HTTP 301 vs 302: SEO Impact and When to Use

Picking the wrong redirect can quietly drain rankings and crawl budget. Here is how HTTP 301 and 302 differ for SEO, when to use each, and how to implement them cleanly.

Quick answer

Use 301 for permanent changes, like migrations, URL renames, and canonical consolidation. Search engines treat the target as the new canonical and fold signals there.
Use 302 for temporary detours, like short promos, A/B tests, or brief maintenance. Search engines can keep the original URL as canonical.
Modern Google guidance indicates 3xx redirects, including 301 and 302, can pass PageRank similarly. Choose the code that reflects intent, since canonicalization and indexing behavior still differ.

Core differences

Code	Purpose	Canonicalization	Method behavior	Cache default	Typical use
301 Moved Permanently	Permanent move	Target usually becomes canonical	Some UAs may change POST to GET	Cacheable	HTTPS, domain changes, slug changes, merging pages
302 Found	Temporary move	Source can remain canonical	Some UAs may change POST to GET	Not cacheable unless told	Short-term tests, seasonal pages
308 Permanent Redirect	Permanent move	Target becomes canonical	Preserves method	Cacheable	API-safe permanent moves, modern alternative to 301
307 Temporary Redirect	Temporary move	Source can remain canonical	Preserves method	Not cacheable unless told	API-safe temporary moves

Sources: MDN on 301, 302, 308, 307.

SEO impact

Consolidation, 301 and 308 push signals and canonical preference to the target. 302 and 307 often keep the source indexed, which can prolong duplication.
Equity flow, Google has stated 3xx redirects do not inherently dilute PageRank, so 301, 302, 307, and 308 can all pass link equity. Choose the code for intent, not to game equity. See coverage by Search Engine Journal.
Indexing speed, permanent redirects help Google switch URLs faster in a site move. Temporary codes can delay replacement.
Crawl efficiency, single-hop redirects conserve crawl budget. Chains and loops waste it and slow rendering.

When to use 301

Protocol or host changes, HTTP to HTTPS, www to non-www, or domain migration.
URL renames, slug changes, taxonomy refactors, removing date folders.
Canonical consolidation, merging near-duplicates and pruning thin pages.
Permanent product or article retirement, to the most relevant successor.
Trailing slash, uppercase or parameter normalization.

Google’s site move documentation recommends permanent redirects for structural changes and keeping them in place for a long time, ideally at least one year, while you update internal links and sitemaps. See Google Search Central, Site moves.

When to use 302

Short promotions, temporary detours during a campaign.
A/B tests or feature flags, when destinations might change or revert.
Brief maintenance, like moving a resource during a fix window.
Inventory flux, temporarily redirect an out-of-stock product to a category, only if you plan to restore the original URL.

If a 302 accidentally stays in place for weeks, search engines may begin treating it like a 301. Review temporary rules on a schedule.

307 and 308

308 is the permanent, method-preserving counterpart to 301. Prefer it for APIs and form posts when you want a permanent move.
307 is the temporary, method-preserving counterpart to 302. Prefer it when you need a temporary redirect that must not change POST to GET.
For classic web content, 301 and 302 remain common and broadly compatible. For modern stacks and APIs, 308 and 307 are safer.

Common scenarios

Scenario	Recommended	Why
HTTP to HTTPS for all URLs	301 or 308	Permanent protocol change and HSTS alignment
Domain migration, A.com to B.com	301 or 308	Permanent site move, consolidate signals
Slug change, /old-post to /new-post	301 or 308	Permanent rename, avoid duplicates
Merge two articles into one	301 or 308	Consolidate relevance and links
Limited-time sale landing page	302 or 307	Temporary detour, do not replace canonical
Geo or device routing	302 or 307	Temporary, but avoid forced geo redirects for Googlebot
Out-of-stock item back next week	302 or 307	Short absence, preserve original URL
Discontinued item forever	301 or 308 to successor, or 410	Permanent removal or replacement

For duplicate consolidation beyond redirects, see Google’s guidance on consolidating duplicate URLs.

Implement right

Nginx

Apache (.htaccess)

Test quickly

Avoid pitfalls

Chains and hops, collapse to a single hop. Update internal links and sitemaps so crawlers do not need to follow redirects from your own pages. Our guide on URL redirection tricks shows safe bulk patterns.
Mixed signals, do not pair a 302 with a canonical tag pointing elsewhere. Redirect intent and canonicals should align.
Parameter loss, preserve query strings unless intentionally dropping them. In Nginx, $request_uri retains them.
Infinite loops, test rules in staging with a crawler before deploying.
Short-lived 302s that linger, add tickets or expirations so temporary rules get removed.

Crawl and index tips

Keep 301s long, for site moves maintain them at least a year. Many teams keep them indefinitely for stable link equity.
Refresh sitemaps, publish new canonical URLs and ping indexing protocols to speed discovery.
Monitor coverage, use Search Console to confirm Google is indexing the target URL, not the source.
Check speed, redirect responses should be fast, keep TTFB low and avoid redirecting to a slow page.

If you publish at velocity, watch crawl efficiency. Our guide on crawl budget for auto-blogs explains how chains and orphaning hurt discovery.

Content moves and internal links

Redirects save equity, but updating links is what finishes the job. After a migration or slug change, repoint internal links so they reference the final target URL directly. This reduces redirect hops, improves crawl paths, and protects PageRank flow.

If you manage a large catalog, BlogSEO’s internal linking automation can help you regenerate links toward the canonical target after URL changes, then auto-publish those updates across your CMS. That keeps your architecture clean without weeks of manual edits.

Decision guide

A simple flowchart titled "Redirect choice" with three questions in sequence. Box 1: "Is the move permanent?" If Yes, arrow to "Use 301 or 308" with a note "prefer 308 for APIs". If No, arrow to Box 2: "Must the HTTP method be preserved?" If Yes, arr...

QA checklist

The right code matches business intent, permanent or temporary.
One hop only, no chains or loops.
Location header uses absolute URLs for cross-domain moves.
Canonical tags align with the redirect destination.
Sitemaps and internal links point to the target URLs.
Log and validate via curl, DevTools, and a site crawler.

For a deeper audit workflow, use our walkthrough to catch redirect issues.

Notes on equity

Google has clarified that 3xx status codes do not arbitrarily lose PageRank. In practice, that means you can use 301 or 302 without equity anxiety. Still, search engines treat 301 and 308 as stronger signals to replace the old URL, which speeds canonical consolidation in real migrations.

Extra tips

HSTS, after migrating to HTTPS with 301s, enable HSTS so browsers auto-upgrade to HTTPS.
410 vs 404, use 410 Gone for content removed permanently with no successor, it can expedite deindexing.
Images and files, apply redirects for media and downloadable assets too, not just HTML pages.
International sites, avoid auto-redirecting users based on IP. Use hreflang and let users choose locale. If you must redirect, keep it temporary.

Wrap up

301 or 308 for permanent changes. 302 or 307 for temporary situations.
Keep redirects in place for a long time, collapse chains, and update all internal links.
Verify in logs and Search Console that Google indexes the target URL.

If you are planning a content refresh, migration, or a steady cadence of new posts, BlogSEO can generate, internally interlink, and auto-publish SEO articles while keeping your architecture tidy.

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