301 vs 302 Redirect SEO: 5 Costly Differences and Smart Choices

By Istiak Ahmed Soikot, Founder and CEO, Rank OG.

Last reviewed: November 9, 2026.

A 301 vs 302 redirect SEO choice is this: is the move permanent or temporary? Use a 301 when a page has moved for good, and a 302 when the old URL will return. Pick the wrong code and Google keeps showing the wrong URL.

This guide is for site owners and marketing leads facing a 301 vs 302 redirect SEO choice after a URL change, a page merge, or a domain move. You will get plain answers, a side-by-side table, and a short checklist for your developer. See our technical SEO services page for a full check of your setup.

What Is a 301 Redirect?

A 301 redirect is a permanent server response that sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one. It tells Google the page has moved for good, so Google should show the new URL in search results instead of the old one.

MDN defines the 301 status code as a signal that the requested resource has been permanently moved to the URL in the Location header. A browser that receives it automatically requests the new URL, so visitors rarely notice anything happened. That signal is the heart of 301 vs 302 redirect SEO: a 301 tells Google to show the new URL, while a 302 tells it to keep the old one.

Use a 301 when a page or whole site has moved and will not come back. Common cases are a domain move, a switch from HTTP to HTTPS, two pages merged into one, and a deleted page that has a real replacement. That is why 301 vs 302 redirect SEO starts with one question: will the old URL ever return? Point the old URL at the closest matching new page, never at the homepage.

What Is a 302 Redirect?

A 302 redirect is a temporary server response that sends visitors to a different URL for now. It tells Google the old page will return, so Google usually keeps the old URL in its search results while visitors see the new page.

MDN defines the 302 status code as a signal that the requested resource has been temporarily moved to the URL in the Location header. MDN also notes that search engines will not attribute links from the original URL to the new resource, so no SEO value is transferred to the new URL. That temporary signal is the other half of 301 vs 302 redirect SEO: a 302 borrows the traffic without handing over the ranking signals.

In 301 vs 302 redirect SEO, use a 302 when the change has an end date. A site under short maintenance, a page running an A/B test, and a seasonal offer that will come down all fit. Once the reason ends, remove the redirect and let the old URL serve visitors again.

What Are the 5 Differences in 301 vs 302 Redirect SEO?

Both codes look the same to a visitor, since both send the browser to another page. The difference sits in what each code tells Google, and that shapes which URL ranks. Here are the five differences that matter most in 301 vs 302 redirect SEO.

Difference	301 Moved Permanently	302 Found
How long the move lasts	Permanent, the old URL will not return	Temporary, the old URL is expected to return
Which URL Google shows	The new URL, since the target becomes canonical	The old URL, since the source usually stays canonical
Canonical signal	Yes, Google uses it as a signal the target should be canonical	No, Google does not use it as a canonical signal
Link signals	Ranking signals consolidate on the new URL	Link attribution stays with the old URL
When to use it	Domain move, HTTPS switch, merged or deleted pages	Maintenance, A/B test, short sale, page coming back

Pick by duration, not by habit. If the old URL will never return, use a 301. If it will return, use a 302. That one question settles most 301 vs 302 redirect SEO debates.

When Should You Use a 301 Redirect?

Use a 301 redirect whenever a URL change is final and you want Google to replace the old URL with the new one in search results. Google recommends a permanent server-side redirect whenever possible for a URL change.

Domain move: every old URL points to its matching new URL on the new domain
HTTP to HTTPS: each HTTP URL points to its HTTPS version
Merged pages: the weaker page points to the stronger page that now holds the content
Deleted page with a replacement: the old URL points to the closest live page
URL cleanup: an old slug with a typo or a dated structure points to the clean version

Keep the redirect in place for at least a year, and longer if you can. Google advises keeping site move redirects for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year, so it can transfer all signals to the new URLs. Update your internal links and sitemap to point at the new URLs, and check that the new page has a self-referencing canonical tag. Our guide to canonical tags explains how that tag works with redirects.

When Should You Use a 302 Redirect?

In 301 vs 302 redirect SEO, a 302 fits when the original URL should stay the long-term search result and the detour will end. Google says a temporary redirect helps keep the old URL in its search results, which is exactly what you want when the old page is coming back.

Short maintenance: visitors see a notice page while the real page is fixed
A/B test: some visitors see a variation URL while the original stays indexed
Seasonal offer: a page is swapped for a short promotion, then restored
Temporarily out of stock: a product page sends shoppers to a close alternative for now

Google advises using a 302, not a 301, for an A/B test, and adding a rel canonical tag on the variation pages that points back to the original. Run the test only as long as needed, then remove it. Google warns that a test left running for an unnecessarily long time may be read as an attempt to deceive search engines.

What Happens If You Pick the Wrong One?

Picking the wrong code does not break your site, but it sends Google the wrong message about your URLs. This is where 301 vs 302 redirect SEO mistakes cost real traffic: the damage shows up slowly, as the wrong page stays in search results or the right page never takes its place.

Permanent move left on a 302: Google keeps the old URL indexed, so the new page struggles to rank and signals stay split
Temporary move set as a 301: Google drops the old URL from results, and browsers may cache the redirect, so bringing the old page back takes longer than you expect
Redirect to the homepage: visitors land somewhere useless, and Google sees a weak match for the old page topic
Redirect chains: one redirect pointing to another adds delay for users and crawlers, and long chains can fail

Many guides claim a 302 leaks PageRank or that any redirect costs ranking value. Google states the opposite for site moves: the code choice is about permanence and canonical signals, not about losing PageRank.

301 and other permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank.
Google Search Central, Site Moves and Migrations

Google also advises against chaining redirects. Googlebot can follow up to 10 hops in a chain, but Google advises redirecting to the final destination directly, and keeping any chain low, ideally no more than 3 and fewer than 5 hops. Point every old URL straight at its final page.

How Do You Set Up and Check a Redirect?

Set up redirects on the server whenever you can, because Google says a server-side redirect has the highest chance of being interpreted correctly. A 301 vs 302 redirect SEO fix only works if the server returns the code you intended, so check your work after each change.

On Apache, the simplest form uses mod_alias in .htaccess. The first line below is permanent, and the second is temporary:

Redirect permanent "/old-page" "https://www.example.com/new-page"
Redirect temp "/temp-page" "https://www.example.com/temp-new"

On NGINX, use a return statement with 301 or 302 inside the location block for the old URL. In WordPress, your host panel or a redirect plugin can add the same rules without editing server files. Make sure your robots.txt file does not block the new URL. Our robots.txt guide shows the rules to check.

Open the old URL and confirm it lands on the intended new page.
Check the status code with browser developer tools or a header checker, and confirm it reads 301 or 302 as planned.
Confirm the Location header points straight to the final URL, with no extra hops.
Test the new URL in Search Console with the URL Inspection tool.
Watch the indexed URL for a few weeks, since most pages take a few weeks to show the new URLs.

What Should You Do Next?

Work through this list before your next URL change, and you will avoid the most common 301 vs 302 redirect SEO mistakes:

List every URL that will change, with its matching new URL.
Decide 301 or 302 for each one by asking whether the old URL will ever return.
Set the redirect on the server and check the status code and destination.
Update internal links, sitemap, and canonical tags to the new URLs.
Monitor Search Console for a few weeks and fix any chain, loop, or wrong destination you find.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a 302 redirect hurt SEO?

No, a 302 does not hurt SEO on its own. It tells Google the move is temporary, so the old URL usually stays in search results. In 301 vs 302 redirect SEO terms, trouble starts only when a permanent move sits on a 302 for months.

Can I change a 302 redirect to a 301 later?

Yes, you can switch a 302 to a 301 when a 301 vs 302 redirect SEO review shows the move is permanent. Update the server rule and check the status code in Search Console. Google will start treating the new URL as canonical once it recrawls the old URL.

How long should I keep a 301 redirect in place?

Keep a 301 redirect in place for at least a year, and longer if you can. Google advises keeping site move redirects for at least a year. In 301 vs 302 redirect SEO planning, removing it early can strand visitors and old links on a dead URL.

Do 301 redirects pass PageRank?

Yes. Google states that 301 and other permanent redirects do not cause a loss in PageRank. In 301 vs 302 redirect SEO, a 301 also marks the new URL as canonical, so ranking signals consolidate there. That is why permanent moves belong on a 301, not a 302.

Should I use a 301 or 302 for an A/B test?

Use a 302 for an A/B test. Google advises using a 302, not a 301, when a test redirects visitors from the original URL to a variation. That keeps the original URL in the index while the test runs. Switch to a 301 only if the winning variation becomes permanent.

Sources

Redirects and Google Search, Google Search Central
Site Moves and Migrations, Google Search Central
Website testing and Google search, Google Search Central Blog
301 Moved Permanently, MDN Web Docs
302 Found, MDN Web Docs

Sources checked November 2026.

If a URL change is coming up and the right code is unclear, get a free SEO audit. We will review your redirects and tell you plainly whether your 301 vs 302 redirect SEO setup points Google at the right pages.