A software engineer at Google, Matt Cutts, has explained in a recent conversation with Eric Enge of Stone Temple Consulting that 301 redirects can affect search engine optimisation.
Cutts has said that 301 redirects could result in a loss of PageRank, which many SEO experts know is bad news. “If you can get site architecture straight first, then you’ll have less to do, or no need to even think about PageRank sculpting”, Cutts explained.
Whilst most SEO experts knew this was likely, no confirmation by Google for the effects of 301 links was issued until now. Matt advised PageRank sculpting should not be a priority, imprving the site architecture is key.
So for all SEO experts who thought 301 redirects could be a problem, your prayers have been answered, now it’s your job to capatalise on this before its too late.
