# Redirect mapping

Category: [Relaunch & Migration](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/relaunch-migration/) › [Planning & mapping](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/relaunch-migration/planning-mapping/)

**Redirect mapping** is the planning of redirects for a relaunch, domain move or migration. A redirect map lists each old URL, the new URL that replaces it and the redirect type, usually 301.

## How does redirect mapping work?
The list of old URLs can be collected from sitemaps, server logs and analytics, according to Google. For each of them, the team decides where it should redirect, and the rules are then stored in a database or as rewrite rules. Each old URL should point to the most closely matching new page. Google advises against redirecting everything to the home page.

Google's documentation separates two kinds of redirects. Permanent ones (301, 308) signal that the target should be the canonical URL. Temporary ones (302, 303, 307) are not used as that signal, so the old URL can remain in search results. Server-side redirects are preferred, and JavaScript redirects are a last resort because rendering can fail. Googlebot follows up to 10 redirect hops. For site moves, Google recommends redirecting straight to the target or keeping chains ideally to no more than 3 hops and fewer than 5.

In practice, the URLs that need a target can be found before launch (practical experience). Request the list of old URLs on the staging domain, and every URL that doesn't return 200 there belongs in the mapping. This only works if the staging error page returns a real 404. If it answers with 200, missing pages slip through.

## Example
| Old URL | New URL | Type |
|---|---|---|
| /shop/shoes/sneaker-123.html | /shoes/red-sneaker/ | 301 |
| /blog/relaunch-tips | /guides/relaunch-tips/ | 301 |

Before launch, the map is tested against a list of old URLs. A chain such as A to B to C is resolved to A to C.

## At a glance

- **Type:** Planning document for redirects (old-to-new assignment)
- **Affects:** old URLs of a website during a move
- **Used in:** Relaunch, domain move, migration
- **Values:** old URL, new target URL, redirect type (usually 301)
- **Docs:** [Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes)

Last checked: October 8, 2026

*Diagram: Redirect chain vs. direct redirect.* Every hop in a chain is a separate request. Google’s crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops; Google still recommends redirecting straight to the final destination.

## Related terms

- [URL mapping](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/url-mapping/index.md)
- [Redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/redirect/index.md)
- [301 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/301-redirect/index.md)
- [Redirect chain](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/redirect-chain/index.md)
- [Website migration checklist](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/website-migration-checklist/index.md)
- [Website migration](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/website-migration/index.md)
- [Domain migration](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/domain-migration/index.md)

## More on the searchVIU blog

- [Testing redirects before and after a website migration](https://www.searchviu.com/en/testing-redirects/)
- [The complete website migration SEO checklist for 2023](https://www.searchviu.com/en/website-migration-seo-checklist/)

## Sources

- [Redirects and Google Search – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects)
- [Site moves with URL changes – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes)
- [Testing redirects before and after a website migration – searchVIU blog (2019)](https://www.searchviu.com/en/testing-redirects/)
- [HTTP status codes, network and DNS errors – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/http-network-errors)

---

Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/redirect-mapping/