The One-Digit Difference That Matters

To a user, a redirect is a redirect. They type URL A, and they land on URL B.

To a search engine, the difference between a 301 and a 302 is the difference between "I've moved house forever" and "I'm staying at a hotel for the weekend."

The Definitions

301: Moved Permanently

"Forget the old URL. Pass all link equity (authority) to the new URL. De-index the old one."

Use this when:

• You delete a page and redirect to a relevant alternative.
• You migrate from HTTP to HTTPS.
• You merge two websites.

302 (or 307): Found / Temporary Redirect

"Keep the old URL in the index. Don't pass full authority. I'll be back soon."

Use this when:

• You are A/B testing a page.
• You are running a temporary sale page.
• The site is under maintenance.

Complete Status Code Cheat Sheet

While 301 and 302 are the most common redirects, other status codes can silently kill your SEO performance. Here is what you need to watch out for:

Status Code	Meaning	SEO Impact	Common Cause	How to Fix/Avoid
200	OK	✅ Positive. The page loaded successfully.	Normal operation.	No fix needed. This is the goal.
301	Moved Permanently	🟢 Passes Equity. Tells Google the move is final.	Site migrations, URL restructuring.	Use for any permanent URL change. Avoid chains (A->B->C).
302	Found / Temporary	⚠️ Risky. Google keeps indexing the old URL.	A/B testing, geolocating.	Only use for truly temporary changes. Check defaults.
304	Not Modified	🟢 Efficient. Saves crawl budget.	Googlebot re-crawling unchanged content.	Good for server performance. Ensures caching works.
307	Temp Redirect	⚠️ Neutral. Modern version of 302.	HSTS (HTTP to HTTPS) browser redirects.	Valid for temporary moves. Don't confuse with 301.
308	Permanent Redirect	🟢 Passes Equity. Modern version of 301.	Preserves request method (POST stays POST).	Use if you need to keep form data during a redirect.
401	Unauthorized	🔴 Critical. Content hidden behind login.	Password protected staging sites.	If public, remove auth. If private, this is correct.
403	Forbidden	🔴 Critical. Googlebot is blocked.	WAF or Server permissions.	Check firewall rules. Ensure Googlebot IPs aren't banned.
404	Not Found	🔴 Negative. Dead end for users/bots.	Broken links, deleted pages.	Redirect to relevant content or fix the link.
410	Gone	🔴 Intentional. Faster de-indexing.	Permanently deleted products/posts.	Use this instead of 404 for content that will never return.
429	Too Many Requests	🔴 Critical. Server blocking crawl.	Googlebot crawling too fast.	Increase server capacity or adjust crawl rate in Search Console.
500	Server Error	🚫 Fatal. Site is crashed.	PHP/Code errors, database failure.	Check server error logs immediately.
502	Bad Gateway	🚫 Fatal. Upstream failure.	Nginx/Cloudflare can't reach backend.	Check your backend service (Node/PHP-FPM) status.
503	Service Unavailable	⚠️ Temporary. Maintenance.	Server overloaded or maintenance mode.	Use "Retry-After" header for maintenance.
504	Gateway Timeout	🚫 Fatal. Request took too long.	Slow database queries, unoptimized scripts.	Optimize database or increase timeout limits.

The SEO Trap

The most common mistake developers make is using 302s by default.

Many backend frameworks default to a 302 status code for response.redirect().

If you migrate your entire blog using 302s, Google keeps indexing the old, dead URLs and refusing to rank the new ones. Your traffic tanks because the "authority" isn't flowing to the new location.

How to Check Your Redirects

You can't see the status code in your browser address bar. It just flips too fast.

You need the Redirect Detector.

Debugging Workflow:

1. Paste your old URL.
2. Review the status code in the path visualization.
3. If you see a 302 on a permanent migration, you have a bug.

Case Study: The "Home" Loop

We saw a client redirecting http://site.com to https://site.com using a 302. Google was unsure which version to rank. Link equity was split. Fix: Changed Nginx config to 301. Result: Rankings solidified on the HTTPS version within 2 weeks.

5 Common Redirect Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

Beyond just confusing 301s and 302s, here are the top errors we see in site audits:

1. The "Homepage" Lazy Fix

Mistake: You delete a specific blog post or product and redirect it to your Homepage. Why it hurts: Google treats this as a "Soft 404". It knows the homepage isn't a relevant replacement for a specific article. You lose the ranking keywords. Fix: Redirect to the most relevant category page or a similar article. If none exists, a 404/410 is surprisingly better than a confusing redirect.

2. Redirect Chains (The Hop-Scotch)

Mistake: Page A -> Page B -> Page C. Why it hurts: Each step adds latency (slows down the site) and risks breaking the chain. Fix: Update Page A to redirect directly to Page C.

3. Ignoring Case Sensitivity

Mistake: Redirecting /About-Us but forgetting /about-us. Why it hurts: Users typing the URL manually often get a 404. Fix: Implement a global "Force Lowercase" rule on your server.

4. Forgetting Internal Links

Mistake: Setting up a redirect for an old page but leaving 500 links on your own site pointing to the old URL. Why it hurts: Your server has to process that redirect every time a user clicks around your site. It strains your server unnecessarily. Fix: Search your database for the old URL and update the href to the new one.

5. Infinite Loops

Mistake: Page A redirects to Page B, and Page B redirects back to Page A. Why it hurts: The browser will crash with "ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS". Fix: Use a tool like Redirect Detector to spot these loops instantly before users do.

Fix Your Digital Signposts

Ensure you're sending the right signals to Google. A 301 is a commitment; a 302 is a fling. Choose wisely.

Check Your Status Codes →