what is the difference between response.redirect and response status 301 redirects in asp?

Question

Our ASP application is moving to a new server and I want to implement a permanent URL redirection. I am aware of the following two approaches, but I need to understand which one to use and when.

Option 1:

<%@ Language=VBScript %><% Response.Redirect "http://www.example.com" %>

Option 2:

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

Thanks,

Nikhil.

Answer 1

Response.Redirect issues a 302, which is a temporary redirect. 301, using the Response.AddHeader that you listed, is for permanent redirects.

The differences between 301 and 302 have some importance with search-engine-optimization. A 301 will hold all of your search rankings from the old location. On the flip side, if you DON'T want your new page to be indexed, you can use a Response.Redirect (302) since the engines will consider the redirect temporary. Google doesn't index 302's because a lot of spammers use it to try to increase their rankings.

Since you're permanently moving to a new server, a 301 is the best way to go.