Which is better: meta-refresh-url-redirect or htac

Question

Which is a better way to redirect a url to another location such that it helps SEO?

method 1:

<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="0;url=http://destinationSiteHere">

method 2:

.htaccess 301 redirect

Please suggest which method is better with respect to Search Engine Optimization?

Answer 1

301 Redirects Are Much Better than Meta Refresh Redirects

The biggest reason why it’s a bad idea to rely on meta refresh tags to redirect your customers is because spammers use them to fool search engines. The spammer sets up a site with lots of keywords—it may even look like a real website. Then they put a meta refresh on the page, so that after a second or two you are redirected to the “real” page. One of the most annoying ones I see all the time has a bunch of web hosting information on it, but the only thing you really have time to read are the words “what is the best hosting company?” or something like that. Then you’re redirected to the host. I assume they’re hoping it will act as a style of “subliminal” advertising, and you’ll think their site is the best hosting. Personally, I just find them sleezy.

Of course, the minute that most reputable search engines find that spammer, they remove the links from their database. And one way they find them is by looking for “meta refresh” tags. So if you use meta refresh tags a lot, you might look like a spammer to search engines. And they will remove your page from their results.

Answer 2

The 301 redirect is what you want as it is what tells the search engine the page has moved permanently.