301 vs 302 Redirects: What’s the Difference?

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Are you wondering what the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect is? Even though these two are different, people get confused about which one to use. Both 301 and 302 redirects send users and search engines to a different URL from what they requested. Choosing the right redirect allows you to maintain your current rankings as well as your reputation for being a trustworthy site.

Let’s learn the difference between 301 and 302 redirects and which one you should choose.

What is a 301 Redirect?

A 301 redirect sends a message to the search engines that a website or page has been permanently moved. The term “permanent” means long-term, but we recommend checking back in one year to see if people are still being redirected to your website. If they are, you’ll want to find and fix the issue so you can cancel the redirect.

You should use 301 redirects when you want to:

  • Merge two websites together
  • Move outdated URLs
  • Establish your default site
  • Send traffic from other domains to your primary domain

What is a 302 Redirect?

A 302 redirect lets users and search engines know that a website or page has moved temporarily. You should use this redirect when you want to send traffic to a new site or page for a short period of time, such as when designing or building a new website. Once the website or page is updated, you can cancel the redirect and funnel traffic back to your original page.

How Do 301 and 302 Redirects Affect SEO?

The benefit to using 301 redirects is that the new page carries the same value as the old page. This allows you to keep the equity you worked hard to build. However, it’s important to know that it takes time for the search engines to notice this and make the appropriate changes in the rankings.

302 redirects will not hurt your SEO. The original page remains indexed and no value is transferred to the temporary URL. The reason for this is that Google knows that the new page is just temporary. This is why webmasters will use 302 redirects when collecting feedback on new pages.

In short, 301 redirects are for permanent URL changes and 302 redirects are for temporary purposes. If you’re still not sure which one to use for the changes being made on your site, contact Magna Technology today.