An Effective Guide to 301 and 302 Redirects in SEO

SEO works are of great importance for websites that want to get ahead of their competitors in the digital world, which has reached a gigantic size today. These include a wide range of techniques and methods, including 301 and 302 orientations. In order for such referrals to be successful, the right steps must be taken and professional strategies implemented.

There are actually simple and practical rules for the use of both 301 and 302 redirects. By acting in accordance with these guidelines, you can achieve the desired impact and execute flawless SEO operations.

So, what are 301 and 302 redirects, what do they do, when should they be used? You need an effective guide to master the answers to all these questions and to carry out transactions with confident steps. Therefore, you can review the guide we have prepared for you and benefit from the advantage of creating effective solutions based on the information you acquire.

"HTTP Response Status Codes"

For any website to be visible in browsers, HTTP response status codes must be positive. This is because when a browser requests a web page from a particular server, the server has to respond to the request and provide information about whether the request was successful or not. This response is referred to as an “HTTP response status code.”

Today, there are five different HTTP response status codes, which can be listed as follows:

Informative responses (response codes 100-199)
Success answers (answer codes 200-299)
Routing responses (response codes 300-399)
Client error responses (response codes 400-499)
Server error responses (response codes 500-599)

What are 301 and 302 Redirects?

In certain circumstances, the URL of a website page may be modified. In such cases, an informational message is sent to the browser to inform it that this page is no longer at the same URL. 301 and 302 redirects are used to report such messages. These status codes sent from the server to the browser not only indicate changes in the URL of the web page but also specify if the page has been moved to another URL and if a redirection request has been made.

The reason for the need for redirection of a website page may vary. In such cases, diversion can be made for a wide variety of reasons. The main reasons for this are as follows:

If you have a new website or website page, you need to redirect.
You can perform this operation to select the standard between WWW and non-WWW URLs.
If you are forced to use HTTPS when you visit the browser using HTTP, you can still benefit from such redirects.
Sometimes you may be editing a particular web page. If you don’t want your visitors to see this old page under construction, you can do this to redirect them to a different location.

In addition to the reasons mentioned above, many other factors also create the need for redirection processes, and these objectives also determine the type of redirection. Depending on the objectives, you need to choose the right type of routing. Wrong choices can lead to negative consequences in terms of SEO. Correct choices will not only support you in terms of SEO but, at worst, help you maintain your current ranking.

What is the Purpose of 301 and 302 Redirects?

The reason for the need for redirection of a website page may vary. In such cases, diversion can be made for a wide variety of reasons. The main reasons for this are as follows:

If you have a new website or website page, you need to redirect.
You can perform this operation to select the standard between WWW and non-WWW URLs.
If you are forced to use HTTPS when you visit the browser using HTTP, you can still benefit from such redirects.
Sometimes you may be editing a particular web page. If you don’t want your visitors to see this old page under construction, you can do this to redirect them to a different location.

In addition to the reasons mentioned above, many other factors also create the need for redirection processes, and these objectives also determine the type of redirection. Depending on the objectives, you need to choose the right type of routing. Wrong choices can lead to negative consequences in terms of SEO. The right choices will support you in terms of SEO and, in the worst case, help you maintain your current rank.

What is a 301 Redirect and What Does It Do?

If your website or a page on your website is going to be permanently moved to another location, you need to take advantage of the 301 redirect and send a message to the browser using this code. This allows the necessary actions to be performed by the browser, and visitors are able to access these pages through the correct URL address.

At this stage, one inevitably wonders what exactly is meant by the concept of permanence. A move is considered permanent if the website or page will remain at that address for an average of one year or much longer. Additionally, after a year, it is useful to check whether internet users are still able to access your website through the same address.

If, after checking, you see that there are visitors, you need to find out where they came from and fix the source before canceling the redirect. John Mueller recently stated that 301 redirects should remain functional for at least one year. This is because they help ensure that users can still access your website through the old URL, maintaining SEO value and user experience. Therefore, it is advisable to periodically check these redirects and make any necessary corrections.

When Should 301 Redirects Be Used?

301 referrals, which are meant to be permanent and remain functional for at least one year, are actively preferred for a wide variety of reasons. Key situations for using 301 redirects include:

When you buy a domain name, if the goal is to redirect it to your primary domains, you should opt for a 301 redirect. In such cases, you can do it with domain names where your brand is misspelled, or you can do it with variations of your domain name. This ensures access to your primary space in any situation.
You can also use a 301 redirect when setting the domain name for your default site. At this point, you can also create access with “example.com” instead of “www.example.com”.
In certain cases, you may want to bring two different websites together. In the same way, you can also consider taking action for your outdated URLs that you do not use. In such configurations, you should also use a 301 redirect.

What is a 302 Redirect and What Does It Do?

When you want to do a 302 redirect, you first need to know exactly what this redirect code does and in which situations it should be used. Otherwise, you will fail to act according to your purpose, and your redirect request will not be successful, leading to issues.

Basically, you need to use the 302 redirect code when you want to inform search engines that your website or any page of your website has been temporarily moved to another address. In this way, the relevant browser is aware of the situation and responds to your needs by making the necessary redirections. Internet users who want to visit your website can spend time on the relevant page without encountering any issues.

When should 302 redirects be used?

302 redirects, known as the code used to temporarily redirect websites and pages to another URL address, are used in a wide variety of situations. They are particularly useful when you need to reorganize different sections of your website for various reasons.

For example; you can change the website design or update it by improving it. Sometimes you can perform various operations on the page to perform the necessary maintenance. In such cases, you can temporarily redirect internet users who want to visit the current page to another address of your choice. At this point, you should use the 302 redirect code.

When choosing a 302 redirect code, you need to make sure that you meet the appropriate conditions. Additionally, you should use this type of redirect if you plan to eventually restore the old page or if you are considering creating a completely new page.

However, you can also use a 302 redirect to test a new page if you wish. This way you won’t damage your ranking on your original page. You will also have the opportunity to receive notifications from your target audience.

301 ve 302 Yönlendirmeleri SEO’yu Nasıl Etkiler?

301 and 302 redirects, which have a very important place for SEO work, affect your search engine rankings in many ways. For example, when you use 301 redirects, known as permanent address changes, your old directory is deindexed by Google. Additionally, most of the link equity from the relevant page is transferred to the new address.

In addition, when you redirect a page from one URL to another, it takes some time for search engines to receive the relevant notification and recognize this. In this process, it inevitably becomes difficult for you to notice changes or improvements in search engine results. This will cost you time. It would be right to act knowing this situation. However, this period is usually not long.

302 redirects used in the right way at the right time do not create any negativity in terms of your SEO efforts. In such temporary redirects, the original page remains indexed on Google. This is because Google knows that such redirects are temporary and safely maintains the relevant page accordingly. In fact, no link values from the current URL are transferred to the new address during this process. This helps to ensure that the page is still SEO effective and powerful. This way, the page maintains its traffic value and authority, as it preserves its search engine rankings.

The most common issue with 301 and 302 redirects is that users often do not know the difference between these two redirect codes, leading to the selection of the wrong redirect code at the wrong time and place.

How to Implement 301 and 302 Redirects?

If you are wondering how 301 and 302 redirects are implemented, you should first perform the operations by paying attention to the steps specified by Google. According to Google, the steps you need to follow are as follows:

To implement these types of permanent or temporary redirects, you first need to gain access to configuration files. For example, the .htaccess file in Apache can be used for this purpose.
It is also an important step to edit the redirect headers. In this process, it is important to make adjustments with server-side scripts such as PHP.

By paying attention to these two steps, you can perform permanent or temporary redirects on the server side without any problems. If you feel that you lack sufficient expertise in this area or have concerns about how to proceed, you can benefit from Apache .htaccess Training and also seek support from a URL Rewrite Guide. This way, you can find answers to any questions or concerns you may have.

If your current server is not functioning properly on Apache, you need to contact your server provider. And if you use WordPress on your website, you can take advantage of a wide range of plugins that aim to make redirection as easy as possible. Here are the main ones:

Redirection (Routing):

This plugin is specifically designed for 301 redirects and 404 errors.

Simple 301 Redirects (Simple 301 Redirects):

This plugin, which only works for 301 redirects, stands out due to its excellent performance and high efficiency.

The impact of such redirects on the visibility of websites becomes quite big. Therefore, meticulous work in this area is crucial for the efficiency of your website.

You should remember that while there are many redirect response codes that your server can send to any browser, the 301 and 302 HTTP response status codes in particular are used more than any others. Therefore, to ensure your SEO efforts are flawless, you need to be careful to select the correct code according to your objectives.