John Mueller from Google provided insights into how Google handles a common black hat link-building tactic. His response diminished the supposed advantages of this technique and shed light on how Google’s algorithm processes redirected links.
301 Redirect Link Building
This approach involves purchasing a new domain, creating links to that domain, and then redirecting all those links to the main website. The idea is that this method conceals the links from Google as they pass through a different domain and conveys the ranking signal while leaving any negative effects behind.
A Twist on Old Techniques
There is a history of using redirects and domain redirections with some magical thinking. Historically, tactics have leveraged the genuine properties of 301 redirects to transfer link ranking signals. Building links to a domain that redirects is an evolution of older methods used for penalty recovery, sandbox solutions, and viral link schemes.
In 2005, it was suggested that redirecting an older domain to a new domain could help a site rank faster and exit what some web publishers referred to as the Google Sandbox. Redirecting URLs to another domain has also been proposed as a solution to escape the Penguin penalty. The notion was that if links were harmful, taking down the page and redirecting all links to another domain would lift the penalty from the site.
Redirects were also exploited as part of link baiting and viral marketing strategies. An SEO would create content that generates a significant number of links, and once the viral campaign ended, they would redirect all those links to a product page to improve its ranking.
The 301 redirect aspect of this viral strategy was not publicly disclosed at the time. It was a tactic used by experienced SEOs to manipulate Google and was generally kept secret. However, this is no longer effective because Google has altered how 301 redirects and the flow of PageRank work.
Why the Redirect Trick Fails
Here’s how one Reddit post explained the tactic:
A SEO consultant suggested buying a similar domain to the main one, then creating web2.0 content, backlinks, blog comments, and forum posts to that domain, followed by a 301 redirect to the main domain. The claim was that this is how sites were quickly achieving high rankings.
John Mueller clarified how Google treats this method:
"The 301 essentially makes the main site canonical, meaning the links go directly there—you may as well skip the detour, it’s just as transparent to the algorithms and spam team."
Futile Efforts without Real Benefits
Many black hat theories arise from individuals new to SEO who are easily convinced by tricks that, as Mueller noted, offer no real benefits. Due to the nature of 301 redirects, the redirected domain effectively doesn’t exist, and all links pointing to it are directly credited to the main site. Registering an additional domain is therefore pointless for ranking purposes.
The redirect trick highlights the importance of understanding how search engines truly function. This tactic isn’t SEO; it’s a baseless activity akin to superstitions like picking up a penny for luck.
Why Spammers Might Use This Trick
The only reason to employ this method is if there’s a need to drop all inbound links when they start negatively affecting a domain. Some spammers use a tactic known as Churn and Burn, where they flood a new, similar-sounding domain with links in a short period. The redirect then points all these links to the actual domain, which initially ranks.
Over time, Google catches on and devalues the spam links—this is the "burn" phase, where the links no longer count. Spammers can then cancel the redirects, removing all spam links at once.
Redirect Trick Is Ill-Advised
This strategy is not recommended for legitimate sites, though it’s beneficial to be aware of tactics others may use, as knowledge is powerful.
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Images altered by the author.
