301 vs 302 Redirects: Which Should You Use? (2026)

You need to redirect a page, but your developer just asked whether you want a 301 or a 302, and you froze because you genuinely don’t know which one applies to your situation.

This isn’t a small detail to get wrong. I’ve walked into client accounts where the wrong redirect type sat live for months, quietly preventing rankings from transferring to a new page that deserved them.

Let’s clear up exactly what separates these two, because the difference isn’t just technical trivia, it directly affects how search engines treat your rankings and link equity.

What a Redirect Actually Does?

A redirect automatically sends visitors and search engine crawlers from one URL to another. Someone clicks a link or types in an old address, and instead of hitting a dead page, they land somewhere else entirely without noticing the handoff.

Both 301 and 302 redirects accomplish this same basic function on the surface. Where they differ is in the message each one sends about why that redirect exists, and that distinction changes everything about how search engines handle it.

What a 301 Redirect Means?

A 301 redirect signals a permanent move. You’re telling browsers and search engines that the original URL is gone for good and the new URL is now the correct, lasting destination.

This status code carries real weight with search engines. When Google encounters a 301, it treats the new URL as the rightful heir to the old one’s ranking signals.

• Link equity transfers to the new URL: Backlinks pointing at the old page pass their authority through to the new destination, which is exactly why 301s are the standard choice during site migrations.
• The old URL eventually gets dropped from the index: Once Google confirms the move is permanent, it stops treating the original URL as a separate entity worth indexing on its own.
• Search engines update their records to reflect the new address as canonical: Over time, the new URL becomes the one associated with your rankings, reviews, and historical signals.

What a 302 Redirect Means?

A 302 redirect signals a temporary move. You’re telling browsers and search engines that the original URL still matters and will be back in use, so don’t treat this new destination as the permanent replacement.

This distinction matters enormously for how search engines allocate ranking credit.

• Link equity generally stays with the original URL: Since the move is framed as temporary, search engines are cautious about permanently reassigning authority to a page that might only be relevant for a short window.
• The original URL typically remains indexed: Google keeps the old page in its records because it expects that URL to become active again once the temporary situation resolves.
• Search engines may still show the original URL in results: even while users are actively being redirected elsewhere, which is a detail that catches people off guard.

When to Use a 301 Redirect

Choosing 301 is the right call any time the change is intended to last. Here’s where I use it constantly with clients.

• Permanent page migrations during a site redesign: If you’re restructuring your URL patterns and the old paths are never coming back, every single one needs a 301 pointing to its new equivalent.
• Domain changes or rebrand migrations: Moving from one domain to another entirely is one of the highest-stakes uses of 301s, since getting this wrong can tank years of accumulated authority overnight.
• Consolidating duplicate or thin pages into one stronger page: When you merge several weak articles into a single comprehensive one, 301 the old URLs to the new combined page so their existing link equity isn’t wasted.
• Enforcing HTTPS or www consistency: Standardizing your domain’s preferred format, like forcing all traffic from HTTP to HTTPS, should always use 301s since that configuration is meant to be permanent.
• Retiring discontinued products with a genuine replacement: If a product is gone for good and a newer model has taken its place, a 301 to the replacement page passes along whatever ranking value the old listing had built up.

When to Use a 302 Redirect

302s have a narrower, but still legitimate, set of use cases. The mistake I see most often is people defaulting to 302 out of caution when a 301 was actually the right call.

• Short-term promotional or seasonal pages: If you’re redirecting to a holiday sale page that will be taken down afterward, with the original URL resuming normal use, a 302 correctly signals that temporary intent.
• A/B testing between page variants: When you’re temporarily sending a portion of traffic to a test version of a page, you don’t want search engines to treat that variant as the new permanent URL.
• Site maintenance windows: Redirecting visitors to a maintenance notice while backend work happens is inherently temporary, and using a 301 here would incorrectly tell search engines to abandon the real URL.
• Geolocation or device-based redirects that depend on context: Sending mobile users to a different URL temporarily, where the destination could change based on ongoing testing or logic, fits the temporary nature of a 302.

The Real-World Consequence of Choosing Wrong

This is where I’ve seen actual damage happen, not just theoretical SEO concerns.

• Using a 302 for a permanent migration stalls ranking transfer: I’ve audited sites months after a migration where traffic never recovered, and the root cause was a developer defaulting to 302s across the entire redirect map instead of 301s.
• Using a 301 for something genuinely temporary creates a permanent mess: If you 301 a seasonal page and then need that original URL back later, you’re stuck untangling a redirect that search engines have already started treating as permanent.
• Redirect chains compound the problem regardless of type: Whether it’s 301s or 302s, stacking multiple redirects on top of each other slows crawling and can dilute the very link equity you were trying to preserve.

How to Check What Redirect Type Is Currently Live?

If you’re inheriting a site or auditing existing redirects, don’t just assume they’re set up correctly.

• Use a browser extension or online redirect checker tool: These show you the exact status code returned for any URL, confirming whether it’s a 301, 302, or something else entirely like a 307.
• Check your server or CMS redirect settings directly: Most platforms let you specify the redirect type when creating a rule, and it’s worth verifying rather than trusting a default you didn’t set yourself.
• Audit redirects after any migration project wraps up: Developers under deadline pressure sometimes default to whatever’s fastest to implement, which isn’t always the technically correct choice for your situation.

A Quick Note on 307 Redirects

While 301 and 302 cover the vast majority of real-world situations, you’ll occasionally encounter a 307 redirect, which is the modern HTTP/1.1 equivalent of a 302, also signaling a temporary move but with stricter handling of the request method during the redirect.

For most SEO purposes, treat 307s the same way you’d treat a 302 in terms of strategic decision-making, though the technical implementation differs slightly at the server level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Words

Getting this choice right isn’t complicated once you understand what each one is actually communicating to search engines. Ask yourself honestly whether the old URL is gone forever or coming back, and the correct redirect type follows naturally from that answer.