not redirect it to an unrelated page merely to avoid a 404.

A proper 404/410 can be more accurate than an irrelevant redirect.

---

26. Redirect Testing

Test with browser DevTools, command-line tools or a crawler.

Example:

curl -I https://www.example.com/old-url

For a chain:

curl -I -L https://www.example.com/old-url

Check:

• Status code.
• Location header.
• Number of hops.
• Final response code.

---

27. Migration Validation Checklist

• Old-to-new URL mapping complete.
• Permanent redirects implemented.
• No loops.
• No unnecessary chains.
• No irrelevant homepage redirects.
• New pages return 200.
• New canonicals use new URLs.
• Internal links updated.
• Sitemap updated.
• Temporary noindex/robots blocks removed.
• Structured-data URLs checked.
• Search Console properties verified.
• Old and new traffic monitored.

---

28. Common Redirect Mistakes

• 302 used for a permanent move.
• Redirecting everything to the homepage.
• Creating long chains.
• Creating loops.
• Redirecting to a URL that itself redirects.
• Leaving old canonicals on new pages.
• Leaving old internal links unchanged.
• Blocking the new site with robots/noindex.
• Removing redirects too quickly.
• Using Blogger Custom Redirects as a blind fix for Search Console errors.

---

29. Final Redirect Decision Framework

Permanent URL move?
   ↓
301 or 308

Temporary move?
   ↓
302 / temporary redirect

Old URL has equivalent replacement?
   ↓
Redirect directly to it

No meaningful replacement?
   ↓
404 / 410 may be better

Whole-site URL migration?
   ↓
Map → redirect → update canonicals/links/sitemaps → monitor

Good migrations are not about creating redirects quickly. They are about creating the correct redirect for every URL and aligning the rest of the site around the new destination.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use 301 or 308 for a permanent move?

Google supports both and recommends server-side permanent redirects such as 301 or 308 when technically possible.

Does a 301 lose PageRank?

Google's current migration documentation says permanent redirects do not inherently cause PageRank loss.

How long should I keep 301 redirects?

Google recommends keeping them for at least one year. Keeping useful permanent redirects longer can also help users and old external links.

Can I redirect all deleted posts to my homepage?

No. Large groups of irrelevant homepage redirects can confuse users and may be treated as soft 404s.

How do I create a permanent redirect in Blogger?

Use Settings → Errors and redirects → Custom redirects, add the old and new paths, and mark the redirect Permanent when the move is permanent.

Should I use Blogger Custom Redirects to fix a Search Console redirect error?

Not blindly. Diagnose the existing redirect path first because another redirect can create or worsen a loop.

Do I need redirects when only the hosting server changes?

Not if the public URLs remain identical. That is primarily a hosting/DNS migration rather than a URL migration.

What should I update after a domain move?

Update redirects, canonicals, internal links, sitemaps, structured-data URLs where necessary, Search Console properties and important external references.

Are redirect chains bad?

They add latency and complexity. Google can follow multiple hops, but direct old-to-final redirects are preferred.