302 redirect

What is a 302 redirect?

One 302 redirect is an HTTP status code that indicates that a page or URL has temporarily moved to a different location. When someone or a search engine visits the old URL, it is redirected to the new page, but with the message that the transfer is short lived. This is in contrast to a 301 redirect, which is permanent.

How does a 302 redirect work technically?

When a browser or search engine encounters a 302, the system receives a signal: “this page is temporarily located elsewhere, but will come back later.” The server forwards the visitor, but search engines keep the original URL in their index. This is an important difference with 301, where the old URL in the index is replaced by the new one.

When to use a 302 redirect

A 302 redirect is useful in situations where you want to temporarily replace or redirect pages or content, such as:

• If a product is temporarily unavailable and you're redirecting visitors to an alternative.
• While maintaining a page or website, when you temporarily show a different version.
• For temporary marketing campaigns or landing pages that disappear over time.

In all these cases, it's important that the original URL maintains its value and position in search results.

Influence of a 302 redirect on SEO

The big difference between 302 and 301 lies in the SEO impact. A 301 passes almost all of the link value to the new URL, because the move is permanent. A 302 doesn't do this completely: Google keeps the old URL in the index and considers the new location only temporary.

This means that 302 is not a good choice when making permanent changes to your URL structure or domain. In that case, you will lose authority and you may miss out on rankings. So only use 302 for real temporary situations.

Best practices for 302 redirects

To use a 302 redirect effectively, there are a few guidelines to follow:

• Only use a 302 if the move is really temporary.
• Keep the period in which you apply a 302 as short as possible.
• Use tools like Google Search Console to make sure that the old URLs retain their indexation.
• Avoid using 302 redirects for migrations or permanent changes: this always comes with 301.

Alternatives and related redirects

The 302 is just one of the possible redirect codes. Other variants include:

• 301 redirect: permanent; for structural adjustments.
• 307 redirection: the official successor to 302 in HTTP 1.1, keeping the HTTP method.
• 308 redirect: a permanent version in HTTP 2.0, similar to 301 but stricter in execution.

It's important to always choose the right redirect, depending on the situation.

Conclusion

A 302 redirect is a temporary redirect that is useful for short interruptions, maintenance, or temporary campaigns. For SEO, it's essential not to confuse 302 and 301: only use 302 if you're sure the move isn't permanent. This prevents loss of rankings and ensures that both visitors and search engines understand what is happening to your page.