Reversing 301 Re-Directs

[JamieCottle28]

What's your philosophy on reversing 301 redirects? Does it depend on how long the redirect has been in place? Is it okay to implement a 301 redirect and remove it if the desired results aren't achieved?

Also, what about multiple 301 redirects and removing those? I'm working with a site that has several 301 redirects in place and there's no definite knowledge as to when these were placed. I know there's always a danger and the possibility of unintended results when moving these around. I'm just curious as to what others' experience has been with placing and removing these either within a short period of time or over the course of as much as a year.

Thanks in advance!

[RyanKent]

301 redirects can easily be reversed as needed. Think of it as call forwarding. You can cancel call forwarding or even re-forward a number.

Depending on the importance (i.e. PR) of the particular page which is being redirected, search engines may update their records in 1 hour or it may take several weeks. Sometimes the redirect goes smoothly, and other times there could be some bounce experienced, but things should settle in after a month.

301 redirects are a very natural part of the internet. Search engines are designed to handle them well.