11 Nov 2026
Domain forwarding is the general idea of sending visitors from one domain to another. How you do it decides what happens to your SEO. A 301 redirect passes ranking signals and is the right choice for anything permanent. Masking hides the new address and is usually bad for SEO.
Here is how each method works, when to use it and how to set up forwarding for rebrands, brand variants and campaigns.
| Method | Browser shows | Search engines | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301 permanent redirect | New URL | Pass signals to the new URL | Rebrands, .in to .com, variants |
| 302 temporary redirect | New URL | Keep the old URL indexed | Short campaigns, maintenance |
| 307 / 308 | New URL | Like 302 / 301 for modern browsers | Technical setups |
| Path forwarding (with 301) | Matching new page | Pass signals page by page | Site moves and rebrands |
| Masked or frame forwarding | Old URL | Weak or confusing signals | Almost never for public sites |
Google treats a 301 as a strong signal that content has moved permanently. Links and rankings consolidate on the new URL over time. For brand variants and old domains you will never use again, 301 is the safe default.
If you want a different domain to show your content, build a proper site on it or use a 301 instead.
Client: IT services company, Hyderabad
Challenge: Moving 300+ pages to a new domain after a name change.
What we did: URL mapping, path-level 301s, SSL on old domain, Search Console change of address, eight weeks of ranking checks.
Results:
Client: Online retailer, Pune
Challenge: The .in domain used masked forwarding to the .com. Search showed duplicate and odd results, and HTTPS failed.
What we did: Replaced masking with 301 redirects, added SSL to .in, cleaned up indexing.
Results:
Use 301 for anything permanent, map pages one to one during rebrands and avoid masking. Keep forwarded domains secured and renewed.
Flying Stars sets this up end to end with domain forwarding services.
