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Key Highlights
- 301 redirects are permanent, 302 redirects are temporary. Use 301 for any permanent URL change; 302 only for genuinely temporary situations.
- 301 redirects pass close to 100% of link equity. The old 15% PageRank loss rule is outdated and was retired by Google publicly.
- A 302 used by mistake as a permanent redirect is the single most common technical SEO error we find on site migrations.
- Redirect chains should be zero. Every extra hop adds latency and raises the chance Googlebot stops following the chain.
- Implementation differs across platforms: .htaccess for Apache, server blocks for Nginx, Page Rules for Cloudflare, plugins for WordPress.
- Redirect audits should be part of every SEO audit. Broken redirects, loops, and wrong-type redirects together account for 15 to 25% of avoidable ranking drops.
In This Article
- What Is an HTTP Redirect?
- How Redirects Work: The Technical Flow
- Types of Redirects Explained
- When to Use a 301 Redirect
- When to Use a 302 Redirect
- SEO Impact of Each Redirect
- How to Implement Redirects on Every Platform
- Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
- Running a Redirect Audit
- Who Uses Redirects?
- Related Reading
- Frequently Asked Questions
Redirects sit in the quiet middle of every SEO career. You read about them once, implement a handful, and assume you understand them. Then you run a site migration, discover that the previous team used 302 redirects for permanent changes, and watch organic traffic bleed out for weeks while you fix the mess. This guide is written for the SEO who wants to skip that phase.
The 301 versus 302 question is the most common status-code query in SEO and also the most commonly answered badly. This guide covers what each code actually does, when to use which, the real SEO impact (not the myths), how to implement them on every major platform, and the redirect mistakes that tank rankings. It is the guide we send to every new Kerkar Media client before we touch their site architecture.
1. What Is an HTTP Redirect?
An HTTP redirect is a server response that tells a browser or search engine crawler that the URL it requested has moved, and that it should look somewhere else for the content. Redirects are expressed through HTTP status codes in the 3xx range, with 301 (Moved Permanently) and 302 (Found, formerly “Moved Temporarily”) being the two most common.
When a user types a URL or clicks a link, the browser sends a GET request to the server. If that URL has been redirected, the server responds with a 3xx code and a Location header pointing to the new URL. The browser automatically follows that pointer, all without the user doing anything.
Plain-English version: A redirect is the internet’s equivalent of the sticker on a closed shop window that says “We have moved to the next block.” 301 means “We have moved and we are not coming back.” 302 means “We are away for a bit, back soon.”
2. How Redirects Work: The Technical Flow
When a crawler or browser hits a URL with a redirect rule, the sequence looks like this:
- Client sends GET request to URL A.
- Server consults its redirect rules and finds a match.
- Server responds with HTTP status 301 or 302 plus a Location header containing URL B.
- Client automatically makes a new GET request to URL B.
- Server returns the final 200 OK response with the actual page content.
This all happens in well under a second for the user, but for Google’s crawler, each extra hop in the chain introduces delay and a risk of abandonment. This is why redirect chains are a technical SEO concern regardless of whether each individual redirect is the correct type.
3. Types of Redirects Explained
| Status Code | Name | Meaning | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | Moved Permanently | URL has permanently moved to a new location | Default for all permanent URL changes, migrations, consolidations |
| 302 | Found (Temporary) | URL is temporarily at a new location; the original will return | A/B tests, maintenance, seasonal pages, geotargeting, short-term campaigns |
| 303 | See Other | Response to a POST, redirecting to a GET request | Form submissions; post-payment pages; rarely relevant to SEO |
| 307 | Temporary Redirect | Stricter version of 302; preserves HTTP method | When you need a true temporary redirect that cannot change POST to GET |
| 308 | Permanent Redirect | Stricter version of 301; preserves HTTP method | When you need a 301 that also preserves POST requests; increasingly used for API redirects |
| Meta refresh | HTML-based redirect | Browser-level redirect with a time delay, sometimes 0 | Almost never; Google tolerates them but they are a weaker signal than server-side redirects |
For 95% of SEO purposes, 301 and 302 are the only codes you need. 307 and 308 matter for API developers. 303 matters for form submissions. Meta refresh is a last-resort workaround when you cannot modify server config.
4. When to Use a 301 Redirect
The rule is simple: use 301 for any URL change that is intended to be permanent. In practice, that covers most of the redirects you will ever write.
Permanent URL restructures
You are changing your URL structure from /blog/post-name/ to /resources/post-name/. Every old URL gets a 301 to its new counterpart. This is the most common enterprise redirect scenario.
Domain migrations
Moving from oldbrand.com to newbrand.com, or from a subdomain to a subfolder. Map every old URL to its equivalent new URL with 301 and keep the old domain’s redirects live for at least 12 months, ideally indefinitely.
HTTP to HTTPS migration
Redirect every http:// URL to its https:// equivalent with a 301. HTTPS is now a baseline technical SEO requirement, not an optional upgrade.
Consolidating duplicate content
If you have two pages competing for the same keyword, merge them into one and 301 the losing URL to the winner. This is content pruning via redirect.
URL slug optimisation
Changing /best-seo-company-bombay/ to /best-seo-company-mumbai/ after rebranding a city spelling. 301 permanently.
Typos and canonical fixes
Legacy URLs with typos or poor keyword targeting. 301 to a cleaner permanent version.
www vs non-www standardisation
Pick one version and 301 the other. Same for trailing slashes. Pick one pattern and stick to it.
5. When to Use a 302 Redirect
302 is the right call only when you genuinely mean temporary. If you are uncertain, default to 301.
A/B and multivariate tests
You are testing two versions of a landing page and redirecting half your traffic. Use 302 because the test will end and the original URL will resume authority.
Site maintenance
During a scheduled maintenance window where you redirect to a “back soon” page. Use 302 so Google does not demote the original URL.
Seasonal campaigns
You redirect /offers/ to /offers/diwali-sale/ for six weeks, then back. 302 is appropriate.
Geotargeting
Sending users from a country-neutral URL to a country-specific version based on IP. Many e-commerce sites do this via 302 because the user could in theory access either.
Short-term product unavailability
An out-of-stock product page that redirects to its category temporarily, pending restock.
Decision rule: If the redirect will be in place for more than 90 days, it is probably permanent. If you cannot name a specific date when the original URL will return, use 301. Defaulting to 302 “just in case” is the mistake we see most often.
6. SEO Impact of Each Redirect
This is where most 301-vs-302 articles get muddled. Let us clear it up with Google-confirmed facts, not folklore.
Link equity transfer
Google’s John Mueller and Gary Illyes have both publicly confirmed that 301 redirects pass close to 100% of PageRank. The old “15% loss per 301” myth came from an early Matt Cutts statement that was revised years ago. Assume 301 passes full link equity.
A 302 redirect, by default, does not pass link equity because Google assumes the original URL is the authoritative one. But here is the nuance: if you leave a 302 in place for months, Google eventually treats it as a 301. Research by Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs has all documented this pattern. The problem is that “eventually” is unpredictable and costs you ranking time in the interim.
Crawl budget
Both 301 and 302 redirects consume crawl budget. Every redirect hop is a request Googlebot has to make. On large sites, reducing redirect depth is a measurable SEO optimisation. See our SEO strategy guide for how to prioritise crawl-budget work.
Indexing
Google will eventually drop the old URL from the index after a 301 and index the new one instead. For 302, the old URL stays indexed because Google expects it to return.
Rankings
Rankings typically transfer within 2 to 8 weeks of a well-implemented 301 redirect. Expect short-term volatility as Google re-crawls and re-attributes signals. With 302s on permanent changes, rankings often fail to transfer at all, or transfer incompletely.
Migration post-mortem pattern: In nearly every “traffic dropped after site migration” call we investigate, the first thing we find is at least one 302 used where a 301 was needed. Second most common: redirect chains of three or more hops. Third: rules with regex that sent a subset of URLs to the homepage instead of their equivalents.
7. How to Implement Redirects on Every Platform
Planning a site migration?
Kerkar Media runs full redirect audits, redirect-map builds, and post-migration monitoring. Our migration process has a near-zero-loss track record across domain moves, CMS migrations, and URL restructures.
WordPress
WordPress does not manage redirects natively in a clean way. Use one of three approaches, in order of preference:
- Rank Math or Yoast redirect module: built into the SEO plugin, simple UI, writes to database.
- Dedicated plugin like Redirection: lightweight, supports wildcards and regex.
- .htaccess rules directly: fastest execution (handled at server level before WordPress loads) but requires technical confidence.
Example .htaccess rule for a permanent redirect:
Redirect 301 /old-page/ /new-page/
Apache
Apache servers use the .htaccess file or main Apache config. Syntax options: Redirect, RedirectMatch, and the more powerful mod_rewrite RewriteRule directive.
RewriteRule ^old-page/?$ /new-page/ [R=301,L]
Nginx
Nginx configs use the return directive inside server blocks.
location /old-page/ { return 301 /new-page/; }
Nginx performs faster than Apache’s mod_rewrite on high-volume sites, which is one of many reasons large sites use it.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare supports redirects through Page Rules (legacy) and Bulk Redirects (recommended as of 2024). Bulk Redirects allow thousands of redirect rules without touching origin config, which is ideal for site migrations. Page Rules are limited to about 3 per free plan and are being phased out.
Shopify
Shopify has a native URL Redirects manager in Navigation settings. It only supports 301. For 302 you would need middleware or a proxy.
Other CMSs
Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, and Framer all offer redirect managers in their admin panels. Capability varies; for complex rules you may need to export URL lists and manage redirects at the DNS or CDN layer.
Manual verification
After implementing redirects, always verify with multiple tools: browser dev tools (Network tab), curl from a command line, Google Search Console’s URL Inspection, and a full crawl with Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
8. Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Using 302 for permanent changes
The single most common mistake. Fix: audit all redirects with Screaming Frog, identify 302s that have been in place over 90 days, change them to 301s.
Redirect chains
URL A redirects to URL B redirects to URL C. Every hop adds latency and crawl cost. Fix: flatten to a direct A-to-C redirect.
Redirect loops
A redirects to B, which redirects back to A. The browser shows “too many redirects” and Googlebot gives up. Fix: audit with Screaming Frog, break the loop, rebuild correct rules.
Redirecting everything to the homepage
During migrations, teams under time pressure sometimes write a catch-all rule sending all old URLs to /. This destroys link equity because it throws away URL-level relevance. Fix: build a proper URL-to-URL map, not a wildcard.
Forgetting trailing slashes
/page and /page/ are different URLs. Pick one and redirect the other to it consistently, sitewide. Mixed patterns confuse Google’s canonical selection.
Not redirecting image and asset URLs
After a migration, old image URLs often remain indexed and 404. Redirect them too, or serve them from the new domain.
HTTP and HTTPS not fully aligned
You migrated to HTTPS but some HTTP URLs still serve content. Every HTTP URL should 301 to the HTTPS equivalent.
Breaking redirects on a CMS update
Plugin updates, theme changes, or host migrations sometimes wipe redirect rules. Fix: maintain a master redirect map as a CSV outside the CMS, and run a monthly verification crawl.
9. Running a Redirect Audit
Our standard redirect audit, done at the start of every technical SEO engagement, covers these nine checks.
- Full site crawl with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to surface every 3xx response.
- Redirect type review: flag every 302 that has been live for more than 90 days.
- Chain detection: find every redirect that takes more than one hop.
- Loop detection: find redirect rules that end in a loop.
- 404 check on destinations: make sure redirect targets actually exist.
- Backlink check: cross-reference redirects with backlink profile. Redirecting a high-authority page to an unrelated destination wastes link equity.
- Internal link audit: find internal links still pointing to redirected URLs. Fix the source links to point directly at final destinations.
- Indexing status: check Google Search Console for old URLs that are still indexed and flagged as Moved vs Not indexed.
- Canonical consistency: make sure the canonical tag on destination URLs matches the redirect target.
Most redirect audits on mid-sized WordPress sites surface 30 to 60 fixable issues. The cumulative ranking improvement from fixing them is usually 5 to 15% organic traffic within a quarter. We build this into every comprehensive SEO audit.
10. Who Uses Redirects?
Businesses that need redirect expertise
- Manufacturers after product catalogue restructures
- Real estate developers after listing migrations
- Law firms during practice area reorganisation
- Medical practices during service page consolidation
- Dental clinics adding new locations
- Restaurants rebranding or changing domains
- Automotive businesses after model-year URL refreshes
Services that touch redirects
Key Takeaways
- 301 is permanent; 302 is temporary. Default to 301 for any URL change unless you can name a specific end date for the redirect.
- 301 redirects pass close to 100% of link equity. The 15% loss rule is outdated and has been retired publicly by Google.
- 302s used by mistake for permanent changes are the single most common technical SEO error in site migrations.
- Redirect chains should be zero. Flatten multi-hop redirects to direct source-to-final rules.
- Platform-specific implementation matters: WordPress plugins, Apache .htaccess, Nginx server blocks, Cloudflare Bulk Redirects.
- Every technical SEO audit should include a full redirect review. Fixing redirect mistakes typically recovers 5 to 15% of organic traffic.
11. Related Reading
Technical SEO
Foundations
Company
For primary-source references, the Mozilla Developer Network documentation on 301 status codes is the canonical reference, and MDN’s 302 documentation covers the temporary redirect. Google’s official guidance on redirects is worth bookmarking. Also useful: RFC 7231, the internet standard that defines HTTP semantics.
12. Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect?
A 301 redirect is permanent and tells browsers and search engines to update their records to the new URL. A 302 redirect is temporary and tells them the original URL will return. For SEO, 301 is the default unless you genuinely need a temporary redirect.
Does a 301 redirect pass link equity?
Yes. Google has confirmed that 301 redirects pass close to 100% of link equity to the destination URL. The old “15% PageRank loss” rumour came from an early Matt Cutts statement that has since been revised. Assume full equity transfer when planning migrations.
Does a 302 redirect pass link equity?
Partially. Google treats long-running 302 redirects as de facto 301s, but short-term 302s retain link equity on the original URL because Google expects it to return. If you redirect indefinitely with a 302 by mistake, you are sending confused signals and Google’s treatment of the redirect becomes unpredictable.
When should I use a 301 redirect?
Use 301 for any permanent change: URL restructures, domain migrations, consolidating duplicate content, moving from HTTP to HTTPS, merging old pages into new ones, changing URL slugs for SEO reasons, and fixing legacy typos. If the change is permanent, the redirect should be 301.
When should I use a 302 redirect?
Use 302 for genuinely temporary situations: A/B tests, maintenance pages, seasonal product landing pages, geotargeted redirects, and short-term campaigns. Never use 302 for a permanent URL change. If you cannot name a specific end date for the redirect, it is probably not temporary.
How many 301 redirects can I chain before it harms SEO?
Google has stated it follows up to 5 hops in a redirect chain, but best practice is zero chains. Each hop adds latency, consumes crawl budget, and raises the chance that Googlebot stops early. Always redirect directly from source to final destination; flatten any multi-hop chains you find during audits.
Do 301 redirects lose their SEO value over time?
No. 301 redirects are meant to be permanent and Google continues to honour them indefinitely. You can safely keep them in place for years. Some SEOs remove 301s after 12 to 18 months once Google has indexed the new URL and external links have updated, but there is no SEO urgency to do so.
How do I check if my redirects are working correctly?
Use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool, run a full crawl with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb, check HTTP headers using browser dev tools or curl, and monitor Google’s index status for old URLs. All four should be part of any site migration or technical SEO checklist. Visual confirmation in a browser alone is not enough; you need to see the actual HTTP status codes.
