301 vs 302 Redirects: Which One is Best for Your SEO Strategy?
Understand the critical differences between permanent 301 and temporary 302 redirects to ensure search engines pass ranking signals correctly.
Choosing the right type of redirect is one of the simplest yet most crucial decisions in SEO. When moving content from one location to another, website administrators generally have two options: a 301 permanent redirect or a 302 temporary redirect. Using the wrong one can lead to indexation issues, lost rankings, and confused search engine crawlers. In this article, we’ll break down the technical differences between 301 and 302 redirects, detail when to use each, and explore best practices to ensure your website preserves its search engine authority.
The Core Difference: Permanent vs. Temporary
A high-level explanation of how search engines handle permanent changes versus temporary ones.
What is a 301 Permanent Redirect?
- Definition: The server signals that the content has moved permanently to a new address.
- Link Equity: Passes roughly 90-99% of PageRank link equity to the destination URL.
- When to Use: Changing domain names, merging pages, fixing broken URLs, or transitioning from HTTP to HTTPS.
What is a 302 Temporary Redirect?
- Definition: The server signals that the content is temporarily residing somewhere else, but the original URL will be back.
- Link Equity: Does not pass link equity, as search engines expect the original page to return.
- When to Use: A/B testing pages, running seasonal promotions, updating a page temporarily, or redirecting based on geo-targeting.
Common SEO Mistakes with Redirects
- Using a 302 redirect for permanent site migrations.
- Keeping temporary redirects active for years.
- Creating redirect loops.