Is page rank lost through a 301 redirect?

[RG_SEO]

Hi everyone. I'd really appreciate your help with this one

I've just watched Matt Cutt's video 'what percentage of PageRank is lost through a 301 redirect?' and I am confused. I had taken this to mean that a re-direct would always lose you page rank, but watching it again I am not so sure.

He says that the amount of page rank lost through a 301 redirect is the same as any other link. Does this mean that no page rank at all is lost during site migrations? Or is it the case that first page rank would be lost from the original link and then more page rank would be lost from any subsequent redirects?

watch?v=Filv4pP-1nw

[TomRayner]

Hi John

I'll try to lay this out with some very broad examples.

Page A has 1000 PageRank (PR). Page B has 0 PR. Page C has 0 PR.

Page A then links to Page B with a dofollow link.

Page B now has 950 PR. It then links to Page C with a dofollow link.

Page C now has 900 PR.

With every link, a portion of the original PR is lost.  Not all of the original PR, link "equity" or "authority" is ever passed 100% with a link.  This has always been the case.

Now, what most SEOs previously thought was that, in addition to the PR that is always lost when linking to another site, a 301 redirect would also make some of the PR disappear.

So, with the first example, it would be:

Page A (with a PR score of 1000) is 301 redirected to Page B (with 0 PR)

Page B now has 900 PR - 50 was lost with the link, PLUS another 50 because it was a 301.

What the Matt Cutts video tries to clarify is that the extra 50 points that we thought we lost with a 301 redirect is actually a myth - there's no extra value lost just because it is a 301.

I hope that helps to clarify the point? Remember, my example is a very broad one used to illustrate the point and there are always other factors at play that could effect the amount of PageRank that is passed.  But, all things equal, the same amount of PageRank will pass to another site, regardless if the original page links to it or is redirected to the new page. Some PageRank is always lost in the linking process.

Any questions let me know and I'll be happy to clarify!

[RG_SEO]

Hi Tom, that makes sense Thanks for your reply and for your excellent response!

[Chris.Menke]

John,

301 redirects are the appropriate way to transition content from one url to another if you are concerned about preserving the algorithmic footprint of the former page because it has the least impact on that footprint.  A link and a 301 pass approximately the same link juice but they're used in different ways.  The link goes from one existing page to another, while the 301 redirect is implemented at the server level to send all visitors requesting a particular page to a pre-selected alternate page.  Make sense?

[RG_SEO]

Yes it does.Thanks Chris!