We discuss the search engine Baidu and 301 redirect .htaccess - Unknown Secrets of SEO E-Webstyle Number 68

A 301 is a permanent redirect using an HTTP error code that tells search engines to pass all link authority from one URL to another. Unlike HTML meta refreshes or code-based redirects without error codes, a 301 transfers Google juice to the target page, consolidating ranking power.

Use a 301 redirect in your .htaccess file to force all traffic to one version. If most inbound links point to the www version, redirect non-www to www. If they are evenly split it does not matter which you choose, since Google passes the juice to the final target page.

According to this episode, the most common cause is having more than one business listing associated with the same address. Google Places allows only one listing per address, and there is no direct support line to resolve it, only a help forum where Google employees may or may not respond.

The hackers used social engineering, calling register.com and persuading a representative to change the email address on the Baidu domain account without proper credentials. This gave them control of the domain and they redirected and defaced the site for a couple of hours. Baidu then sued register.com for gross negligence.