301 vs 302 redirects: which one to use

The difference

Both send the visitor to another URL. What changes is what search engines do with the two URLs:

• 301 Moved Permanently: Google treats the redirect as a strong signal that the new URL should be the canonical one. Over time the new URL replaces the old one in search results.
• 302 Found: Google follows the redirect but doesn't use it as a canonical signal, so the old URL generally stays in search results. If the redirect stays for a long time and other signals point to the new URL, Google may index the new one anyway.

Google has said that 3xx redirects don't lose PageRank, so the choice isn't about "passing link juice". It's about telling search engines which URL you want them to show.

301, 302, 307 and 308

There are two permanent codes and three temporary ones. Google groups them like this:

For SEO, 301 and 308 are interchangeable, as are 302 and 307. The method difference matters for forms and APIs, not for pages people visit.

Two other kinds of redirect exist. A meta refresh with no delay is treated as permanent, and one with a delay as temporary. JavaScript redirects work only if Google renders the page, so use them only when you can't redirect on the server.

One thing to know about 307: browsers show an "internal" 307 when a site uses HSTS, which upgrades http:// to https:// inside the browser. That 307 never reaches the server or Googlebot, so a checker that requests the URL directly shows the real redirect the server sends.

When to use each

The simple rule: if you'll never point the old URL back at its old content, use a permanent redirect. If you will, use a temporary one.

How to check your redirects

Browsers follow redirects silently, so you can't see the code by visiting the page. Use a checker that records each hop and its status:

Paste one URL or thousands. Each result shows every hop's status code and destination, so you can spot:

• moved pages still on 302 that should be 301;
• a mix of 301 and 302 in the same chain;
• chains of several redirects, which are worth flattening to one hop. See Redirect chains.

In Search Console, redirecting URLs show up as Page with redirect in the Page indexing report. That's usually expected; the guide to Page with redirect explains when it isn't.

Setting them up

Apache (.htaccess):

Redirect 301 /old-page/ https://www.example.com/new-page/
Redirect 302 /sale/ https://www.example.com/summer-sale/

Nginx:

location = /old-page/ { return 301 https://www.example.com/new-page/; }
location = /sale/     { return 302 https://www.example.com/summer-sale/; }

WordPress: a redirect plugin such as Redirection, or the redirect manager in Yoast SEO Premium or Rank Math, lets you choose the code per redirect. Check the default: some plugins use 302 unless you change it.

Shopify: URL redirects created in the admin are 301s. There's no setting for a temporary one.

In code: many frameworks default to 302. In PHP, header('Location: …') sends a 302 unless you pass 301; Express's res.redirect() also defaults to 302. Set the code explicitly.

Common mistakes

• A 302 left in place for a permanent move, often because it was a framework's default. The old URL may stay in search far longer than intended.
• Redirecting deleted pages to the homepage. Google often treats that as a soft 404. Redirect to the closest equivalent, or let the page return 404.
• Removing redirects too soon. Links from other sites keep pointing at old URLs for years. Keep permanent redirects in place for as long as you can, at least a year.
• Leaving internal links on old URLs. Update links, canonical tags and sitemaps to the new URLs so most visits don't redirect at all.

Questions