301 vs 302 Redirects: Which One Should You Use?

Redirects send visitors and search engines from one URL to another, but the type you choose sends a different signal about why.

301 redirect (permanent): Use this when a URL has moved for good — after a site migration, URL restructure, domain change, or when merging two pages into one. A 301 tells search engines to transfer the old page’s ranking signals to the new URL and update their index accordingly.

302 redirect (temporary): Use this when a redirect is short-term — for example, redirecting to a “sold out” notice page during a temporary stock issue, A/B testing a new page layout, or geo-redirecting during a promotional period. A 302 tells search engines to keep the original URL indexed, since the move isn’t permanent.

The most common mistake: Using a 302 for what’s actually a permanent change. This can cause search engines to keep the old, now-defunct URL indexed indefinitely instead of consolidating ranking value into the new one — meaning the new page may struggle to rank as well as it should.

Redirect chains (URL A → URL B → URL C) are another frequent issue — each extra hop slows down crawling and page load, and some ranking signal can be lost along the way. Always redirect directly from the original URL to the final destination.