Wondering how 301 vs 302 redirects compliment SEO services?
In layman’s language, 301 redirect is used when the content is moved to a new location permanently. Whereas, the 302 redirect is just a temporary move for a limited amount of time. For search engines, the difference between these two redirects is very clear but at times, companies might get confused and mistake one for the other. This mistake could incur heavy losses to businesses as the traffic would get redirected to the wrong place and/or will not be at the place it originally intended to be in.
Using any of these two redirects completely depends on the circumstance, be it temporary or permanent. If your website URL is broken, if you have created a new domain name for your website, if you are testing the performance of your actual page, and for other circumstances which impact the traffic to your website.
It is crucial to ascertain and understand how both redirects work before implementing them. If you choose the wrong option, all your efforts in SEO would go down the drain. If you choose the right redirect, then at the least it won’t impact your rankings and your reputation.
IMPLEMENTING 301 REDIRECT
A 301 redirect sends a message to the search engines about the movement of a website to a new location which is permanent in nature. The new URL is given more preference and total authority in this case. The traffic from the actual URL will be redirected to the new one. Since the 301 redirect is a permanent move, it should only be used when:
- When 2 or more web pages have to be merged into one domain
- When there are duplicate URLs which lead to your actual page and a new one needs to be created which can solve this problem
- When you are permanently changing the URL structure of your website and you want the transition to be an effortless one
IMPLEMENTING 302 REDIRECT
The 302 redirect communicates to the search engines that the move to a new URL is temporary in nature and that the original URL should be retained. A 302 redirect should only be used in situations like:
- When the actual URL is down for maintenance
- When the web page is being updated for a better user experience and its performance is tracked
- When client feedback is required for the new page without letting its ranking get impacted
- When you’re running a promotion for which a different page is created only for the promotion
SYNOPSIS
To summarize it up, understanding 301 vs 302 redirects is not rocket science, but just a well-thought of decision taken after understanding the situation properly. In simple words, a 301 redirect is permanent, a 302 redirect is not. Apply the redirect which meets your purpose and your goals. Finally, keep monitoring your rankings on Google for the necessary outcome for your business.
