Meta Redirect

What Is A Meta Redirect?

A Meta Redirect is an HTML tag that automatically redirects users from one web page to another after a specific number of seconds.

The meta redirect tag is placed in the head section of your web page HTML.

A meta redirect is different from 301 redirects and 302 redirects because it is done on the client side. 301 and 302 redirects are done on the server side.

Here’s an example of what a meta redirect looks like:

<meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”2;url=http://example.com/”>

In this case, the meta redirect is instructing the browser to redirect to the URL http://example.com after 2 seconds.

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When Would You Use A Meta Redirect?

You would use a meta redirect primarily when you change, update or delete a web page and you want to redirect users to a new URL.

That could be a temporary redirect or a permanent redirect.

Let me explain:

These are the five most common times to use a meta redirect:

As you can see…

Meta redirects can be helpful in a number of use cases. But there are also some downsides you need to be aware of.

Do Meta Redirects Affect SEO?

Yes, Meta Redirects affect SEO negatively.

Google has clearly stated that they prefer redirects done on the server side.

This is because meta redirects:

The biggest issue here is that search engines struggle to understand meta redirects, which can lead to pages on your website being deindexed.

The other big problem is that meta redirects don’t pass link equity.

That means you dilute the SEO value of the redirect for the new URL.

This can ultimately lead to the new URL ranking lower in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

What should you do instead?

Put simply: Use HTTP status code redirects such as a 301 redirect (permanent) or a 302 redirect (temporary).

These types of redirects are faster and easier for search engines to understand. Permanent 302 redirects also pass link equity to the new URL.

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