Before we go any further, you are probably wondering what in the world 301 redirects are in the first place am I right? You've heard the term, heard people asking about it and are curious but it just sounds so technical you aren't sure what to do with it.

Let me assure you that 301 redirects are as easy as a click of a button and very helpful when you want to protect your domain names.

Typically companies purchase multiple domain names to protect their competition from taking their .net or .org name. For example, if you have just registered www.yourwebsite.com, it is a good idea to also register www.yourwebsite.net and even www.yourwebsite.org. Some people even go so far as to register the misspellings of their domain name just to be sure that your competition doesn't grab a hold of it.

The problem is you don't want to have to develop multiple different sites and it is frowned upon by Google to have multiple web sites with identical content. So what do you do?

You place a 301 redirect on your web site. This tells search engines where to find your preferred web site.

This helps you because if someone types in say, www.YuorWebsite.com instead of www.YourWebsite.com which is the proper way to enter your web site address, the person who typed in www.YuorWebsite.com where the "o" and the "u" are inversed will automatically be redirected to the correct web site.

Using a 301 redirect makes the search engines happy and prevents you from having to develop multiple web sites with the same content which the search engines hate anyhow.

So now that you understand why you should use a 301 redirect, how do you go about putting one on your web sites?

If you use a web host like GoDaddy, then you can redirect your domain names by a simple click of a button.

If on the other hand you want to do it yourself, then here are some simple ways to put a 301 redirect on your web site:

First and foremost, some folks might recommend that you use a JavaScript meta refresh technique on your web site. This is not recommended because it is a technique used by spammers and you certainly don't want to start off on the wrong foot with the search engines.

If you are using a Linux server (ask your web hosting company or someone close to you who is familiar with technology if you are unsure) and follow these steps:

* Go to the web site that you want to redirect from. For example, if you want to redirect www.websitenumber1.com to www.websitenumber2.com then put the following information in the root directory of the www.websitenumber1.com.

* Create an .htaccess file using the following code:

redirect 301 /the-directory-on-websitenumber1/the-page-on-websitenumber1.htm http://www.websitenumber2.com/

* Save the file as simply .htaccess

* Be sure you save the file in the root directory of your web site.

* Upload the file to your web server

* Test the file by going to your old web site address and be sure it redirects to your new web site

Please note however that the update will take about 24 hours to work.

If you are using a Windows server with. ASP pages then use the following code:

<%@ Language=VBScript %> < % Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently" Response.AddHeader "Location", " http://www.websitenumber2.com">

If you are using a Windows server with ASP.net then use this code:

private void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { response.status = "301 moved permanently"; Response.AddHeader("Location","http://www.websitenumber2.com"); } < /script>

Be sure that if using a Windows server with either .asp or ASP.net pages that you put the code before the tags on your page.

A 301 redirect will safely tell the search engines that your site websitenumber1.com and websitenumber2.com are the same as websitenumber1.com without wasting the search engines time and you can be sure that if someone accidentally enters in the wrong domain name, they will still end up at your web site.

Kristine Wirth is a partner in the Work at Home Mom Website http://www.Be-a-WAHM.com whose purpose is to show other parents who wish to work from home, how to build a successful business online and specializes in SEO and marketing techniques. Kristine has over 12 years of experience in the Internet business industry and is also a WAHM herself. She has two boys, one who is already in college and another who is a very busy toddler.